Sept. 7, 1943: In the midst of World War II’s Italian campaign, a former Maine governor, William Tudor Gardiner, takes part in a secret mission to meet with Italian generals before the Italians strike an armistice with the United States. Italian forces smuggle Gardiner, then a U.S. Army colonel, and Army Brig. Gen. Maxwell Taylor, […]

Sept. 6, 1786: A two-day convention on a proposal to separate Maine from Massachusetts, the third such gathering to be held on the subject within a year, opens in Falmouth (now Portland). Thirty-one delegates representing 22 towns attend. The convention appears to be divided, with the pro-separation group having a slight edge. Eventually it decides, […]

Sept. 5, 1813: In a War of 1812 encounter, the U.S. brigantine Enterprise intercepts the British brigantine Boxer as it chases and fires upon a merchant ship heading to port in Bath. Capt. Samuel Blyth, 29, the British commander, was trying to disrupt commerce along the New England coast, especially in Maine. After a morning […]