Abstract

The Treaty of Paris in 1783 was the primary reason for the Northeastern territorial disputes in Maine and New Brunswick in the Anglo-American relations. The shortcomings in defining the Northeastern border line by Article II of this Treaty led to the event known as the Aroostook War. By means of historical materials, the article presents the British-American relations about the Aroostook War in 1838-1839 in such aspects as conflicts of interest between two countries in the border area, the relations between two countries at risk of war; diplomatic efforts to prevent from this war. The article contributes to the study of the history of the Northeastern border dispute between Maine and New Brunswick and the history of the Anglo-American relations from the American Independence War to the second half of the nineteenth century.

1. Introduction

The Treaty of Paris in 1783 signed between the representatives of the British government and 13 British colonies in North America had a great significance for the birth of the young republic - the United States of America. This treaty also addressed most of the other issues related to two parties, including defining the border between the US and British Canada. Article II, this Treaty stated: “All disputes which might arise in future, on the subject of the boundaries of the said United States may be prevented” ¹. In fact, the declaration of Article II not only failed to prevent it but also created a dispute over the Northeastern border between the US and Great Britain in Maine and New Brunswick which lasting for more than 60 years ^{2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}. In the 1840s, while the border issue was not resolved, the Anglo-American restraint on the disputed territory became increasingly weaker. The reason was that the increased interests of both Parties in this area were related to wood exploitation ⁸. The conflict over the disputed area between Maine and New Brunswick pushed the British-American relations on the brink of must be determined by a battle known as the Aroostook War, also known as The Pork and Beans War ⁹, Bloodless Aroostook War, Lumbermen's War ^{10, 11}. This war warned two countries to speed up diplomatic negotiation process to find a peaceful solution to the border issue.

2. Results and Discussions

The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) disrupted trade between Great Britain and continental Europe. Great Britain failed to buy wood from European countries as before. They therefore needed to find an alternative wood source from other regions to build masts or decks for warships and merchant ships. In this situation, Great Britain noticed the wood sources right from their colonies in the North America. After recognizing the independence of 13 colonies, the British North America was considered the only colony that could satisfy with this need. New Brunswick, more specifically the Madawaska region had a large area of white pine forest ¹². This wood type was the most important of all traded wood products because it was light, hard and harsh weather-resistant, perfect for producing masts and decks that inherently suffered from waves and winds at sea. Great Britain started to import large quantities of wood from New Brunswick. The wood export value of New Brunswick accounted for two-thirds of the province's total export turnover in 1825. As wood became an important commodity, those who sought wood from the South of Maine, Lower Canada and New Brunswick began to go to exploit and compete in this region ¹².

In response to the above-mentioned disputes, the Anglo-American government made every effort to settle the disputes in the border areas. Under the terms of the Ghent Treaty (1814), the Saint Croix’s Commission was established to search for Saint Croix River, one of two bases for the border dispute between Maine and New Brunswick. Although the Sait Croix River was identified by both Parties as the Magaduvic River, but the highlands, the second undefined bases were not agreed by both Parties. From then, negotiations in London between two Parties in search of the highlands remained ineffective. The border dispute between Maine and New Brunswick became more intense. In this situation, in 1831, two Parties decided to choose the king of the Netherlands as a third party for the border arbitration between Maine and New Brunswick. However, the Dutch king's arbitration efforts over the border dispute in Maine and New Brunswick was denied. The resolution of this dispute hardly became progressed ⁵. The British government seemed to have decided to leave everything unchanged. The British occupied the disputed area, maintained the path of communication between St. John and Quebec, residents of two countries had right to freely enter the Aroostook and Madawaska areas. From 1833, Great Britain accused Maine and Massachusetts of encouraging residents to settle, build roads and exploit wood in the disputed territory. The Maine state government denied the charges. New Brunswick officials feared an invasion from Maine ¹³.

