Hampden Map
Hampden is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 7,257 at the 2010 census. Hampden is part of the Bangor metropolitan statistical area.
The town was originally called Wheelersborough after its original settler, Benjamin Wheeler. It was incorporated on February 24, 1794, and named after the English patriot John Hampden.
During the War of 1812, on September 3, 1814, about 400 local militia under the command of Brigadier General John Blake of nearby Brewer, attempted to hold off a superior force of British regulars at Hampden. The American line, however, collapsed before a charge and was quickly routed. The Americans suffered one casualty with eleven wounded, and the British lost two (one an officer). A civilian spectator was also killed. The British fleet, which under command of Sir John Coape Sherbrooke (then lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia) had recently captured Castine, looted Hampden and nearby Bangor. They were trying to capture the USS Adams, a frigate with 750 men which had fled up the Penobscot River and anchored at Hampden. The crew of the Adams, under Captain Charles Morris, burned the ship to prevent its capture and subsequently escaped overland.
Nearby cities include Bucksport, Orono, Old Town, Milford, Brewer.