The General Court of Massachusetts responded on June 24 to the British occupation of Penobscot Bay without waiting for Continental Army assistance.
With promise of fair compensation for all losses, the Court requisitioned a fleet of privateers, merchant ships, and state warships, and with three Continental ships headed east.
Dudley Saltonstall of the Continental Navy assumed charge of the expedition, while ground forces and artillery were commanded by Brigadier-Generals Solomon Lovell and Peleg Wadsworth and Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Revere.
Capt. William McLellan Sr. (ca. 1735-1815) of Portland, was owner and master of the sloop Centurian, one of the ships that responded to the Massachusetts plea.
After the war, McLellan was a leading Portland merchant.