In late 1838, the state of Maine appointed a land delegation to go to the entire northern part of Maine to check the extent of illegal penetration of the Canadian. Newly re-elected Governor John Fairfield in replacement of Edward Kent became more cautious, partly due to a promise of drastic action against the Maine-New Brunswick dispute. On December 14, 1838, the state of Maine sent George Buckmore to the Fish River area to investigate invaders from New Brunswick on land in the land area of two states. Land delegation’s reports indicated that a large number of people from British provinces were entering and cutting wood in the lands of Maine with about 200-250 people ³. Governor of Maine, John Fairfield told the Maine Legislative Council that Buckmore found in the Grand River area between 40 and 50 people, 20 to 30 people in Green River, 50 to 70 people in Fish River, 75 people in Madawaska and 15 people in Aroostook. They not only refused to stop logging activities but also challenged the government. The volume of wood that intruders cut in the winter of 1838 was estimated at USD 100,000 ¹. Faced with this situation, Fairfield sent a message to the Legislature asserting that drastic action was needed. He wrote: "This fact for me is not merely an asset, but obviously also the face of the state". Fairfield suggested, under this circumstance, the land delegation immediately performed the activities in Aroostook as well as the Fish River. These men were fully equipped with the means and weapons to capture groups and clear camps. The number of delegations was estimated to be about 50 people to implement.

On January 24, 1839, the Maine Legislative Council secretly passed a decision on the intrusion of illegal loggers in the territory of Maine. The content of the decision clearly stated: "Disband all groups, confiscate wood and other materials of the intruders by destruction or other ways" ¹². The Maine state government immediately dispatched a land delegation to the area where intruders were operating in the Aroostook and Fish rivers to seize vehicles, disrupt camps and disband these people and spent USD 10,000 to implement. Fairfield appointed Rufus McIntire to Madawaska and Aroostook to resolve the issue. In early February 1839, a delegation consisting of Rufus McIntire led with Hastings Strickland, Chief Police of the Penobscot County, and civil officials of about 200 people were immediately sent to Aroostook to expel the interferers from the disputed territory. Secret information sources said that their purpose was to drive away the intruders in the disputed area, despite of one Party or the other Party. The delegation left Bangor to reach Little Madawaska River and stopped there on February 11, 1839.

For New Brunswick side, on February 13, 1839, Governor of State, John Harvey declared that an armed group of more than 200 men from Maine invaded a part of the province ^{4, 11}. At night of the same day, the place where McIntire was sleeping was besieged by more than 40 armed people. McIntire was arrested and taken to Fredericton ¹⁴. Among them, only Strickland, Chief Police of the Penobscot County escaped and returned to Augusta to tell the Governor of Maine State what had happened. John Harvey confirmed, the intruders would be brought to trial and prosecuted ¹⁵. McIntire was then judged by the court at Woodstook and sent to Fredericton for imprisonment. John Harvey's statement and the fact that McIntire was arrested along with other members sparked deep outrage in Maine. Kennebec Journal of Augusta and East Argus of Portland under the Democratic Party called for immediate action, while Advertiser Newspapers of Portland and Whig of Bangor often showing attitude of mediating with Great Britain also urged the State to retaliate this territorial invasion ¹⁶.

In response to the situation, John Fairfield immediately sent Jonathan P. Rogers to represent the state of Maine to solve problems related to McIntire. Fairfield warned Harvey that if Canadian troops tried to expel Maine's forces, the state of Maine would take retaliation ¹⁷. John Fairfield also sent a letter to John Harvey about sending Jonathan P. Rogers representing the State of Maine to Fredericton to discuss matters regarding the case of Rufus McIntire. At the same time, the Maine side arrested James McLaughlan, the watchman of the public land in New Brunswick and Tibbets, Mclaughlan's assistant and sent them to Bangor but these people were not confined in prison but in luxury houses. The reason why right from the beginning Fairfield did not called the US President for aid because he was waiting for the return of Rogers from Fredericton with more complete information. He proposed with the approval of the Legislature to expect at least 10,000 militiamen to be ready to march to the border if required. After calling for help from Massachusetts Governor Edward Everett, Fairfield, he finally appealed to President Van Buren. On February 15 and 18, 1839, Fairfield presented the arrest at a joint meeting session of the Senate and the House of Representatives. He reported to the two Houses sending a reinforced force of 300-500 men to the disputed land to cooperate with the forces of this State in repelling a territorial invasion. The Governor asked to support Maine with 10,000 militiamen. They must be "those who were immediately ready to march to the border". He asserted "there was no mitigating circumstance for this outrage, no apology to New Brunswick" ¹⁶.

