Battle off Halifax (1780)

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Battle off Halifax (1780)
Part of the American Revolutionary War
Date10 July 1780
Location
Result American victory
Belligerents
Flag of the United States (1777-1795).svg  United States Union flag 1606 (Kings Colors).svg  Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
Flag of the United States (1777-1795).svg William Williams [1] [2] [3] Union flag 1606 (Kings Colors).svg Thomas Ross [4]
Strength
1 Privateer (16 guns)
British report: 130 men
American report: 90 men
1 Brig
unknown
Casualties and losses
British report: 33 killed and wounded
American report: 1 killed, 2 wounded [5]
8 killed; 10 wounded
1 Brig captured

The Battle off Halifax took place on 10 July 1780 during the American Revolutionary War. The British privateer Resolution fought the American privateer Viper and heavy casualties were suffered by both sides. [6] The battle was "one of the bloodiest battles in the history of privateering.... a loss of 51 lives in a single battle was virtually unheard of." [7]

Contents

Background

During the American Revolution, Americans regularly attacked Nova Scotia by land and sea. American privateers devastated the maritime economy by raiding many of the coastal communities, [8] such as the numerous raids on Liverpool and on Annapolis Royal. [9] A few months before the Battle of Halifax, in December 1779 the schooner Hope wrecked near the Sambro Island Light on the Three Sisters Rocks. Captain Henry Baldwin and six other crew were killed. Weeks later, 170 British sailors were lost when two vessels - North and St Helena - were wrecked in a storm when entering Halifax harbour. [10] [11]

Battle

Just off Sambro Island Light, the American privateer Viper (22 guns, 130 men), under the command of William Williams took the British brig Resolution (16 guns) under the command of Captain Thomas Ross of Halifax. [5] In the "hot engagement" for 90 minutes, the British had killed 8 and 10 wounded, while the American killed and wounded totalled 33 men. Both vessels were much disabled and the British surrendered. [6]

Aftermath

American privateers remained a threat to Nova Scotian ports for the rest of the war. For example, after a failed attempt to raid Chester, Nova Scotia, American privateers struck again in the Raid on Lunenburg in 1782.

See also

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The Battle of Blomidon took place on 21 May 1781 during the American Revolutionary War. The naval battle involved three armed U.S. privateer vessels against three Nova Scotian vessels off Cape Split, Nova Scotia. American Privateers caught two Nova Scotia Vessels. The first Nova Scotia vessel was re-captured by Lieut Benjamin Belcher. The second Nova Scotia vessel was overtaken by the captured crew under the command of Captain Bishop. The privateers were taken to Cornwallis and put on trial.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raid on Charlottetown (1775)</span> 1775 military operation

The Raid on Charlottetown of 17–18 November 1775, early in the American Revolutionary War, involved two American privateers of the Marblehead Regiment attacking and pillaging Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, then known as St. John's Island. The raid motivated Nova Scotia Governor Francis Legge to declare martial law. Despite the raid's success, George Washington immediately freed senior colonial officials the privateers had brought back as prisoners to Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raid on Chester, Nova Scotia</span>

The Raid on Chester occurred during the American Revolution when the US privateer, Captain Noah Stoddard of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, and four other privateer vessels attacked the British settlement at Chester, Nova Scotia on 30 June 1782. The town was defended by Captain Jonathan Prescott and Captain Jacob Millett.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Ropes</span>

Captain David Ropes was a notable American privateer from Salem, Massachusetts who fought in numerous naval battles during the American Revolutionary War. He was taken prisoner twice during the war and then killed in the Battle off Halifax (1782).

Captain William Williams was an American naval officer in the American Revolution. He was imprisoned twice by the British and participated in the Battle off Halifax (1780).

References

  1. William Williams [usurped] at awiatsea.com; Retrieved 16 February 2021
  2. Gardner Weld, Massachusetts privateers of the Revolution (1927) at babel.hathihursttrust.org, p. 317
  3. Gardner Weld, Massachusetts privateers of the Revolution (1927) at babel.hathihursttrust.org, p. 156
  4. Capture of ship in 1777
  5. 1 2 Viper (William Williams) [usurped] at awiatsea.com; Retrieved 16 February 2021
  6. 1 2 Murdoch, Beamish (1866). A History of Nova-Scotia, Or Acadie. Vol. II. Halifax: J. Barnes. p.  608.
  7. Plunder & Pillage: Atlantic Canada's Brutal and Bloodthirsty Pirates and ... By Harold Horwood, p. 134
  8. Benjamin Franklin also engaged France in the war, which meant that many of the privateers were also from France.
  9. Roger Marsters (2004). Bold Privateers: Terror, Plunder and Profit on Canada's Atlantic Coast, p. 87-89
  10. p. 78
  11. Murdoch, Beamish (1866). A History of Nova-Scotia, Or Acadie. Vol. II. Halifax: J. Barnes. p.  600.

44°26′10″N63°33′43″W / 44.436°N 63.562°W / 44.436; -63.562