Battle of Block Island
Battle of Block Island | |||||||
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Part of the American Revolutionary War | |||||||
USS Alfred being prepared for her maiden voyage | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Great Britain | United Colonies | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Tryingham Howe | Esek Hopkins | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
HMS Glasgow | 7 ships | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1 killed 3 wounded[1] |
10 killed 14 wounded[2] |
The Battle of Block Island was a naval skirmish which took place in the waters off
.Glasgow escaped from the fleet of seven ships, although it sustained significant damage, and the battle is considered a victory for the British.[3] Several captains of the Continental fleet were criticized for their actions during the battle, and one was eventually dismissed as a result. Commodore Hopkins was criticized for other actions pertaining to the cruise, including the distribution of seized goods, and was also dismissed.
Background
HMS Glasgow was a sixth-rate 20-gun frigate of the Royal Navy. In early April 1776 under the command of Capt. Tryingham Howe, it was carrying dispatches from Newport, Rhode Island to the British fleet off Charleston, South Carolina.[4][5] This fleet had been assembled to launch an assault on Charleston, which ultimately failed in the June Battle of Sullivan's Island.[6]
The Second Continental Congress had established the Continental Navy in late 1775.[7] By February 1776, the first ships of the fleet were ready for their maiden voyage. Commodore Esek Hopkins was to lead a fleet of eight ships on an expedition to the Bahamas, where the British were known to have military stores. In early March, the fleet[8] landed marines on the island of New Providence and captured the town of Nassau.[9][10] The fleet sailed north on March 17, now including two captured prize ships, all loaded up with cargo captured from military stores. One ship was dispatched to Philadelphia, while the rest of the fleet sailed for the Block Island channel.[11] The fleet's cruise was marked by outbreaks of a variety of diseases, including fevers and smallpox, which significantly reduced the crew's effectiveness.[1]
By April 4, the fleet reached the waters off
Battle
The battle took place on an exceptionally clear night with a nearly full moon. USS Andrew Doria and HMS Glasgow spotted each other between 1:00 and 2:00 am on April 6, about eight leagues (20 to 24 nautical miles) southeast of Block Island with the fleet headed in a generally southerly direction.[13][14] Glasgow was heading west, destined for Charleston. Captain Howe came about to investigate the fleet and closed to within hailing distance over the next 30 minutes. Commodore Hopkins gave no signals during this time, so the fleet formed no battle line. This resulted in a battle that Captain Nicholas Biddle of Andrew Doria later described as "helter-skelter".[5]
Howe first came upon USS Cabot, whose captain was Esek Hopkins' son John. Glasgow hailed Cabot for identification, to which the younger Hopkins replied, "The
However, Glasgow was now exposed to fire from three ships, so Howe decided to break off the battle, in order to avoid being boarded, and made sail for Newport. Despite extensive damage to the sail and rigging, he pulled away from the pursuing fleet, which was fully laden with its captured goods.[4] Hopkins called off the chase after several hours in order to avoid an encounter with the British squadron at Newport. His only prize was Glasgow's tender,[1] which the fleet brought to anchor in New London, Connecticut on April 8.[17]
Aftermath
HMS Glasgow suffered one killed and three wounded, a low number which some consider to be evidence of poor quality in the Continental fleet's gunnery; all of the casualties were due to musket fire.[1] Four were killed and seven wounded aboard Cabot; USS Alfred had six killed and six wounded, and Andrew Doria's drummer was wounded.[2]
Continental Congress President
Commodore Hopkins came under scrutiny from Congress over matters unrelated to the Block Island action. He had violated his written orders to sail to Virginia and the Carolinas, traveling to Nassau instead. He also distributed the goods taken during the cruise in Connecticut and Rhode Island without consulting Congress.[21] He was censured for these transgressions. A number of the fleet's ships suffered from crew shortages and became trapped at Providence, Rhode Island by the British occupation of Newport late in 1776 and, thus, failed to sail again.[22] In January 1778, Hopkins was dismissed from the Navy.
HMS Glasgow returned to Newport, suffering from the battle and having dumped her dispatches. She was found to be in bad shape; she was made as seaworthy as possible and sent to Portsmouth for repairs. Her mission was reassigned to HMS Nautilus, another ship in the Newport squadron.[23]
See also
- American Revolutionary War § Early Engagements. The Battle of Block Island placed in overall sequence and strategic context.
Notes
- ^ a b c d e Morgan, p. 44
- ^ a b Coggins, p. 29
- ^ "Battle of Block Island (April 6, 1776) Summary & Facts". totallyhistory.com. 11 September 2012. Archived from the original on 2016-12-01. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
- ^ a b c d Morgan, p. 43
- ^ a b c Morison, p. 70
- ^ Greene, p. 184
- ^ Morison, pp. 57–58
- ^ The fleet was reduced by one due to tangled riggings en route
- ^ Morison, pp. 67–68
- ^ Field, p. 117
- ^ Field, pp. 118–119
- ^ Field, p. 120
- ^ The Gentleman's Magazine, p. 259
- ^ Morison, pp. 70–71
- ^ Morison, p. 72
- ^ Morison, p. 73
- ^ Morgan, p. 45
- ^ Thomas, p. 52
- ^ Morgan, p. 47
- ^ Morgan, pp. 47–48
- ^ Morgan, p. 49
- ^ Morgan, pp. 49–52
- ^ Clarke, Volume 4, pp. 681, 1157
References
- Clark, William Bell, ed. (1970). Naval Documents of the American Revolution (PDF). Vol. 4. Washington: US Department of the Navy. OCLC 469688874.
- Coggins, Jack (2002). Ships and Seamen of the American Revolution. Mineola, NY: Courier Dover. OCLC 48795929.
- Field, Edward (1898). Esek Hopkins, Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Navy During the American Revolution, 1775 to 1778. Providence, RI: Preston & Rounds. OCLC 3430958.
- Greene, Francis Vinton (1911). The Revolutionary War and the military policy of the United States. New York: C. Scribner's Sons. OCLC 952029.
- Morgan, William James (1959). Captains to the Northward. Barre, MA: Barre Publishing. OCLC 1558276.
- Morison, Samuel Eliot (1999) [1959]. John Paul Jones: A Sailor's Biography. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. OCLC 42716061.
- Thomas, Evan (2004). John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy. New York: Simon and Schuster. OCLC 56321227.
- The Gentleman's Magazine, Volume 46. London: D. Henry. 1776. OCLC 1570611. Reprints Howe's report.