John Allan

Colonel John Allan (January 3, 1746 – February 7, 1805) was a Scottish-born American militia officer with the Massachusetts Militia in the American Revolutionary War. He served under George Washington during the Revolutionary War as Superintendent of the Eastern Indians and Colonel of Infantry, and he recruited Indian tribes of Eastern Maine to stand with the Americans during the war and participated in border negotiations between Maine, and New Brunswick.

Early life and education

Allan was born in Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, the son of Major William Allan (military officer) (1720 –1790), 'a Scottish gentleman of means and an officer in the British Army', The Allan family temporarily resided in Edinburgh Castle where they had sought refuge during the Jacobite rising of 1745, under the Deputy Governor, General George Preston, Commander-in-Chief of Scotland.

After the end of the War of the Austrian Succession, many British officers including Colonel Allan's father were discharged from service. William Allan was then offered a position in the British colony of Nova Scotia, which had previously been in French possession and he moved there with his family in 1749. William Allan arrived in the City of Halifax, Nova Scotia, in a military capacity, where the family remained for ten years before moving to Fort Lawrence. William Allan served in Nova Scotia during the Seven Years' War, and after the fall of French Canada, and the ceding of the colony to the British in the Treaty of Paris (1763), was granted farmland in the newly ceded territory. This farmland was cared for and worked by French Acadians "who became for a time servants to the conquerors of their own territory". In a few years he was known to be a person of some wealth and prosperity from his holdings.

Given William Allan's background, it is surprising that his son became such an advocate for American independence. Several factors in young John Allan's childhood may have contributed to his patriotic views. John Allan was sent to Massachusetts to receive an education, as were many young sons of wealthy British officers and landowners, because Nova Scotia was still relatively unsettled. He learned as a child both French and some Native American dialects. Both of these language skills would prove crucial for success in his later endeavors. Colonel John Allan's education in Massachusetts was likely a large factor in his support for the American patriots over the British, because at that time, Boston, Massachusetts was arguably the center of patriotic fervor. Another factor is that after the Proclamation of 1763, many New Englanders migrated to areas in Nova Scotia, such as Fort Lawrence, where Colonel John Allan grew up. Patriotic sentiment among his Bostonian neighbors in Nova Scotia could have influenced his political leanings. Also, Nova Scotia was geographically close to New England, which was the center of patriotic resistance. It was also dependent on New England for many supplies and ammunition. Regular contact with New Englanders imbued with patriotic fervor could have caused Allan to differ so strongly from his father's views. Colonel John Allan eventually became estranged from his father. This estrangement was likely due to an irreconcilable difference of view concerning the Revolutionary War.

Contributions to the Revolutionary War

After his schooling, Colonel John Allan moved back to Halifax and worked in mercantile and agricultural fields. As the son of a rich landowner, he was probably gifted land in Halifax by his father. Allan rose quickly in public service jobs to higher positions. He served in Halifax as justice of the peace, Clerk of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, and Clerk of the Sessions, His neglect of this position was likely due to the patriotic activities in which he had begun by this time to take part. After the Battle of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Bunker Hill, Allan began to freely express his patriotic opinions, and, charged for treason to the Crown, he fled across the border to the town of Machias, Maine, in which anti-British sentiment was rampant. He arrived in Machias on August 11, 1776, where he met Jonathan Eddy and unsuccessfully attempted to stop him from attempting to take over the British-held Fort Beauséjour (Fort Cumberland), where Allan's wife and five children lived, with a disproportionately small army of Americans. Despite Allan's efforts, Eddy attempted the takeover of Fort Cumberland, which proved disastrous for the American cause and for any American supporters living in the area.

Travels to Boston and Philadelphia (1776–1777)

Before fleeing Halifax, Allan met with the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet (St. John's) Indian tribes in 1776 in order to secure their support. The British had previously approached them offering gifts and asking that they adopt a position of neutrality. Allan negotiated a treaty with these tribes that was ratified on August 29, 1776, stipulating an agreement that they would support the patriots in a war for independence. However, later that year in September, these same tribes argued that the people who signed the treaty had not been legitimate representatives, and that therefore the tribes would maintain a position of neutrality.

During the Battle of Machias in August 1777, the Indian tribes that Allan had recruited proved indispensable, despite the little amount of supplies that Congress had afforded them. In a few surviving correspondences by Allan, he pleads Congress for more supplies.

Role in Boundary Negotiations of Eastern Maine

Following the end of the war, Allan stayed active in the patriotic cause even though he no longer officially worked as Superintendent of Eastern Indians. He noticed that there were encroachments by settlers from Nova Scotia into what he believed was United States territory. He wrote to the Continental Congress and the Massachusetts Council about how the border between New Brunswick (which used to be considered part of Nova Scotia) and the United States ought to be different than the British stated. Allan's arguments were used in future boundary negotiations. Records show that Allan traded several times with Benedict Arnold. Because Congress was stripped of money after the war, Allan, like many other officers in the war, suffered poverty and did not receive timely compensation for his work in the war. He had to write to Congress in order to receive pay for his work. He was buried on Treat Island and there can be found a cenotaph that was dedicated to him in 1860 and inscribed with the names of his descendants.

Although Colonel John Allan is not a name that many recognize and his contributions to the war were not flashy and militaristic, this man had a profound impact on the outcome of the war. His skills at negotiation prevented the British from securing the support of northeastern Indian tribes, and his careful attention and devotion to the United States even outside of his job influenced the boundary of Maine that still stands today.

Further reading and information A number of Allan's various original letters and correspondences, as well as communications by related people such as Jonathan Eddy, can be found in Frederic Kidder's Military Operations. Further information on Allan's Treat Island memorial can be found in the above Bangor Daily News article.