Battle of Portland Harbor
Part of theAmerican Civil War
Harper's Weekly illustration of USRC Caleb Cushing burning during the Battle of Portland Harbor.
Date June 27, 1863 (1863-06-27) Location offPortland, Maine Result United States victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Jacob McLellan	Charles Read
Units involved
USRC Caleb Cushing
Strength
1cutter 2steamers	1schooner
Casualties and losses
1 cutter scuttled 2 steamers damaged	25 captured 1 schooner captured
The Union revenue cutter USRC Caleb Cushing was captured and scuttled by the Confederates during the battle.

TheBattle of Portland Harbor was an incident during theAmerican Civil War, in June 1863, in the waters offPortland, Maine. Two civilian ships engaged two vessels underConfederate States Navy employment.

Around June 24, aConfederate raider named theTacony, commanded byLieutenantCharles Read, CSN, was being pursued by theUnion Navy. To thwart their pursuers, at about 2 AM on June 25, the Confederates captured theArcher, aMaine fishingschooner out ofSouthport. After transferring their supplies and cargo ontoArcher, the Confederates set fire toTacony, hoping the Union Navy would believe the ship was destroyed.

On June 26, a Confederate raiding party entered the harbor at Portland late in the evening, sailing pastPortland Head Light. The rebels disguised themselves as fishermen; they planned to try to destroy the area's commercial shipping capability, and then to escape out of the harbor.

When the raiders left the port area on June 27, they proceeded to the federal wharf. Having the advantage of surprise, the crew seized a cutter belonging to theRevenue Service, theUSRCCaleb Cushing (named for aMassachusetts congressman, United States Attorney General and Minister to Spain). Their original intent was to seize the side wheel steamerChesapeake, but its boilers were cold. As they would lose too much time in getting the steam up, they tookCushing. They escaped and sailed out to sea.

News spread of the Confederate actions and the Army garrison atFort Preble in nearbySouth Portland was alerted to the rebel intrusion. The Confederates had been observed by several persons while taking over the cutter, and public fury was aroused. Thirty soldiers from Fort Preble were assigned to pursue the raiders; they took a six-poundfield piece and a 12-poundhowitzer. Accompanied by about 100 civilian volunteers, the soldiers commandeered the steamerForest City, a side-wheel excursion ship, and theChesapeake, whose steam was finally up. All of the civilians on board were issuedmuskets to defend against the Confederates.

Forest City, the faster ship, was the first to catch up toCushing andArcher.Cushing opened fire onForest City when it had come within the 2 mi (3.2 km) range. The captain ofForest City was afraid to pursue any further.Cushing, being a revenue cutter, had two secret compartments hidden in the captain's stateroom. Confederate Lieutenant Read had not discovered the cache of powder and ammunition stored there. If he had, the outcome could have been very different.

Chesapeake, which had left port sometime afterForest City with Portland's MayorJacob McLellan in command, finally caught up and continued on towardCushing. The wind was beginning to blow against the Confederate sailors and the steamers soon caught sight ofCushing. Read, the Confederate lieutenant, orderedCushing torched; its munitions exploded after the ship was abandoned by her twenty-four crewmen, who escaped in lifeboats. They surrendered to Mayor McLellan and were held as prisoners of war atFort Preble.Archer was also soon captured, and all the rebels were returned to Portland.

It was discovered that the Southern raiders were in possession of over $100,000 in Confederate bonds. These were to be paid after a treaty for peace was ratified between the North and the South.

Public anger against the Southerners was high, and the city requested additional troops to safeguard the prisoners. When they were to be transported to Boston in July, the men had to be spirited out of Portland during the night to prevent ariot from breaking out. They were removed toBoston Harbor, and held atFort Warren.

• Morison, Samuel Eliot (1965). "Troubled Waters".The Oxford History of the American People. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 664.ISBN 978-0-1950003-0-6.
• Maine Bureau of Corporations, Elections, and Commissions
• Harper's Weekly, 11 July 1863
• Confederate Navy Research Center, Mobile, Alabama
• The New York Times, 28 June 1863.
• Smith, Mason Philip (1985).Confederates Downeast: Confederate operations in and around Maine. Provincial Press.ISBN 978-0-9316750-9-6.

43°39′47″N70°13′16″W / 43.663153°N 70.221004°W /43.663153; -70.221004

• Naval battles of the American Civil War
• Battles of the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War
• Union victories of the American Civil War
• Battles of the American Civil War in Maine
• Battles and conflicts without fatalities
• 19th century in Portland, Maine
• June 1863

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