In contrast to a backlash from the residents and government of Maine State, Governor Harvey of New Brunswick received the support from the residents of this State and the British government in London. The Royal Gazette newspaper criticized Fairfield for interfering with the national issue. The St. John Observer Journal accused the Maine government of invading the territory and arresting British men. The St. John Herald Journal warned against the act of invasion, asserting that New Brunswick's militia commander sent a spiritual message to his "brave warriors" for preparing to prevent from the "invasion". They denounced Maine's action as "unjustified aggression" ¹⁷. In London, the major newspapers all saw the conflict with the US in the border area as an inevitable thing so it’s required to take action in response because if American forces had no resistance in Aroostook, they would soon build up barracks and military works on the Madawaska and the Fish rivers. At that time, both Maine and New Brunswick were ready to act against the aggression of the other if the war broke out.

Facing the tense situation, on February 16, 1839, Governor Fairfield dispatched General Isaac Hodsdon and a force of more than 1,000 people to assist the Land Delegation in dealing with the problem related to the intruders. On February 18, Governor Fairfield sent a second message to the Maine Legislature. Fairfield announced that he had just received a statement from the Governor of New Brunswick, John Harvey that called the action of the Land Delegation as part of an "invasion". Backed by promises of military aid from the governors of Lower Canada and Nova Scotia, Harvey ordered the seizure of illegally cut-down wood and proceeded to sell and transfer to the "Disputed Territory Fund", presumably to compensate the owner of the land where the wood was cut down. At the same time, Harvey ordered the troops to Aroostook to repel the invasion. Fairfield was very furious at Harvey's announcement and asked the Legislature: "How long would we be trampled - our rights and demands were ridiculed - our power was condemned and the State was degraded?” ¹⁴. However, as many arrests continued to increase, on 20 February 1839, the Maine Legislature passed the "Decision on protecting public lands" to reinforce the military forces on the Aroostook and the St. John River to prevent from extensive intrusion, protect the wood reserves and cut-down wood as well as provide USD 800,000 for defense. The decision declared: “The State's honor and interests required a strong enough military force stationed at the Aroostook River in the West of the State’s boundary line established by Treaty 1783 and on the St. John River (…) to prevent from further vandalism on public lands and to protect wood, other wood types were cut by intruders, and to prevent it without the State’s restriction”. On February 19, General A.B. Thomson stated that a force of 10,000 militia and 343 officers was fully equipped to be ready to serve the State when there was any summoning order.

On February 21, Fairfield informed the Maine Legislative Council that 10,343 aiding troops under General Thomson's command arrived at the meeting point as agreed. This force consisted of 74 cavalrymen, 451 artillerymen, 7,482 infantrymen, 1,752 light infantrymen and 584 infantrymen were ordered to serve there for three months, unless there was a disbanding order of the General Commander and be ready to act if the worst case occurred. Volunteers from Penobscot, Piscataquis Counties and the Eastern part of the State were also recruited. In just one week, 10,000 US troops arrived in the Aroostook area. Maine also received news that Great Britain was deploying a force with an 800-man regiment that had arrived in St. John from Cork of Ireland and would arrive in the disputed territory. More than 500 British regular troops arrived in Madawaska from Quebec, and eight cannons were transported to the St. John River from Fredericton ¹⁴. John Fairfield also sent a letter ¹⁵ and informed President Van Buren of the measures taken and ask for the Government’s help. President Van Buren immediately submitted to the Congress documents related to the conflict at Aroostook River, interim measures were taken by the state of Maine and asked for the Government’s help to this State ¹⁵. Meanwhile, in the Congress, Van Buren presented the situation in Maine and New Brunswick. After a brief and fierce discussion due to the rumors that the bloodshed occurred in the disputed area. The result of the debates in Congress was a draft law signed by Van Buren to empower him to stop the Great Britain’s aggression in the disputed area and appoint a minister to London to settle the Northeastern boundary issue. In the vote, almost all Senators approved the draft law with 201 votes for and 6 votes against. The draft law allowed the mobilization of 50,000 troops and set aside USD 10,000,000 to assist Maine in waging the war ¹⁸. The war was ready for both Great Britain and the US.

