On 13 October 1775, acting on intelligence received concerning the dispatch of supply vessels from Britain, the Continental Congress authorized the acquisition of two ships and the appointment of a three man Naval Committee to oversee their acquisition and fitting out. At that time, one vessel was specified as being of 10 guns while the other was not of a specified size.[1] On 30 October 1775, The issue was again revisited by Congress and the second vessel was specified as being of 14 guns while two more, larger vessels were authorized.[2] Even though the first vessel was specified as 10 guns, the footnotes in for the entry on the 30th from the compilation known as "Naval Documents of the American Revolution" specifies the first authorization as being the Cabot while the second is the Andrew Doria (1775 brig). The newly authorized ships are identified as the USS Columbus (1774) and the USS Alfred (1774).
Sailing with Commodore Esek Hopkins' fleet, Cabot joined in the expedition against the Bahamas in March 1776, taking part in the amphibious operations against New Providence on 3 March. By this bold stroke, men of the fleet seized large quantities of desperately needed military supplies which they carried back to the Continental Army. Upon the return of the fleet north, Cabot was first to fire in the engagement with HMS Glasgow on 6 April. The next month, she made a short cruise off the New England coast, during which she took her first prize. In September and October, again sailing in New England waters, she seized six more prizes.
Under the command of Captain Joseph Olney, Cabot stood out of Boston weeks before on 28 March 1777 the vessel (140 men) encountered HMS Milford (32), under the command of Captain John Burr, in the Battle off Yarmouth (1777).[3] The vastly more powerful British ship chased Cabot and forced her ashore near the mouth of the Chebogue, Nova Scotia.[4][5] While Cabot's captain and crew escaped into the woods unharmed, the British were later able to get the brig off, and refitted her for service in the Royal Navy.
She stands out as the first American armed vessel to engage an enemy. According to Brigadier General Edwin H. Simmons' research, the act was initiated by a Continental Marine in the tops of the Cabot throwing a hand grenade at the feet of the British officer, who at that point was still waiting for a reply from the American vessel.
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 relatively substantial force throughout the Revolutionary War, owing partially to the substantial efforts of the Continental Navy's 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.
The first USS Hornet was a merchant sloop chartered from Captain William Stone in December 1775 to serve under Stone as a unit of Esek Hopkins' Fleet. The voyage would be the first military action for master's mate Joshua Barney. The vessel was damaged while sailing with the fleet and returned to base. Hornet patrolled Delaware Bay until being captured on 27 April 1777 by the Royal Navy. Hornet was taken to and taken to Jamaica, where the ship was found to be leaking and was condemned.
USS Ranger was a sloop-of-war in the Continental Navy in active service in 1777–1780, the first to bear her name. Built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Badger's Island in Kittery, Maine, she is famed for the one-ship raiding campaign by Captain John Paul Jones, during naval operations of the American Revolutionary War. In six months spent primarily in British waters she captured five prizes, staged a single failed attack on the English mainland at Whitehaven, and caused Royal Navy ships to be dispatched against her in the Irish Sea.
Alfred was the merchant vessel Black Prince, named for Edward, the Black Prince, and launched in 1774. The Continental Navy of what would become the United States Navy acquired her in 1775, renamed her Alfred after 9th century English monarch Alfred the Great, and commissioned her as a warship. She participated in two major actions, the battle of Nassau, and the action of 6 April 1776. The Royal Navy captured her in 1778, took her into service as HMS Alfred, and sold her in 1782. She then became the merchantman Alfred, and sailed between London and Jamaica.
Andrew Doria was a brig purchased by the Continental Congress in November 1775. She is most famous for her participation in the Battle of Nassau—the first amphibious engagement by the Continental Navy and the Continental Marines—and for being the first United States vessel to receive a salute from a foreign power.
Nicholas Biddle was one of the first five captains of the Continental Navy, which was raised by the Continental Congress during the American Revolutionary War. Biddle was born in Philadelphia in 1750. He began sailing at the age of 13 and joined the Royal Navy when he was 20. In 1773, he sailed the Arctic with Constantine Phipps and Horatio Nelson. When the Revolutionary War began in 1775, Biddle joined the Continental Navy and commanded several ships. In 1778 off the coast of Barbados, Biddle confronted HMS Yarmouth, a 64-gun British warship. After a twenty-minute battle, Biddle's ship Randolph suddenly exploded, killing him and most of his men. Four ships of the U.S. Navy have been named in his honor.
USS Raleigh was one of thirteen ships that the Continental Congress authorized for the Continental Navy in 1775. Following her capture in 1778, she served in the Royal Navy as HMS Raleigh. The ship is featured on the flag and seal of New Hampshire.
Isaiah Robinson was a captain in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War.
The first USS Hancock was an armed schooner under the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. She was named for patriot and Continental Congress member John Hancock. Congress returned her to her owner in 1777.
John Manley (c.1733–1793) was an officer in the Continental Navy and the United States Navy. Manley was appointed commodore of "George Washington's fleet."
The first USS Randolph was a 32-gun frigate in the Continental Navy named for Founding Father Peyton Randolph, the president of the First Continental Congress.
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 Lively was a 20-gun post ship of the Royal Navy, launched in 1756. During the Seven Years' War she captured several vessels, most notably the French corvette Valeur in 1760. She then served during the American Revolutionary War, where she helped initiate the Battle of Bunker Hill. The French captured her in 1778, but the British recaptured her in 1781. She was sold in 1784.
HMS Ariel was a 20-gun Sphinx-class sixth-rate post ship of the Royal Navy. The French captured her in 1779, and she served during the American Revolutionary War for them, and later for the Americans, before reverting to French control. Her French crew scuttled Ariel in 1793 to prevent the British from recapturing her.
The Battle of Barbados was fought in March 1778 during the American Revolutionary War. While escorting a fleet of American ships in the West Indies, the frigate USS Randolph was attacked by the British ship-of-the-line HMS Yarmouth. The following action resulted in America's most costly naval defeat, in terms of human lives, until the sinking of USS Arizona in 1941.
HMS Milford was a 28-gun Coventry-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She was built at Milford by Richard Chitty and launched in 1759. She was sold for breaking at Woolwich on 17 May 1785.
HMS Diligent was a brig the Royal Navy purchased in 1777. The Continental Navy captured her in May 1779 and took her into service as the USS Diligent. She then participated in the disastrous Penobscot Expedition where her crew had to scuttle her in August to prevent her capture.
The first USS Mosquito was believed to have been purchased at Philadelphia late in 1775 for the new Continental Navy. She patrolled the Delaware River until destroyed during the British capture of Philadelphia led by the Howe brothers and completed by them in October 1777. The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS) has identified this ship as a sloop, yet records from the period which are believed to refer to the ship have consistently identified her as being a schooner. These records also provide a bit more detail of her fate, indicating she was burned after capture in July 1777 during Royal Navy operations along the Delaware River.
The Battle off Yarmouth took place on 28 March 1777 during the American Revolutionary War off the coast of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. The battle is the first American armed vessel to engage the British Navy. The British vessel HMS Milford forced the American USS Cabot aground and the American crew escaped among the inhabitants of Yarmouth.
Joseph Olney was a native of Rhode Island and a leading naval officer during the American Revolution who was involved in the Raid of Nassau, Battle of Block Island and the Battle off Yarmouth (1777), among other naval engagements.
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