Battle of Fort Cumberland

The Siege of Fort Cumberland in Nova Scotia in November 1776 was one of the most ambitious — and unsuccessful — attempts to bring another British colony into the American Revolution. Jonathan Eddy, a former Massachusetts legislator who had moved to Nova Scotia, organized a force of about 180 New England sympathizers and Nova Scotia residents who hoped to capture the British fort and trigger a broader Nova Scotia rebellion.

The attackers besieged Fort Cumberland for nearly three weeks but lacked artillery and could not breach the walls. British reinforcements arrived from Halifax before the siege could produce results. The attackers were scattered and pursued through the winter wilderness. Several were captured; most eventually escaped back to New England.

The failure at Fort Cumberland effectively ended any serious possibility of Nova Scotia joining the Revolution. Most Nova Scotians, while sympathetic to the American cause, were too dependent on the British for trade and protection to risk active rebellion. The colony remained British, providing a valuable base and refuge for Loyalists throughout the war and afterward when thousands of Loyalist refugees settled there.