Raising The Militia
Eddy left Boston in September and sailed to Machias, where he recruited about 20 men. On October 13, this party sailed from Machias for Passamaquoddy Bay. Coincidentally, John Allan, who was working on a longer-term plan for military action, sailed from Campobello Island for Machias the same day. The two parties met at sea, where Allan attempted to dissuade Eddy from his plan, informing him that the Mi'kmaq (the largest tribe in Nova Scotia) would not help him. Allan extracted a promise from Eddy to wait at Campobello while he went to Machias to meet with the council there. When the Machias council learned of how little native support there was, they sent a letter to Eddy urging him to give up the effort. Eddy persisted, and left Campobello, having added nine Passamaquoddy recruits to his band.
From Campobello, Eddy sailed up the Saint John River to Maugerville, where 27 men were recruited, and then up to the Maliseet settlement at Aukpaque (just upriver from present-day Fredericton). There he learned the bad news that Pierre Tomah, the main Maliseet chief, was not interested in taking up the hatchet. Eddy was able to convince Ambroise St. Aubin, one of Tomah's competitors, and 15 men to join the expedition in exchange for an agreement with the Maugerville community to support the families of those men. In another disappointment, none of the local Acadians joined, contrary to assertions St. Aubin had made to Eddy during a previous visit to the area.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Fort Cumberland
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