Remembering the 1775 Burning of Falmouth

On a Wednesday morning in October 1775, a flotilla of Royal Navy vessels under the command of Lt. Henry Mowatt opened fire on Falmouth's town center (today Portland's Old Port).  Over the course of nine hours, the town was raked by cannon fire—3,000 rounds were expended using incendiary cannonballs to set the town ablaze.  When that failed to do the job, marines went ashore and set fire to any buildings that had survived the cannonade.  Some of the marines were wounded and one was killed.  Most of the town's residents fled before the attack began; only one was injured during the attack.  By evening, "the body of the town was in one flame."  Falmouth's town center was devastated with more than 400 buildings damaged or destroyed.

The presentation told the story of events leading up to the destruction, what happened during the attack, and the aftermath. 

The presentation was sponsored jointly by Falmouth Memorial Library and the Falmouth Historical Society, and is part of our town's engagement in America's Semiquincentennial celebration.