Rhode Island State Navy

Last updated

The Rhode Island State Navy was the first colonial or state navy established after the American Revolutionary War began in April 1775 with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. On the following June 15, the General Assembly authorized the acquisition of two ships for the purpose of defending the colony's trade. The state's ships were generally used for defensive operations within Narragansett Bay, although some prizes were taken. The state was also one of the first to authorize privateering.

Contents

Early establishment and legislative history

Following the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, the Royal Navy sent HMS Rose, a frigate commanded James Wallace as captain to put a halt to smuggling out of Newport. On June 13, 1775, Nicholas Cooke, the colony's lieutenant governor, officially asked Wallace to return two ships he had captured. Two days later, the General Assembly authorized the Committee of Safety to acquire two ships for the purpose of defending the colony's trade, established a committee to oversee the acquisition and fitting of the ships, and appointed Abraham Whipple as commodore of the fleet. Two sloops were purchased, called Katy and Washington. Commodore Whipple reported that the same day, June 15, he captured a tender of Rose. The navy was organized under, and subject to the direction of, the state's militia generals.

In January 1776 two more ships were authorized, and an admiralty court was established to adjudicate maritime matters, including the distribution of prizes. The legislation also authorized the governor to issue letters of marque, making privateering possible. The latter legislation was amended the following May to harmonize it with Continental Navy regulations. About 200 ships engaged in privateering on behalf of the state.

The General Assembly authorized two more armed ships in 1777, but neither was apparently acquired. It also authorized the purchase of merchant ships for the state's use, which resulted in the acquisition two sloops, Aurora and Diamond. Further authorizations occurred in 1778 in supported of an anticipated expedition to expel the British from Newport (which failed in the August Battle of Rhode Island), but were only fulfilled later, with the acquisition of the galley Pigot and the sloop Argo, which were commanded by Continental Army Lieutenant Colonel Silas Talbot.

The last ship commissioned by the state of Rhode Island was Rover, a sloop that saw only brief service in 1781.

Katy and Washington primarily cruised in Narragansett Bay in 1775. In August, General George Washington, seeking any possible supplies of gunpowder, suggested that the Rhode Island ships be used for an expedition to Nassau where there was believed to be a supply of gunpowder. Katy was sent on this errand in September, returning without success, as the powder had been removed. She was then used in November to transport Esek Hopkins and other recruits to Philadelphia for service in the recently created Continental Navy. On her arrival there, she was commissioned into the Continental Navy as Providence.

Washington's fate is uncertain; she sometimes left the bay to warn arriving ships of British threats, but was not particularly seaworthy, and was probably returned to her original owner.

In January 1776 two row galleys, named Spitfire and Washington, were added to the fleet. Both saw service in the defense of New York City in the fall of 1776, but returned to Rhode Island waters. Spitfire ran aground at the northern end of Rhode Island in March 1777 and was burned to prevent her capture by the British. [1] [ dubious discuss ]Washington was reported to blow up near Bristol in April 1777. [2]

Colonel Talbot, as commander of Pigot and Argo, captured a number of prizes, and was ultimately rewarded with a Continental Navy commission; the two ships ended their service in 1780.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Continental Navy</span> American navy of the Revolutionary War (1775–1785)

The Continental Navy was the navy of the Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolutionary War. Founded on October 13, 1775, the fleet developed into a substantial force throughout the Revolutionary War, owing partially to the efforts of naval patrons within the Continental Congress. These congressional patrons included the likes of John Adams, who served as the chairman of the Naval Committee until 1776, when Commodore Esek Hopkins received instruction from the Continental Congress to assume command of the force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham Whipple</span> Continental Navy officer, pioneer to the Ohio Country

Commander Abraham Whipple was an American naval officer best known for his service in the Continental Navy during the Revolutionary War and being one of the founders of Marietta, Ohio. Born near Providence, Colony of Rhode Island, Whipple chose to be a seafarer early in his life and embarked on a career in the lucrative trade with the West Indies, working for Moses and John Brown. In the French and Indian War period, he became a privateersman and commanded privateer Game Cock from 1759 to 1760. In one six-month cruise, he captured 23 French ships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silas Talbot</span> American military officer and slave trader (1751–1813)

Captain Silas Talbot was an American military officer and slave trader. He served in the Continental Army and Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War, and is most famous for commanding USS Constitution from 1799 to 1801. Talbot was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati's branch in New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esek Hopkins</span> American naval officer, merchant captain, and privateer

Esek Hopkins was an American naval officer, merchant captain, and privateer. Achieving the rank of Commodore, Hopkins was the only Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. The Continental Congress commissioned him as Commander-in-Chief of the Navy in December 1775.

