The capture of the British ship, Margaret a, is a true incident. Below is a short description of how the cutter, Margaret a, was taken.
Machias, just east of the Mid-coast region of Maine, was already well-populated by June 1775 when a British ship arrived in port accompanied by a cutter, the British warship Margaret a. The ships were to return with lumber for the British. The citizens of Machias who met at a town meeting, declared they would never contribute lumber to the British and erected a liberty pole in the town square to emphasize their declaration. The next day, the Patriots attempted to capture the Margaret a’s captain, but he stood fast until he was hit by two musket bal s. The Margaret a surrendered and the captain died.
The Margaret a was appropriated by the Patriots and was renamed the Machias Liberty.
There was a proposal to invade Nova Scotia but not by privateers. It was submitted to General George Washington for action provided there were not more than 200 British troops at Halifax. This can be found on the web at History of Nova Scotia-Communications and Transportation, Chapter 4, 1776, Jan-Dec.
PART ONE
The Watch
The officer of the deck
Peered through the blinding snow
They'd just turned the glass
Only thirty minutes left to go
The distant sound of muskets
A flash as something explodes
Turning to the mid he cussed
Just our luck don't you know
… Michael Aye
Prologue
BOOM!…KA…BOOM!
"What the hell!"
"I'm not sure, sir, seems like two explosions-a small one, then a larger one."
BOOM!…
"My God, sir, it appears the tender has exploded!"