Brunswick’s Captain James Thompson

Leader of the Brunswick minutemen

by Charles Francis

By early 1775 relations between the American colonies, especially Massachusetts and England, had deteriorated to the point where it would only take the smallest spark to set off open rebellion. While Boston was the chief hotbed of anti-British sentiment, discontent also spread east into the District of Maine. One of the centers of this discontent, perhaps the most fervent, was in Brunswick.

According to most accounts, Brunswick anti-British sentiment was fanned in a tavern owned and operated by the Thompson family. Captain James

Thompson, the head of the clan, was born in Kittery and moved to Brunswick as a young man. He opened a general store, became a town selectman, and organized a company of militia, hence his military title. The militia included his brothers Cornelius and Alexander, and his son Samuel, who was the family firebrand and the most militant. Samuel convinced the Massachusetts General Court to appoint him a militia colonel, a position which made him one of the officers in charge of defenses in an area lying east of Falmouth, now Portland, to the Kennebec. During the

Revolution Samuel Thompson rose to the rank of brigadier general. He welcomed the “shot heard ‘round the world” when it was fired at Lexington and Concord. Now all he needed was the occasion to fire his own shots at the Redcoats. That occasion manifested itself less than a month after Lexington and Concord.

Early in May the British decided to make a display of force in the Falmouth area in the form of the sloop-ofwar Canceau, sailing into Casco Bay under the command of Lieutenant Henry Mowatt. When Samuel Thompson heard of the ship’s presence in the bay, he decided it was time for the militia to act. Their actions became one of the factors leading to the burning of Falmouth.

Around May 7th Col. Thompson commandeered two vessels with fifty to sixty Brunswick militiamen ready to fight the Redcoats as their counterparts had at Lexington and Concord. Under the cover of darkness, Thompson and his men landed at the back of Falmouth Neck on May 10th. Once the ships were hidden, the men infiltrated part way onto the neck. There they secreted themselves waiting for whatever fate might bring their way. The next afternoon Lt. Mowatt, a local minister, and the surgeon from the Canceau were strolling on Falmouth Neck on a route that took them right into the middle of Thompson’s concealed forces.

When the arrogant Lt. Mowatt was captured, he underestimated the intent and nature of the men who held him prisoner. He threatened his captors, and said that if he wasn’t summarily released he would destroy Falmouth. The threat didn’t faze Col. Thompson. In fact, he sent a message to Mowatt’s second in command, Ensign Hogg, to surrender the Canceau and all hands. Ensign Hogg didn’t comply, and said that if his superior wasn’t released by six o’clock, he would fire on Falmouth. Backing up this threat, Hogg set off two cannon loaded with powder, but not balls or shot. The action, of course, upset a number of Falmouth residents. The action in no way dissuaded Samuel Thompson from pursuing his aims. Later some prominent Falmouth residents persuaded Thompson to enact a hostage exchange. Mowatt and the surgeon were exchanged for some Falmouth residents. Lt. Mowatt gave his word as a British officer and a gentleman that he would return. He did not.

Instead, the Canceau raised anchor and sailed out of Casco Bay. It was a lesson which Samuel Thompson wouldn’t forget as he rose to become one of the heroes of the Revolution.

As the history books tell us, in October Lt. Mowatt and the Canceau, accompanied by several other British warships, returned to Falmouth and fired upon the defenseless town and destroyed much of it. This act of revenge was considered terrorism.

Back at the end of May, Samuel Thompson and his militiamen returned to Brunswick with stories of being robbed of a victory that should clearly have been theirs. This expedition of the Brunswick militia to Falmouth is often referred to as Thompson’s War.