Figure The war situation was inevitable. The fact is that both Maine and New Brunswick were ready for a war and the war would break out when only either Party ignites. President Van Buren subsequently changed his attitude toward the disputes. Different from the time when the conflicts began, it seemed that Van Buren was aiming for a detente with Great Britain. President Buren directed General Winfield Scott to Aroostook with the aim of preventing from armed conflicts, expanding the scope of invasion and restoring the peace. He was also given full authority to mediate negotiations between Maine and New Brunswick. On March 5, 1839, General Scott arrived in Augusta with his assistant. As soon as he arrived, he informed the governor of his special responsibility for maintaining peace in the eastern and northern borders. As soon as he arrived at Augusta, Scott soon realized the situation. The entire State was in a state of agitation by a statement that aroused aggression, calling for volunteering to join the force. He also realized that both Maine and New Brunswick was preparing very quickly for the war to come. General Scott said that at this time there has not been any armed conflict between Maine and New Brunswick, but both were preparing forces for a war. Maine had 1,000 soldiers led by General Hodsdon and a 10,000-man self-defense force of the State of Maine, while New Brunswick was in the process of preparation ⁸. He also doubted the information about British force of more than 500 people arriving in Madawaska from Quebec and 800 others from Ireland: “At present, it’s doubted whether there is any truth in the report of the arrival of 500 men in Madawaska from Lower Canada and 800 men in Halifax from Europe. Mr. John Harvey confirmed that, in the latest days, no one was taken to the disputed territory of St. John”.

Upon his arrival in Augusta, General Scott immediately had correspondence with Governor Fairfield of Maine and Harvey of New Brunswick to call for action for peace. Through correspondence, Harvey pledged to create the prospect of settling the peace between two countries, he would not bring more troops to occupy in disputed areas, not find any way to expel from the areas the militia and the army of Maine. While Fairfield pledged not to give any new direction that affected New Brunswick's settlement area in Madawaska and agreed to withdraw the troops. On March 23 1839, General Scott reached an agreement with Governor Harvey to suspend hostile activities and withdraw the troops from the Aroostook valley. In his reply to General Scott titled “Dear General Scott” Governor Harvey wrote: “I believe in you, my dear general. You make me agree with the proposal you made” ¹⁹. He also hoped that it would end all border disputes and open up the settlement of related issues. Harvey also hoped that his agreement with General Scott would be approved by the Maine state government. Two days later, John Fairfield and the Maine Legislature formally approved the terms proposed by General Scott and approved Governor Harvey's ceasefire proposal. Under the agreement, Maine owned the Rivers of Aroostook and Fish, and New Brunswick owned the Madawaska River in the process of waiting for the final decision on the border issue. After a month of active preparation and careful waiting, the Aroostook War abruptly ended without any single gunshot or any human death.

General Scott also ordered the Governor of Maine to immediately divide 1,000-man force to seize these lands, and at the same time summoned the force of the Federal army from the disputed territory, organized civilian forces to protect the properties. On March 30, 1839, General Hodsdon, commander of the Federal army force in the Northeastern border, received an order to divide the force into small parts that commanded by an officer to station in areas in Aroostook for protecting the properties until the Land Delegation could organize a civilian force. The rest under Hodsdon's command would immediately return to Bangor. On 4 April, the companies stationed in Calais under the command of Major General Ezakiel Foster were ordered to be discharged, while on April 8, 1839 the armies were stationed at the Fairfield and Presque Isle fortresses under the command. of General James Smith received an order to immediately withdraw the troops stationed there and return to Bangor. By May 1839, the entire army force stationing in Calais under the command of Major General Ezakiel Foster was ordered to be discharged, while on April 8, 1839, the army forces stationing at Fairfield and Presque Isle fortress under the command of General James Smith received an order to immediately withdraw the troops stationing there to return to Bangor. In May 1839, the entire army force stationing in the Aroostook area was replaced by the civilian force ¹⁵. With the withdrawal of troops from the disputed territory, the Aroostook War officially ended.

