The sun rose brilliant, the breeze was cool, and all was calm at the Fort Edgecomb promontory that fateful Saturday, June 8. No one noticed the ominous presence of men-of-war laying offshore, obscured by oak trees on the banks of the Sheepscot. We strolled among sutlers and cooks, admired historic photographs of the Fort, watched a fire being started using flint and steel, and helped make butter in a quart-size churn. The butter and the by-product, buttermilk, were used in a delicious corn chowder. Then came a tremendous boom. Thunder? We glanced upward. No clouds had gathered. More booms. The peaceable tent-community grabbed their muzzleloaders and made ready. The British fleet sailed into sight. They were greeted by the intrepid Continental privateer "Increase," a 100-ton 22-foot lapstrake cutter, commanded by Tom Blackford and shipmates. The sea fight was intense. Alas, we fled the scene as the British marines charged up the hill to take the fort. I understand, cowering in my River Road fastness, that the gallant Yankees regained advantage the following day, and Old Glory still flies over the Sheepscot River.

During the battle, I encountered Nancy Pinson Poore, down from Windham with family and grandchildren. She reminisced about her childhood home on the opposite shore, where she could look out over the river to the fort. She is looking forward to the Eddy School alumni reunion which is in its planning stages for next year.

Congratulations to Edgecomb graduates from Wiscasset High School: Daniel Robert Brown, Nicole Kristine McKay, Julie Elma Rollins, and Sarah K. Strout. Congratulations also to Justin Lewis, graduating from Boothbay Harbor High School.

Carlene Sue Dowdy has graduated from the University College at Bath/Brunswick, with a B.S. degree in Computer Information Systems from the University of Maine at Augusta. The wife of Steven Dowdy of Dowdy Lane, she is one of those intrepid women who have gone back to college after raising five children. More power to you, Sue!

Edgecomb's Congregational Church welcomes the Reverend Iris K. Burnell as its new pastor and teacher of the church. Rev. Burnell and her husband Davis live in New Harbor. An Installation Service is planned for later in the summer or early fall.

The Congregational Church's next public supper, Saturday, June 29, will help to fund their July 21-27 work camp at H.O.M.E. in Orland, in which volunteers from the church and community will help build homes for low-income families. Anyone who wants to help with these public suppers, or who would like to find out about the work camp and other programs, please call Bob Hardina at 563-5236.

At 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 19, "A Maritime Event" at the Skidompha Free Library in Damariscotta. Nick Dean of the River Road, author of Snow Squall: The Last American Clipper Ship, will join Lincoln Paine (Down East: A Maritime History of Maine) and Warren Riess (Angel Gabriel) in a discussion of their books, and to answer questions about Maine's special relationship with the sea.

And then, the evening of Wednesday, June 19, 7 to 9 p.m., the Friends of Midcoast Maine (formerly the Midcoast Alliance for Planning) will hold its annual meeting at the Sheepscot Inn in Edgecomb. The featured speaker will be Beth Humstone, Executive Director of the Vermont Forum on Sprawl. Ms. Humstone is a co-author of the recent publication Above and Beyond: Visualizing Change in Small Towns and Rural Areas. She is a well-regarded professional planner who has worked with small cities, towns, and rural areas for 30 years.

The Edgecomb Fire Department and Chief Barry Johnston want to give their sincere thanks to Gloria Bailey for organizing the splendid supper May 25, to benefit the new fire station building fund. Thanks to everyone for your support!

Northrup Fowler III advises, for anyone interested in local or state history, there is an excellent website for old maps, from 1893 on: http://docs.unh.edu/towns/MaineTownList.htm. Now let's see if the newspapers can get all that on one line! Thanks, Mr. Fowler!

Still on the map at 234 River Road, bonesukl@midcoast.com, or 633-2978.

This column appears in the Boothbay Register, Lincoln County News, Wiscasset Newspaper, and the new Edgecomb website, www.Edgecomb.org.