1776: Gleanings From the Year as Reported in the Pages of the Providence Gazette

Oct. 19^th 1776

Capt. Coffin in the Privateer Favorite has taken and sent into port a schooner from Dominica bound to New Foundland …with Rum[,] Coffee[,] limes &c.

We hear the Brig Cabot^[78] in the service of the United States has taken several prizes.

The Montgomery^[79] and Eagle^[80] Privateers have taken and sent into a Port, the Westward a Schooner from Capt. Nicholas Mole bound to Halifax having on board 9,000 gallons of molasses and 6,000 weight of Sugar. The privateer had been out but 24 hours when they took this vessel.

Oct. 26, 1776

The Brig Cabot Elisha Hinman^[81] Commander, in the service of the United states has taken two ships from Jamaica bound to London laden with Sugar, Rum, and Indigo.

Capt. Stucy^[82] in the Privateer Diamond^[83] has taken a ship bound from Quebec to England laden with Coal, Coffee, kettles & c.

Capt. Christopher Whipple^[84] in the Privateer Brig Gen. Putnam^[85] has taken a ship bound from Antigua to England laden with sugar.

Capt. Pearce^[86] in a Privateer belonging to East Greenwich has taken a shop bound from Nova Scotia to Jamaica laden with fish, boards, Spars & c.

Capt. Jouncy in the Privateer Washington belonging to the state of New York has taken a large Snow laden with provisions & c. bound from London to New York.

All above prizes have arrived in a safe port as also two others lately mentioned to have been taken by the Providence sloop of war in the service of the United states[,] John P. Jones Esq. Commander.

November 2^nd

“Capt. Stacy in the Diamond privateer has taken a Brig having on boards 1500 (?) of codfish bound from Newfoundland to Spain and sent her into a safe port.”

“Capt. Pierce in a Privateer belonging to East Greenwich has taken a Brig laden with Sugar[,] Rum[,] Cotton[,] ..&c. bound…to Liverpool.”

“Another prize we hear has been taken by a Greenwich privateer. Both of them safe arrived.”

“We just learn that the Brig Cabot Elisha Himman Esq. Commander in the service of the United States has taken and sent in to a safe port a Ship from Jamaica bound for England mounting 16 carriage guns with 70 Hogshead od sugar on board.”

Williamsburg Va., November 3^rd

“By the last South Carolina Gazette we learn that General Howe^[87] and the brave Colonel Moultrie^[88] were just returned to Charlestown from Georgia; and that there had been two skirmishes to the southward, in both of which our people were successful, but no particulars are mentioned; that a French sloop, with a valuable cargo of warlike stores, linen, wine, molasses, &c. was also arrived from Martinico.”

November 16^th

“The Privateer June Capt. William Chase^[89] will sail on Sunday night [Nov. 17]. The officers and Men are desired to repair on board.”

Philadelphia, November 21^st

“A return of the killed and wounded in the engagement at Mount Washington is not yet arrived. It is certain the enemy have paid very dear for it, as, from the best accounts, it appears they have at least 2000 killed or wounded, which is a greater number than we had engaged.” ^[90]

Providence, November 23^rd

“Capt. John Tillinghast^[91] in the Privateer Sloop Independence^[92] of 8 guns belonging to this place has taken and carried into a safe port a ship of 300 tons, mounting 16 carriage guns[,] 3 or 4 pounders[,] 8 swivels and having on board 30 men. Among them a Sergeant, Corporal, and 11 private soldiers. She was bound from Cork to the enemy at New York laden with a valuable cargo of provisions &c.

Capt. Tillinghast engaged her about 20 minutes and then boarded her when the men were seen drive from their quarters leaving the Captain alone to defend the Ship. Capt. Tillinghast was shot through the body by a musket ball but is recovered[,] three of his men were likewise wounded and two killed on board the prize, the Sergeant and two soldiers were killed and their Captain and six men wounded.