USS <i>Providence</i> (1775) Sloop-of-war of the United States Navy

USS Providence was a sloop-of-war in the Continental Navy, originally chartered by the Rhode Island General Assembly as Katy. The ship took part in a number of campaigns during the first half of the American Revolutionary War before being destroyed by her own crew in 1779 to prevent her falling into the hands of the British after the failed Penobscot Expedition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Hope Bay raids</span> Series of military raids by British troops during the American Revolutionary War

The Mount Hope Bay raids were a series of military raids conducted by British troops during the American Revolutionary War against communities on the shores of Mount Hope Bay on May 25 and 31, 1778. The towns of Bristol and Warren, Rhode Island were significantly damaged, and Freetown, Massachusetts was also attacked, although its militia resisted British attacks more successfully. The British destroyed military defenses in the area, including supplies that had been cached by the Continental Army in anticipation of an assault on British-occupied Newport, Rhode Island. Homes as well as municipal and religious buildings were also destroyed in the raids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Carolina Navy</span>

A South Carolina Navy has been formed twice by the State of South Carolina. The first time was during the American Revolutionary War, in which the state purchased and outfitted armed vessels independent of the Continental Navy. The second time was during the American Civil War, when its navy was also distinct from the Confederate States Navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Navy</span> Naval force of Pennsylvania during the American Revolution

The Pennsylvania Navy served as the naval force of Pennsylvania during the American Revolution and afterward, until the formation of the United States Navy. The navy's vessels served almost exclusively on the Delaware River, and were active in first defending the approaches to the city of Philadelphia during the British campaign that successfully occupied the city in 1777, and then preventing the Royal Navy from resupplying the occupying army.

HMS <i>Rose</i> (1757) Seaford-class Royal Navy vessel

HMS Rose was a 20-gun Seaford-class post ship of the Royal Navy, built at Blaydes Yard in Hull, England in 1757 and in service until 1779. Her activities in suppressing smuggling in the colony of Rhode Island provoked the formation of what became the Continental Navy, precursor of the modern United States Navy. She was based at the North American station in the West Indies and then used in the American Revolutionary War. A replica was built in 1970, then modified to match HMS Surprise, and used in two films, Master and Commander: Far Side of the World and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia State Navy</span>

A Virginia State Navy existed twice. During the American Revolutionary War, the provisional government of the Virginia Colony authorized the purchase, outfitting, and manning of armed vessels to protect the colony's waters from threats posed it by the Royal Navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massachusetts Naval Militia</span> Military unit

The Massachusetts Naval Militia, was a naval militia active during the American Revolutionary War. It was founded December 29, 1775, to defend the interests of Massachusetts during the war.

USS <i>Fly</i> Sloops-of-war of the United States Navy

USS Fly was an eight-gun sloop in the Continental Navy. She was part of a squadron that raided the port of Nassau and engaged the 20-gun HMS Glasgow.

USS <i>Washington</i> (1776 row galley)

USS Washington was a large row galley, with a rowing crew of 60, that was placed into service under the control of the Continental Congress in 1776. During this age of sail, row galleys were highly maneuverable compared to sailing ships whose movements were dependent on the wind. Washington's war record consisted of an attack on several British warships, and, after finding itself on the losing side of the battle, the row galley rowed away, out of danger. There is no further report of her efforts for the Continental Navy.

USS Spitfire was a row galley authorized and constructed by Rhode Island during the American Revolution, and was placed in service in 1776 in the Rhode Island Navy. During this age of sail, row galleys were highly maneuverable compared to sailing ships whose movements were dependent on the wind. Spitfire had a reportedly successful career, helping to capture British cargo ships and engaging in the fight against British warships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American colonial marines</span> Early Marine force of the American revolutionary forces

American colonial marines were various naval infantry units which served during the Revolutionary War on the Patriot side. After the conflict broke out in 1775, nine of the rebelling Thirteen Colonies established state navies to carry out naval operations. Accordingly, several marine units were raised to serve as an infantry component aboard the ships of these navies. The marines, along with the navies they served in, were intended initially as a stopgap measure to provide the Patriots with naval capabilities before the Continental Navy reached a significant level of strength. After its establishment, state navies, and the marines serving in them, participated in several operations alongside the Continental Navy and its marines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connecticut State Navy</span>

The Connecticut State Navy was the colonial navy of Connecticut during the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1775, all of its ships were destroyed or captured by 1779. In the remaining years of the war a few smaller ships were commissioned to interdict smuggling between the Connecticut shore and Tory-controlled Long Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia State Navy</span>

During the American Revolutionary War, the Georgia State Navy consisted of only a few ships, most of which were destroyed in 1778 and 1779.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Carolina State Navy</span>

The North Carolina State Navy during the American Revolutionary War consisted of a relatively modest number of ships, and was active from 1776 to 1779. The state and the Continental Congress were concerned about the defense of Pamlico Sound, and the key Ocracoke Inlet, through which a large number of inbound merchant ships traveled, bringing war-related supplies from Europe and the West Indies.

HMS <i>Kingfisher</i> (1770) Sloop of the Royal Navy

HMS Kingfisher was the second ship in the 14-gun Swan class of ship sloops, to which design 25 vessels were built in the 1760s and 1770s. She was launched on 13 July 1770 at Chatham Dockyard, and completed there on 21 November 1770. She took part in the American Revolutionary War, enforcing the blockade of the Delaware Bay, and served in the Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet, near Cape May, New Jersey. While under the temporary command of Lieutenant Hugh Christian, she was burnt by her own crew to avoid capture on 7 August 1778 in Narragansett Bay during the Battle of Rhode Island.

Two vessels of the Royal Navy have borne the name, HM galley Pigot. Both were acquired in 1778 during the American Revolutionary War, and both were lost that year; her crew destroyed the first to avoid her capture, and the Americans captured the second. Both were named for General Sir Robert Pigot, the general commanding the British Army at Newport, Rhode Island, during their service there.

References

  1. Field, p. 136
  2. Arnold, p. 299