On October 18, 1775, British Captain Henry Mowat sailed into Casco Bay to visit the town of Falmouth, present-day Portland, Maine. Mowat had stopped in Falmouth before, but the purpose of his visit this time was a surprise to the townspeople. It had been six months since the Battle of Lexington and Concord and the British Navy was on a mission to make an example out of towns that harbored Patriotic sentiment. Mowat delivered his warning: in two hours, your homes will be bombed.