Another ship of 14 guns and a Brig mounting 8 swivels were in his company. Capt. Tillinghast exchanged a few Broadsides with the former after securing his prize when they thought proper to sheer off. The cargo of the prize consists of 1197 weight of Beef[,] 47880 weight [of] Pork[,] 14625 weight of butter[,] 48754 weight of Oatmeal, 140280 weight of Flour, 44800 weight of Bread, 1200 bushels of Peas, 1 Ton of Powder, a quantity of cannon ball[,] 6 tons of cordage &c.

A large number of provision ships were to leave Cork soon after the above vessel sailed most of them armed and to sail 10 or 12 in company.”

The names of the men killed on the privateer are John Angrers of Salem and Peter Ingerfield of Cambridge or Boston.”

November 23^rd

“The Privateer Montgomery has taken a Schooner from New Foundland bound to Jamaica laden with fish and sent her into a safe port.”

November 30^th

“Capt. West in the privateer Joseph^[93] has taken a transport ship that left New York in company with 13 sail, all in ballast bound to Europe under convoy of the Men of War.

Capt. West has also taken a (?) man that had been captured by a Philadelphia privateer and twice retaken by the enemy.”

“Capt. Hacker^[94] of the Sloop Providence in the service of the United States in company with the ship Alfred^[95] has taken a ship from England bound for Quebec with 12000 suits of clothing, 4000 stands of Arms, a quantity of Powder and other worthwhile stores. Also a Brig from England with provisions to the amount of 6,000 Sterling. The Brig is arrived at a safe port and the ship was left in the company with the Alfred.”

New York, December 1^st

“Thursday last, several transports full of troops and military stores passed up the East River into Connecticut Sound. At the same time, Mr. Peter Parker and Mr. Hotham with the Asia, Renown, and other men of war fell down to the Narrows, in order to join the above transports, as is supposed, about the east end of Long Island. Various conjectures are raised concerning their destination.”^[96]

Hartford, December 2^nd

“…We hear Generals Washington, Putnam, and Stirling are all at Elizabethtown, in New Jersey, with about 6,000 of the Continental troops, and that they have lately been reinforced with 12 or 1400 men from Pennsylvania and New-Jersy, and more were continually coming in to their assistance.”^[97]

Newport, December 2^nd

Last Friday [Nov. 29] 3 ships were seen cruising all day a little to the east of Sakonnet Point^[98] and thence to westward and about sunset they stood off south.”

December 7^th

“Sunday last (Dec. 1) 11 Sail of the Enemy’s Fleet left from New York and were discovered between Montauk Point and Block Island any by authentic accounts we have received we learn they consist of seven Ships from 40 to 60 guns and carry from 28 to 36 guns. They came to anchor the same evening near the West End of Block Island and next morning sailed up the western Sound where we hear they have been joined by upwards of 100 sail of transports.

By an express early this morning we learn that the above mentioned Fleet was seen last night and is supposed to be coming into the Harbour of Newport.

Saturday last, (Nov. 30) as the Yankee Ranger Privateer^[99] was coming up the bay from a cruise she was overset near Prudence by a sudden gust of wind where five of her crew were drowned.”

Boston, Dec. 9^th

“Last Saturday afternoon, Capt. St. Barbe in a vessel belonging to Newburyport arrived at Squam from Bilboa, in 30 days, with whom came passenger Mr. George Cabot of Beverly, Merchant, who informs that the Spanish and French ports are open to our Cruisers and their prizes, and that they permit the American vessels to carry the American flag in their ports…”^[100]

December 14^th

“Saturday morning last (Dec. 7) Commodore Sir Peter Parker^[101] with about 70 Sail of Men of War and Transports came into our Bay from New York and anchored above the Harbour of Newport. On Sunday they landed a Body of Troops under the General Clinton and Piercy ^[102] who took possession of the Town[.] The inhabitants having previously determined that the place was not defensible against the enemy’s Shipping the few troops we had on the Island retreated to Bristol leaving behind them some pieces of Artillery. By the last accounts yet received the Enemy’s Troops do not consist of more than 5000 men among them are a number of Hessians[,] some horse and many Invalids. They are entrenching it is said at a place called Meeting House Hill three miles distant from Bristol Ferry.

