Battle of Fort Cumberland - Aftermath

Aftermath

Batt's men chased Eddy's, but bad weather and the lack of adequate footwear eventually caused him to call off the pursuit. Eddy's forces scattered, with many retreating overland to Maugerville. Some of the Massachusetts men took more than two months to reach Machias. Homes and farms of rebel supporters were burned in reprisal but British authorities took a lenient approach toward captured rebels, including Richard John Uniacke, who went on to become Attorney General of Nova Scotia. Goreham issued an offer of pardon for those who would surrender their arms, which more than 100 locals accepted. This prompted Major Batt to file charges against Goreham for neglect of duty; Goreham was exonerated.

The victory at Fort Cumberland strengthened the British presence in Nova Scotia, in part by driving Patriot sympathizers like Allan and Eddy out of the province, but also by cowing those that remained, often by requiring people to make pledges to the Crown. Some unrest continued for the remainder of the war (e.g., the Battle at Miramichi), although no further large scale military threat occurred. The most significant attempt occurred in the summer of 1777, when John Allan was authorized by Congress to take actions in Nova Scotia; however, only a small number of forces were raised for this effort at Saint John, and a British show of force put an end to the attempt. Eddy appears to have been involved with Allan's work, but his movements prior to August 1777 are uncertain. Commodore Collier followed up by attacking Machias, intending to break Allan's plans. Eddy led the defense of Machias during the battle on August 13–15, 1777. (Collier's action was in fact unnecessary; the Massachusetts Provisional Congress had in early August voted to disband forces recruited for Allan's expedition, because of the imminent threat posed by the army of General John Burgoyne in upstate New York.)

The Battle of Fort Cumberland was poorly documented in 19th-century histories of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, often receiving only minimal mention. The involvement of local inhabitants (natives, Acadians, and English-speakers) in the siege was generally understated or unknown. The site of Fort Cumberland has been preserved as a National Historic Site of Canada, and is administered by Parks Canada.