Fort Casco facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fort Casco |
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|---|---|
| Falmouth, Maine | |
Rendering of Fort Casco in 1705
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| Type | Fort |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | Great Britain |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1698 by Wolfgang William Romer |
| In use | 1698-1716 |
| Materials | log palisade |
| Battles/wars | Northeast Coast Campaign (1703) |
| Garrison information | |
| Past commanders |
John March, Samuel Moody |
Fort Casco was an English fort built a long time ago in 1698. It was located in what is now Falmouth, Maine. It was the most eastern English fort in New England. It marked the edge between where English settlers lived and the lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, a group of Native American tribes.
Building Fort Casco
English settlers had left the Casco Bay area after a battle in 1690. To come back to the area, the Massachusetts colony built a fort with strong wooden walls (a palisade) in 1698. This was after a war called King William's War had ended.
The Wabanakis wanted the fort so they could trade easily and fix their tools. The British wanted to be friends with the Native Americans. They hoped to offer cheaper goods to keep them from allying with the French. Fort Casco was the most eastern fort on the edge of New England during this time.
In 1701, the Wabanakis and Massachusetts leaders met. They formed a strong alliance. They built two piles of stones (called cairns) to show their new friendship. The nearby Two Brothers Islands later got their name from this monument.
The War Begins
Unfortunately, this peace lasted less than three years. A new war, Queen Anne's War, started in 1702. Governor Joseph Dudley met with leaders of the Abenaki tribes. This meeting happened at New Casco on June 20, 1703. He tried to convince them not to join forces with the French.
His efforts did not work. Just two months later, the fort was attacked. Abenaki chiefs Moxus, Wanungonet, and Nescambious led the attack. They were joined by their French allies. This attack was part of the Northeast Coast Campaign (1703).
The English soldiers were greatly outnumbered. But an armed ship called the "Province Galley" came to help. Its guns fired and scattered the Wabanakis and the 500 French fighters. During the attack, 25 English people were killed. Many others were taken prisoner.
End of the Fort
Peace returned in 1713 with the Treaty of Portsmouth. When people started settling in what is now Portland in 1716, the Province of Massachusetts decided something. They ordered that Fort Casco be torn down instead of being kept up.
One reason was that a new fort, Fort George (Brunswick, Maine), was built further east. This moved the frontier of Maine beyond Falmouth. Today, the spot where Fort Casco once stood is across from Pine Grove Cemetery on Route 88.