From the first appearance of the Fleet the Militia and Independent companies of this State have been in motion and are since joined by a large number of Troops with some companies of Artillery from the neighboring states.

The readiness and zeal manifested on this occasion by the Troops of this and our Sister States reflect on them the highest credit and we hope will prove a happy presage of their success should the enemy attempt to gain a (?) in this Town or penetrate the Country.

We hear that the enemy’s troops were escorted into Newport by a set of well-known infamous Tories who have long infested that town and who may yet possibly meet with the fate justly due to their atrocious villanies.

We learn that two of the Enemy’s Frigates lie at or near Sakonnet passage another near Bristo; and a fourth at the north end of Prudence Island.

Some persons it is said have been taken up and committed to Gaol at Newport for the heinous crime of bearing arms against the King of Great Britain.”

Notice: December 14^th

“DOCTOR MORGAN^[103], Director-General, Hospital of the United States, wants a Quantity of old Linen, proper for Bandages and Lint, for which a good Price will be given by Dr. Joslyn^[104] of East Greenwich.”

Providence, December 21^st

“Wanted immediately for the Massachusetts Army, now serving in this State, the following Articles, viz Flour, Beef, Milk, Cyder, Peas or Beans, Soap, Vinegar, Wood, &c. Any person inclining to supply any of the above Articles are desired to apply to the Commissary of the above State, at his office in this Town.”

December 21^st

“By some deserters from the ministerial fleet at Newport we learn that the troops lately arrived there consists of about 6000 men half of them Hessians and that it was reported on board the Fleet that they were soon to proceed to Boston through this town.

We learn from Newport that upon the arrival of a Ship there on Thursday last (Dec. 19) supposed to be from New York. The transports in the Harbour began to take on board Hay and Straw and it was whispered that Gen. Howe had met with a rebuff in New Jersey.

Th troops from the neighboring states continue to arrive here daily and last night came to town a company of volunteers from Salem.”

December 21^st

“The Alfred Sloop of War in the service of the United States is arrived at an eastern port beside the valuable prizes lately mentioned to have been taken by her. She has captured three Coal ships that were bound for New York and a ship and Brig bound to Halifax with provisions. She also took a new Brig with provisions bound to Quebec which unfortunately ran ashore and was burnt.”

December 28^th

“The very valuable prize ship lately taken by the Alfred Ship of War having on board a large quantity of Clothing, small arms& c. is arrived at a safe port.^[105]

Another Prize taken by the Alfred is also arrived after having been retaken by a British frigate and recaptured by an American cruiser.”

About the Author

Robert A. “Bob” Geake is a Rhode Island public historian, author, and speaker whose work explores the state’s Revolutionary-era, Native American, maritime, and social history. He has written more than fifteen books on Rhode Island and New England, including From Slaves to Soldiers: The First Rhode Island Regiment in the American Revolution, A History of the Narragansett Tribe, and New England’s Citizen Soldiers: Mariners and Minutemen.

Geake has also contributed widely to public-history programs and publications, including Small State Big History, RI Footprints, and The Cocumscussoc Review. A past president of the Cocumscussoc Association at Smith’s Castle in North Kingstown, he remains active in historical education and interpretation, with particular attention to Rhode Island’s diverse Revolutionary War experience and the history of slavery in the state.

Notes:

[1] A 32 acre island off the coast of Newport, Goat island was settled in the 17^th century, and gets its name from it first use by the settlers of Aquidneck Island. In the colonial period a defensive structure named Fort George was constructed. It was from this site that cannon were first fired in July 1774 at the Royal Navy Schooner HMS St. John, a British vessel that had captured cargos and forced men into service, or impressment entered Newport harbor. Under orders from Governor Stephen Hopkins, 13 shots were fired before the vessel retreated from the harbor. As British ships increased in the waters, the precaution was taken of removing the artillery from Newport to Providence in 1775.

[2] From the handwritten notes of James N. Arnold, Special Collections, James N. Arnold Collection 029-02 Providence Gazette, 1776.

