Background
Following partially successful raid of Machias in 1777, as well as General John Burgoyne's failed Saratoga campaign, British war planners looked for other ways to gain control over the rebellious New England colonies, while most of their effort was directed at another campaign targeted at the southern colonies. Lord Germain, the Secretary of State responsible for the war effort, and his under-secretary, William Knox, wanted to establish a base on the coast of the District of Maine (which was then a part of Massachusetts) that could be used to protect Nova Scotia's shipping and communities from American privateers and raiders.
Opportunity arrived when John Nutting, a Loyalist who had piloted Sir George Collier's expedition against Machias, came to London with the idea of establishing a British military presence in Maine. In September 1778, Nutting left for New York carrying orders for Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton to assist with the establishment of "a province between the Penobscot and St. Croix rivers. Post to be taken on Penobscot River." It was Knox's idea to call this province New Ireland. Unfortunately for the British, Nutting's ship was captured by an American privateer, and he was forced to dump his dispatches, putting an end to execution of the idea in 1778.
Read more about this topic: Penobscot Expedition
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