General Sir John Coape Sherbrooke, was a British soldier and colonial administrator. After serving in the British army in Nova Scotia, the Netherlands, India, the Mediterranean, and Spain, he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia in 1811. During the War of 1812, his policies and victory in the conquest of present-day Maine, renaming it the colony of New Ireland, led to significant prosperity in Nova Scotia.
Sir John Sherbrooke by Robert Field, The Halifax Club
The Battle of Hampden was an action in the British campaign to conquer present-day Maine and remake it into the colony of New Ireland during the War of 1812. Sir John Sherbrooke led a British force from Halifax, Nova Scotia to establish New Ireland, which lasted until the end of the war, eight months later. The brief life of the colony yielded customs revenues which were subsequently used to finance a military library in Halifax and found Dalhousie College.
The British expedition to Maine was commanded by the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, Major General John Sherbrooke.
Captain Charles Morris (pictured c. 1850) commanded the USS Adams during the battle.
A painting of Captain Robert Barrie
After the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, the peace treaty which ended the War of 1812, British forces evacuated Castine.