[3] The notorious British Naval Officer Captain James Wallace (1731-1803) commanded the HMS Rose, a 20-gun Schooner that enforced the British blockade of shipping from Narragansett Bay, and harassed shoreline communities in these early stages of the War. Passes for travel on the Bay could be obtained, but it was still considered risky business. (R. Grandchamp, Rhode Island Militia Battles the Dreaded British Captain James Wallace on Prudence Island, (http://smallstatebighistory.com/rhode-island-militia-battles-dreaded-british-captain-james-wallace-prudence-island/ )

[4] A Bomb Brig was an 18^th century warship with reinforced hulls to withstand the recoil from the heavy mortar guns they carried. These were typically used by the Royal Navy in assaults on shoreside communities throughout New England. The Continental Navy would famously capture the Bomb Brig HMS Bolton in an early engagement in April 1776. (Continental Navy Loses the Battle of Block Island, America 250 SAR, California Society, Sons of the American Revolution) https://www.californiasar.org/2024/04/continental-navy-loses-the-battle-of-block-island-2/

[5] Tenders are smaller, support craft for the larger vessels in a Fleet. Typically used to transport men or supplies between ships or back and forth from shore.

[6] Conanicut Island is the second largest island in the Bay and was the seasonal home of the Narragansett Tribe,, the First People of Rhode Island. During the Revolutionary War it was the site of Farmer James Eldred’s one gun on the island north of Potter’s Cove from which he fired cannonball and rocks liberally at passing British vessels. He was considered a nuisance by the fleet until one shot tore out a sail and a British setail was sent onto the island to find and spike the cannon. (Rosemary Enright and Sue Maden JHS 100 Years: Conanicut Island Under Stress and Attack, The Jamestown Press, May 10, 2012)

[7] Brenton Point currently holds 89 acres on the Southernmost tip of Aquidneck Island. Established and named for colonial Governor William Benton (1600-1674) who established a plantation on the Point. The original 2000 acres of his estate extended to the current Castle Hill, Hammersmith Farm, and Fort Adams. In the 18^th century the waters around the Point were largely occupied by pirates and privateers, as well as slave ships that soon made Newport the hub of human trafficking in New England.

[8] This incident of Wallace’s raid on the third largest Island in Narragansett Bay was the third raid conducted by the British who stole livestock and provisions from the few inhabitants, even furniture in early raids. The response by the inhabitants and Rhode Island militia from Portsmouth and Warwick includes the first time that enslaved men were enlisted into the Island’s militia and fired upon British troops. For accounts of the incident and the role of black enlistees, see Robert Grandchamp, From Fence to Fence, the Battles of Prudence Island, (https://battleofrhodeisland.org/from-fence-to-fence/ ) and Jerry Cutter/Robert A. Geake The Settlement of Prudence Island and its Abandonment During the Revolutionary War. (https://battleofrhodeisland.org/the-settlement-of-prudence-island-and-its-abandonment-during-the-revolutionary-war/ ).

[9] The HMS Swan was a 14 gun Royal Navy sloop that routinely patrolled New England waters during this period. Commanded by Captain James Ayscough, it was part of the fleet alongside the infamous HMS Rose that disrupted American commerce.

[10] In January 1776 the General Assembly ordered that fortifications be constructed upon this peninsula of upper Narragansett Bay, and that a force of not more than 50 men be stationed with the Kent County regiment and Battery under command of Colonel John Waterman. (https://visitwarwickri.com/listing/warwick-neck-fortifications/508/). As the war continued and Rhode Island men were embedded in Continental units on campaign, the state began to rely upon militia from Massachusetts to help guard the shoreline from 1777-1779. See the author’s transcription of the journal of Noah Robinson, Fired a Gun at the Rising of the Sun, a soldier from Attleboro, Massachusetts who served two terms in Rhode Island as part of John Dagget’s militia from that town, including several months at Warwick Neck.