During this war, the entire number of troops actually attended the battlefield was 3,339 officers and soldiers. They served from twenty days to almost three months. It costs several hundred thousand dollars to display power of each Party, but its effect was only to speed up the tedious debate, even the federal government also did not reimburse Maine for such expenses. However, from this fact, Maine proved a seriousness in asserting the jurisdiction under the regulations of Treaty 1783. Maine forced the government to admit justice for its claims and sent forces to assist. For the more specific side, Maine did indeed prevent the theft of wood on Aroostook and demonstrated to Washington authority that it had to settle the boundary dispute without delay in the area between Maine and New Brunswick.

Although the just reached agreement prevented from a real war, two Parties continued to accuse each other of infringements on the border area. Great Britain said that Maine did action of establishing long-term ownership on disputed land and invading a part of British territory in Madawaska. Great Britain said that the civil force violated part of Madawaska under British jurisdiction, the increase in civilian force, the construction of a road connecting Bangor with the disputed territory and the division into lots and sale of land in this area. On the contrary, Governor of Maine, on December 12, 1839, also sent a message to Governor John Harvey about the British's violation of the agreement between two countries. The US accused Great Britain of increasing its army at Temiscauta Lake, building military barracks on two bank sides of the St. John River, outfall of Madawaska River and gathering military in Grand Falls ¹⁴. H.S. Fox, British Foreign Minister denied the US’s accusations of its actions on disputed territory. Great Britain argued that there was no action related to reinforcing the army at Temiscauta Lake, there was only alternation of 24th Regiment for the 11th Regiment with the same force. The force was intended to protect royal military warehouses and accommodations end route from Canadian provinces to New Brunswick. In the area of St. John and Madawaska Rivers, Great Britain confirmed that no barracks were built. The Grand Falls area alone had an unremarkable force with 16 people stationing here 12 months ago. Both Parties expressed the view that their actions were for the sake of peace and in accordance with the agreement that two countries reached. Finally, on April 18, 1840, Maine passed a resolution declaring that Great Britain had to immediately withdraw its troops from the disputed territory. If the Great Britain failed to do so, Maine would take armed measures to expel British troops stationing there. The danger of a new border crisis in Maine and New Brunswick was approaching both Great Britain and the US.

3. Conclusion

From the conflict of interest over the disputed areas in Maine and New Brunswick as seen as the Aroostook war between Great Britain and the United States, a remark could be drawn that:

Firstly, the Aroostook War was essentially just a climax manifestation of the Northeastern border conflict between Great Britain and the US in Maine and New Brunswick, originated from the Paris Treaty in 1783. The failure in search for a solution in establishing the border predicted that there would be conflicts over a land of great interests, especially a wealth of resources needed for both Great Britain and the US.

Secondly, Great Britain and the US along with their subordinate territories were ready for an armed war to protect the interests of the nation in the border dispute. In fact, until the conflict reached its peak, Great Britain and the US still wanted to find a peaceful solution to find a way out. It was featured in the settlement of the Anglo-American border disputes and political conflicts in the first half of the 19th century ^{2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}.

Thirdly, the Aroostook War ended swiftly, unexpectedly, without bloodshed, but it was clear that after this war, the signals for the subsequent conflict were imminent, even predicted to be on a larger scale than before under the influence of many other events. This partly affected the British-American governments. The negotiations between Daniel Webster and Ashburton in the signing of the Webster-Ashburton in 1842 were partial result of the impact of this war. The Treaty established a period of long-time peace in the Anglo-American relations.

Acknowledgements

This research is funded by Vietnam National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED) under grant number 601.02-2020.303.

References