American Civil War Battlefields
Treat Island, 
Passamaquoddy Bay, Maine 

 Gun enplacements and edge of magazine 2018 

Photos and text courtesy of Ann Jenkins and  LCWRT Member Holly Jenkins-Evans 

Built in October 1863, this small artillery fort was situated near Lubec, Maine on Treat Island in the Western Passage of Passamaquoddy Bay, across from Campobello Island on the US/Canadian border. This fort, manned by Maine infantry and artillery, was generally known as Fort Sullivan and was intended to protect the area and the port of Eastport, Maine from Confederate cruisers thought to be in the area. Placed at the southeastern end of the small island, it consisted of an earthwork battery, a magazine, a storehouse and barracks for 50 men. 

 Fort Sullivan's claim to fame was that on August 11, 1864, while conducting artillery practice, gunners fired 3 shots at a bluff called Friar's Head on Campobello Island. One of these overshot the bluff and landed in a Mr. Taylor's yard on Canadian soil. Consequently, there was an extensive exchange of correspondence between the local military officers on both sides of the border, and through the corresponding State Department ranks, up to and including Secretary of State Seward. The US officer in command at that time was Capt. Thomas P. Hutchison, Co. C, Unattached Inf., Maine Vols. 

 Treat Island is now the protected property of Maine Coast Heritage Trust and open to the public for recreation. The 73 acre island is also the burial site of Revolutionary War hero Col. John Allan, who served as military commander of the Eastern Area, or District of Maine, under Gen. George Washington. 

 For more information on Treat Island : https://mcht.org/preserves/treat-island