[11] The town of Warren on the East Bay was a bustling shipbuilding and trade community entering into the American Revolution. The conflict made the town a frequent target of British raids and intimidation, especially during the occupation of Newport. A particularly damaging raid came on May 25,1778 when British and Hession troops ransacked the town, burning the Baptist Meeting house and several dwellings and barns as well as boats that had been hidden along the Kickemuit River for use to transport troops in what became known as the Battle of Rhode Island. (https://www.townofwarren-ri.gov/explore/history.php ).

[12] The Providence Gazette, edition of January 13, 1776, Rhode Island Historical Society Microfilm Collection, Robinson Research Library.

[13] The Providence Gazette, edition of January 21, 1776, Rhode Island Historical Society Microfilm Collection, Robinson Research Library.

[14] The Strait of Gibraltar, the gateway to the Mediterranean ports, was almost universally called “the straits” in the 18^th century maritime world.

[15] Captain Hugh Hill (1740-1829) was a celebrated privateer from Marblehead, who with his armed vessels the Pilgrim and Cicero, took numerous prizes that year of 1776. In one cruise alone, he took eight prizes in just six weeks. (Octavius Thorndike Howe, M.D. Beverly Privateers in the American Revolution, (Cambridge, The Colonial Society of Massachusetts, 1922) 330.

[16] William Pitt the Elder (1708-1778) was a British Whig statesman who served first in the Cabinet from 1756-176, and then as Prime Minister from 1766-1768. He was well-known for his oratory skills, a power he still held in the House of Lords during the months leading up the American Revolution.

[17] The Earl of Chatham, in his famous speech of February 1, 1775, outlined the ways in which he hoped to maintain America as a British colony, while addressing its concerns and offering concessions to the people. He hoped to reach “a true reconcilement” that would “avert impending calamities” and “stand an everlasting monument of clemency and magnanimity in the benignant father of his people.” (Dr. Robin Eagles, Background to the American Revolution, History of Parliament, https://historyofparliament.com/2025/02/11/background-to-the-american-revolution/

[18] The local name for St. Eustatius, the Dutch controlled island during the 18^th century was a wealthy hub of trade and commerce. During the American Revolution, the island was an important supplier of arms and gunpowder. It secured its place in that conflict’s history when on November 16, 1776 the 14 gun American Brig Andrew Doria under command of Capt. Isaiah Robinson, entered the harbor below Fort Oranje flying the flag of the Continental Navy. It fired a thirteen gun salute to represent the thirteen colonies. Governor Johannes de Graeff responded with an eleven gun salute from the forts cannons, following protocol to acknowledge a non-sovereign flag. The response was the first international recognition of an American vessel carrying a flag of the revolutionary forces. (Geoffry M. Footner, USS Andrew Doria: The First to Salute, Naval Institute Press, 2022, 112-115.

[19] The Crawford family of Providence carried a long maritime history. Capt. Joseph Crawford Jr. was the son and namesake of a seafaring merchant. Capt. John Crawford ( 1742-?) was the son of the mariner Gideon Crawford (1708-1792), who was also active during the Revolutionary War.

[20] The Providence Gazette, edition of February 16, 1776, Rhode Island Historical society Microfilm Collection, Robinson Research Library.

[21] This 91-acre island sits just a mile and a half west of Prudence Island, but its steep cliffs and rocky shoreline have long kept it from permanent habitation. It has long been a protected wildlife sanctuary under the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.

[22] Throughout the conflicts for Empire in which Great Britain engaged, a constant need for mariners, no matter how green, led to Royal Navy vessels chasing down merchant, whaling, and fishing boats throughout the Atlantic. Officers would then board and impress any able bodied seaman who held no proof of citizenship to another nation or held an official pass for passage, into forced service for the Royal Navy. More to fear, were the “press gangs” that haunted harbor taverns along the Eastern seaboard for the same purpose. (Gary Nash, The Urban Crucible, The Northern Seaports and the Origins of the American Revolution (Harvard University Press, 1986).

[23] The Providence Gazette, edition of February 24, 1776, Rhode Island Historical society Microfilm Collection, Robinson Research Library.

