The ghost ship of Harpswell
Sam Smith - Maine is one of the few places that still remembers the War of 1812. As Wikipedia explains: British army and naval forces from nearby Nova Scotia captured and occupied the eastern coast from Eastport to Castine, and plundered the Penobscot River towns of Hampden and Bangor . Legitimate commerce all along the Maine coast was largely stopped—a critical situation for a place so dependent on shipping. In its place an illicit smuggling trade with the British developed, especially at Castine and Eastport. Claims to "New Ireland" were finally dropped in the Treaty of Ghent , and Castine was evacuated, although Eastport remained under occupation until 1818. But Maine's vulnerability to foreign invasion, and its lack of protection by Massachusetts, were important factors in the post-war momentum for statehood. To celebrate the 200th anniversary some of us gathered near Porter's Landing in South Freeport on Casco Bay to listen to a program of nautical ball...