When each vessel took aboard its full complement of soldiers and equipment, the man with the manifest shouted out the name of the vessel and the words “All Present or Accounted For!” At that point the ship’s crew cast off the lines and a long boat with six oarsmen tugged the ship away from the pier to anchor in the Merrimack River, bow upstream, out of the way of other vessels, and still properly sequenced.

Despite the west wind and a flood tide trying to push the transports out into the Atlantic, none of the vessels collided or dragged anchor more than a few feet. By 5:00 p.m. loading was complete and Captain O’Brien hoisted to the top of his mast, the Red and White striped Sons of Liberty Flag, the pre-arranged signal to “Follow Me!”

Within seconds, every transport raised their anchors, set sails, and sortied behind Machias Liberty toward the Atlantic. Once out of the harbor, they all turned northeast behind us on the course Capt. Obrien set, straight to the mouth of the Kennebec River.

The wind was perfect and throughout the night, lookouts on the bow and stern kept watch on the lights of the vessel ahead and behind, trusting Capt. O’Brien would not lead them all onto the rocks.

By dawn, Machias Liberty and Polly were on the approach to the center—and widest passage of the Kennebec channel. Each vessel trimmed sails to slow and the twelve-ship column, now stretching almost two miles long, began negotiating the twisting course upriver to Gardinerston.

Gardinerston, Maine

Friday, September 22nd, 1775

Just before dark on Thursday evening, September 21st, Captain O’Brien’s bow lookout sighted the pier at Gardinerston. Because it would soon be dark with only a sliver of moon, he signaled the column of transports to close up in proper order aft of Machias Liberty and anchor for the night.

At dawn this morning Captain O’Brien again hoisted the Sons of Liberty flag and our little fleet raised anchors, set reefed sails on a port tack, and headed up the Kennebec River to Gardinerston on an ebb tide that went slack as we pulled adjacent to our goal. Captain Morgan, 1st Lt. Humphrey, and I were on deck, fascinated at the activity aboard, and glad the first leg of our expedition was completed without incident.

By 10:00 all twelve vessels were berthed in a row with bow and stern lines along the town’s quay. Ashore, dockworkers helped secure lines while the crew and passengers aboard each vessel stowed sails and began opening hatches to expedite unloading cargo.

As soon as a gangway was set on the rail of Machias Liberty, two gentlemen we met in Cambridge bounded aboard, Mr. Reuben Colburn and the diminutive Aaron Burr—still in a Continental Army uniform.