[24] Blue Rocks is situated off the waterfront of the historic “Point” neighborhood along Washington Street in Newport. It is also the site of the deliberate scuttling of five transport ships by the British to block the channel between Blue Rocks and Goat Island in order to prevent French Naval vessels from approaching the North Battery during events leading up to the Battle of Rhode Island in 1778. (Brody Karn, Shipwrecks off the Point-Law, War, and Legacy The Green Light, The Point Association of Newport, Fall 2025) https://thepointassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Fall2025FInal.pdf

[25] From the handwritten notes of James N. Arnold, Special Collections, James N. Arnold Collection 029-02 Providence Gazette, 1776.

[26] Bedloe’s Island, now known famously as Liberty Island for the statue it holds, is actually 5/8 of a mile from Manhattan. It’s earliest structure was a lighthouse, constructed by entrepreneur Archibald Kennedy after he purchased the island in 1746. He established a summer residence and was soon advertising the island as a romantic getaway. In 1756, Kennedy allowed use of the island for a smallpox quarantine location, something the island had been used for in an earlier outbreak. This may be why the Island was sold to the city outright two years later. By the time of the Revolution and New York’s occupation; the island was planned to house Tory refugees from the city, with the H.M.S. Eagle anchored offshore for protection.

[27] Triggered by a false alarm that a British fleet had entered Narragansett Bay on April 1^st, an urgent military alert was issued along the coastline from Providence and Warwick to Barrington and Bristol on the East Bay. While the threat was a false alarm, legislators worked quickly to establish better defenses, including the construction of beacon poles and fortifications at selected sites in the coming months. The threat from the Royal Navy was also a key factor in the state’s break of allegiance from Great Britain on May 4, 1776.

[28] The pre-dawn battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge on February 27, 1776 is considered a minor skirmish in the Revolutionary War. Calls and taunts across the river by patriot militia and Scottish Highland guards led to a Highland charge by the sword wielding loyalists, who were met with a fatal barrage of musket and artillery fire. Two of the Loyalist leaders were killed with another captured. The battle scattered the Highland Regiment and some 850 of them were captured in the days and weeks after the battle. Most were paroled, but the remaining leaders were sent for imprisonment to Philadelphia.

[29] Brigadier General Donald McDonald was a Scottish Highland Officer and a career military man. He was commissioned by North Carolina’s Royal Governor Josiah Martin to recruit and lead a band of Loyalists. He was a British veteran of the French and Indian War, and early in the Revolution, served at the Battle of Breeds (Bunker) Hill. His capture made him prisoner for more than a year, yet he returned to the British Army after his exchange and continued to serve until the end of the war. (The Loyalist Leaders in North Carolina: Brigadier General Donald McDonald, The American Revolution in North Carolina, https://www.carolana.com/NC/Revolution/loyalist_leaders_nc_donald_mcdonald.html

[30] Brigadier General James Moore (1737-1777) came from a prominent North Carolina family who were steeped in politics. He organized the North Carolina Continentals and was a key Commander in the early years of the American Revolution. Moore was preparing his Regiment to march north and meet General Washington, when he fell severely ill, and died in Wilmington, North Carolina on April 15, 1777.

[31] Long named “Wickford” by the time of the Revolution, it continued to be called Updike’s Newtown in letters, diaries, and newspapers of the time.

[32] This was the H.M.S. Rose, a large frigate that carried twenty guns, commanded by the notorious Captain James Wallace. He used the Rose and other vessels to blockade Newport Harbor, effectively halt the legal maritime trade, and terrorize coastal communities by seizing supplies on water as well as land.

[33] While some refugees to British ships were sold by unscrupulous captains, many more would gain their freedom. Able bodied men were sent to be enlisted in the Ethiopian Regiment formed by Lord Dunmore. Others were evacuated to New York or Nova Scotia. Yet others became mariners.

