Brigadier’s Island

Brigadier’s Island. Culture Clash in Penobscot Bay. , Samuel Waldo and The Waldo Patent , By the early 17th century, Native Americans and early French and English settlers clashed over land around Penobscot Bay. In 1730, Boston merchant Samuel Waldo asked the English King's Council for a land grant. He was rewarded with a large parcel, which included Wassumkeag Island, renamed Brigadier's Island in honor of Waldo, a brigadier general., Photo of the farmhouse on Sears island. The foundation can still be seen along the Homestead Trail., The Penobscot Expedition , In 1779, the largest American naval defeat before Pearl Harbor took place at the mouth of the Penobscot River. The British had invaded Castine, so Massachusetts sent 44 vessels to attempt to reclaim Castine. The British burned all American vessels except the Defence, whose captain and crew tried to escape by crossing the Sears Island sandbar. The ship was caught and blown up. In 1975, students from Maine Maritime Academy, using sonar, discovered remnants in Stockton Harbor. An archaeological excavation unearthed many items preserved in the mud. The site is protected under state and federal law and remains property of the U.S. Navy., American Fleet at Penobscot Bay, 14 August 1779," oit on Canvas by Dominic Serres circa 1779. National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird Collection., Henry Knox's Grazing Farm After Waldo's death, his daughter Lucy married Henry Knox. In 1794, Knox traveled to Brigadier's Island, where he paid squatters to leave; hired John Rynier to turn much of the island into a grazing farm for oxen, cattle, sheep and hogs; and built the farmhouse. In 1804, Knox transferred the island to a debtor., This sign was made possible thanks to the Maine Community Foundation, GBL Charitable Foundation, and the Town of Searsport