In December 1774 HMS Canceaux, under the command of Lt. Henry Mowat,[3] attempted to restore order to Fort William and Mary following the seizure of supplies by colonial forces led by Paul Revere.

The concern caused by the colonial seizure of sixteen cannon and about one hundred barrels of gunpowder prompted the Canceaux to quickly depart Boston for Portsmouth.

[5] In early spring of 1775 Canceaux was actively patrolling the coastline of New England in an attempt to prevent smuggling and enforce British law.

The militia of Brunswick, Maine, controlled by Samuel Thompson, endeavored to drive the ship and her crew from the region in order to regain their authority within the city.

The highest ranking officer remaining aboard Canceaux, the first lieutenant, threatened the local populace to release Mowat or else they would begin to shell the city.

[4] She eventually departed from Casco Bay to return to Boston to resume her typical activities of patrolling to preventing smuggling and enforcing British maritime law.

[1][6] Following her failures at Fort William and Mary, her involvement in Thompson’s War and the continued insurrection permeating thought the maritimes and New England’s coast, HMS Canceaux resumed the activities typical of a Royal Navy ship of the time.

Admiral Graves placed Lieutenant Mowat in charge of the plans for the retribution razing of seaports Marblehead, Salem, Gloucester, Ipswich, Newburyport, Portsmouth, Saco, Falmouth, and particularly Machias.

[14] While this on its own would have been enough to horrify the colonial populace, he also commanded his men to continuously raid the area, regularly sending parties ashore to set additional fires.