During the revolutionary war, the British adopted a strategy to seize parts of Maine and colonize it. The new colony was called "New Ireland" or "Nova Hibernia" in Latin. Though perhaps, it derived from "Nova Hibernus" meaning "new land of winter". At any rate, the colony was established in part by Loyalists, and was intended to be both a permanent colony for Loyalists and a base for military action for the war. New Ireland existed until the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783, when many American Loyalists migrated further east across the new international boundary line of the St. Croix river established by the Treaty of Paris and abandoned any attempts to establish "New Ireland". Interpretation of the treaty created significant tension over the next decade, but in 1794, Article V of Jay's treaty provided for arbitration of the dispute by a three-man commission. In 1798, President John Adams told Congress that the boundary lines were settled, except for perhaps a channel of islands in the bay of Passamaquoddy which may or may not be part of the Bay of Fundy. According to Adams, "it is apprehended that this will not be a matter of any difficulty". Well, history proved that statement to be nothing more than wishful thinking.
16 years later, during the War of 1812, Great Britain once again made an effort to establish New Ireland when the British naval forces took control over the entire coast east of Penobscot Bay, renaming it New Ireland. This included that "channel of islands" which Adams referred to in 1798. One of these islands was Moose Island where the United States had built Fort Sullivan in 1808 to protect against any threats from Great Britain or other European powers. On July 11, 1814 the American garrison at Fort Sullivan was forced to surrender to a British fleet, and the inhabitants of Eastport on Moose Island were required to take oaths of allegiance to the crown of Great Britain. Some complied, others were removed to undisputed American territory. For the time being, Moose Island was a part of New Ireland. When the war of 1812 ended, article IV of the treaty of Ghent awarded Moose Island, Dudley Island and Frederick Island to the United States, and on June 30, 1818, the United States regained control of both Eastport and Moose Island. New Ireland would now be relegated to the history books. Today, Eastport is a small city of about 1300 people on Moose Island and a number of other small islands. Moose Island is connected to the mainland by a causeway and is the easternmost city in the United States.
In James Monroe's first State of the Union address, he was happy to notify congress that the Treaty of Ghent had finally settled the boundary lines through that "channel of islands", that John Adams thought would "not be a matter of any difficulty" almost 10 years earlier. According to Monroe, the fourth article of the treaty of Ghent returned all the islands in the possession of each party back to what it was before the War of 1812. America gave up some of the bigger islands in the Bay of Fundy, but maintained possession of Moose Island where Fort Sullivan was built to protect against Great Britain. Additional boundaries were not yet completed. This time, Monroe was careful not to say "this will not be a matter of any difficulty". Which was probably wise, because the remaining question was the identity of the “Highlands, which divide the rivers that fall into the Atlantic Ocean from those which fall into the river St. Lawrence.”. This was not settled until the Webster-Ashburton treaty of 1842 after a 5 year dispute that nearly led the United States and Great Britain into a third war. In 1817, James Monroe wrote these words to Congress.
"I have the satisfaction also to state that the commissioners under the fourth article of the treaty of Ghent, to whom it was referred to decide to which party the several islands in the bay of Passamaquoddy belonged under the treaty of 1783, have agreed in a report, by which all the islands in the possession of each party before the late war have been decreed to it. The commissioners acting under the other articles of the treaty of Ghent for the settlement of boundaries have also been engaged in the discharge of their respective duties, but have not yet completed them."http://www.stateoftheunionhistory.com/2016/02/1798-john-adams-passamaquoddy-bay-and.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Sullivan_(Maine)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Ireland_(Maine)
http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/DRO_ECG/EASTPORT.html
http://bostonraremaps.com/inventory/an-important-manuscript-archive-of-the-st-croix-boundary-dispute/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastport,_Maine
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Canada_and_its_provinces%3B_a_history_of_the_Canadian_people_and_their_institutions_by_one_hundred_associates_(1914)_(14578476799).jpg
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