Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of neglected naval clashes of the Revolutionary War.
MAY 21st, 1777 – Off St Augustine, FL the USS Comet waged an all-night battle with the HMS Apalachicola until the British ship had lost all sails and riggings and was forced to surrender.
APRIL 27th, 1778 – THE John Paul Jones, leading a detachment from the USS Ranger, raided the British port of Whitehaven. The detachment’s commando-style raid resulted in three British ships being burned whole and in the spiking of all the guns at three fortresses that previously had kept American ships from daring entry to the area. *** Later that day Jones led a similar detachment against St Mary’s Isle, Scotland, hoping to capture the Earl of Selkirk to use as a hostage in order to negotiate for better treatment of American prisoners of war. Unfortunately the raiders found Selkirk was off on business and returned to the Ranger empty-handed.
APRIL 28th, 1778 – With several British battleships now searching for the Ranger, John Paul Jones sailed for Belfast, Ireland, where the 20-gun HMS Drake lie. The Drake came out to engage the Ranger in battle and after an hour-long fight the British ship surrendered, with forty British dead compared to just two American dead.
JUNE 19th, 1778 – The USS Defence and Volant out of Charleston, SC battled three British privateer vessels, the Active, the Ranger and the Governor Tonyn’s Revenge. After a prolonged battle the American ships captured two of the British ships with only the Active escaping.
NOVEMBER 28th, 1778 – The USS General Moultrie, patroling off the South Carolina coast, battled a privateer ship crewed by Americans loyal to Great Britain. After a game of maneuvering and cannonfire the two ships joined, with the American crew defeating the Loyalists.
JUNE 26th, 1779 – At Stono River, SC, the USS Notre Dame, Bellona and Beaufort battled seven British ships transporting supplies to Gibbes Plantation. Two of the British ships were captured, one was blown up and the rest retreated from the area.
SEPTEMBER 23rd, 1779 – The Battle of Flamborough Head, England. This battle is fairly well-known but I included it anyway. John Paul Jones’ USS Bonhomme Richard battled the more heavily armed HMS Serapis in a blood-bath that saw half of the crews of both ships killed. The four-hour struggle ended around 10:30 pm when Jones’ men at last successfully boarded the Serapis and defeated the crew. The Bonhomme Richard was so damaged Jones and his men had to sail off on the Serapis, with the former crew held as prisoners of war.
JUNE 1781 (exact date disputed) – At Edenton Harbor, SC the local militia attacked and captured the foundered HMS General Arnold, which had been sailing the Chowan River burning American ships.
AUGUST 1782 (exact date disputed) – Near Halifax, NC the HMS Packhorse, carrying dozens of American prisoners of war, was captured when the POW’s, led by Lt Edward Barnell, seized control of the ship and sailed into Halifax with the British crew as captives.
FOR PART ONE CLICK HERE: https://glitternight.com/2013/07/02/revolutionary-war-forgotten-naval-battles/
FOR THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR ACTIVITIES OF ALL 59 SIGNERS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDNCE CLICK HERE: https://glitternight.com/2012/07/03/sacred-honor-quick-facts-about-the-signers-of-the-declaration-of-independence/
© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Balladeer's Blog 
a merchant ship rebuilt and given to America by the French shipping magnate, Jacques-Donatien Le Ray . On August 14, as a vast French and Spanish invasion fleet approached England, he provided a diversion by heading for Ireland at the head of a five ship squadron including the 36-gun Alliance , 32-gun Pallas , 12-gun Vengeance , and Le Cerf , also accompanied by two privateers, Monsieur and Granville. When the squadron was only a few days out of Groix , Monsieur separated due to a disagreement between her captain and Jones. Several Royal Navy warships were sent towards Ireland in pursuit of Jones, but on this occasion, he continued right around the north of Scotland into the North Sea , creating near-panic all along Britain’s east coast as far south as the Humber estuary. Jones’s main problems, as on his previous voyage, resulted from insubordination, particularly by Pierre Landais, captain of the Alliance.
Thanks for the additional item!
The sloop departed Portsmouth 24 February,1779 joining with the Continental Navy ships Queen of France and Warren in preying on British shipping in the North Atlantic. Seven prizes were captured early in April, and brought safely into port for sale. On 18 June, Ranger was underway again with Providence and Queen of France, capturing two Jamaicamen in July and nine more vessels off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Of the 11 prizes, three were recaptured, but the remaining eight, with their cargoes, were worth over a million dollars when sold in Boston.
Nice addition!
Neither the consideration of the relative force of the ships, the fact of the blowing up of the gundeck above them by the bursting of two of the eighteen pounders, nor the alarm that the ship was sinking, could depress the ardor or change the determination of the brave Captain Jones, his officers and men. Neither the repeated broadsides of the Alliance, given with a view of sinking or disabling the Bonhomme Richard, the frequent necessity of suspending the combat to extinguish the flames, which several times were within a few inches of the magazine, nor the liberation by the master-at-arms of nearly five hundred prisoners, could change or weaken the purpose of the American commander. At the moment of the liberation of the prisoners, one of them, a commander of a twenty-gun ship taken a few days before, passed through the ports on board the Serapis, and informed Captain Pearson that if he would hold out only a little while longer, the ship alongside would either strike or sink, and that all the prisoners had been released to save their lives. The combat was accordingly continued with renewed ardor by the Serapis.
Interestaing!
The sloop departed Portsmouth 24 February,1779 joining with the Continental Navy ships Queen of France and Warren in preying on British shipping in the North Atlantic. Seven prizes were captured early in April, and brought safely into port for sale. On 18 June, Ranger was underway again with Providence and Queen of France, capturing two Jamaicamen in July and nine more vessels off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Of the 11 prizes, three were recaptured, but the remaining eight, with their cargoes, were worth over a million dollars when sold in Boston.
Wow
Didn’t know the names of most of these ships.
I’m always glad to spread the word!
Pingback: NAVAL BATTLES OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR | Balladeer's Blog
Pingback: Homepage
thanks
I’d rather have Lin Dans WC-final T-shirt!!!
Those were pretty stirring times.
I agree.