[34] John Goodrich (1722-1785) was born in Virginia, and lived as a successful planter for British interests. He was reportedly uncommitted at the start of the American Revolution but was recruited by Lord Dunmore to become a Loyalist privateer. Goodrich by his own account believed that he had destroyed 500 vessels in service to the British Crown. He was captured on April 17, 1776 off the coast of North Carolina and briefly imprisoned there before being moved to Virginia. His holdings and houses were confiscated before he escaped from prison and soon operated out of New York. He and his five sons privateering fleet grew to four vessels during the course of the war, the largest being the aptly named Dunmore, carrying sixteen guns, and the smallest being the Fincastle with two guns. (James Tomey, The Virginia Navy in the Revolution, Arcadia Publishing, 2016) 98.

[35] Known today as Ocracoke Inlet, South Carolina.

[36] No such company existed. The writer may be referring to the Queens Rangers, a unit of Loyalist blacks who would take part in successfully defending their “Negro Fort” outpost against rebel forces at Kings Bridge, New York on January 18, 1777. (Harry Shenawolf, Negro Gort: Black Loyalists of New York, Revolutionary War Journal, July 28, 2025. https://revolutionarywarjournal.com/negro-fort-black-loyalists-of-new-york/

[37] Named for Capt. Richard Hobbs, the patent holder by 1680 with some 800 acres including Hobbs Hole Harbor, a body of water across the mouth of Tucker Creek as it enters the Rappahannock River. By the American Revolution, it was known as a “town of trade”. (Wesley E. Pippenger, Local Historian says he Knows the Origin of the Name Hobbs Hole, Rappahannock Times, October 11, 2022)

[38] Hugh Walker was a well-known Virginia patriot whose vessels helped supply the Continental Army, as well as being commissioned for the fledgling Continental Navy. The Black patriot mentioned in the account is likely a man known only as “Minny” in a suit brought by his owner Lucretia Pritchett, seeking reparations for his death. In the suit, Pritchett contends that Minny “voluntarily entered himself on board a vessel commanded by Mr. Hugh Walker,” and that in Walker’s service had “bravely and successfully exerted himself against the enemy, until he was unfortunately killed.” Minny’s acts of heroism were key in Pritchett’s claim that since the death of her husband Joseph, her estate was “deprived of a valuable slave.” The Virginia Legislature ultimately paid her 100 dollars, as Minny had “behaved with uncommon bravery in an engagement with a piratical tender, and was killed by the enemy.” (Adam McNeil, Black Patriotism and Black Death in the Aftermath of the American Revolution, Black Perspectives, October 16, 2019) https://www.aaihs.org/black-patriotism-and-black-death-in-the-aftermath-of-the-american-revolution/

[39] Capt. James Mugford was commissioned as Captain in the newly formed Continental Navy in 1775. He was given command of the schooner USS Franklin out of Boston, Massachusetts. In May 1776, as the article indicates, the Franklin captured the British supply ship Hope on open water and carried her into Boston Harbor despite the presence of a British Fleet in the outer harbor. Having been unmolested on entering the harbor, when he returned to his ship the Franklin via the Lady Washington, both ships were converged upon by thirteen enemy vessels. In the fierce fighting that followed, Mugford was fatally shot by a musket ball, and died pleading with his lieutenant to persevere in the fight and not give up the vessel. The Americans in fact, did beat off the attack and forced the British vessels to withdraw. Capt. Mugford was brought ashore and buried in Marblehead, Massachusetts. (Frank Moore, Diary of the American Revolution, Vol. 1 1859)

[40] Even while reporting heroic actions of black Americans, newspapers like the Providence Gazette and other cities in the newly formed United States routinely printed advertisements for the individual sale, public auction, and reward for the capture of escaped enslaved individuals throughout the war. Rhode Island would only pass a gradual emancipation act in 1784, the year after the conflict ended.

[41] Gwynn Island in the Chesapeake Bay and the state of Virginia, lying off the Middle Peninsula. That summer, Lord Dunmore had entrenched himself on the island with 100 troops of the 14^th Regiment, 100 marines, and over 150 volunteers from Norfolk, 50 seamen, and roughly 300 Africans used for building fortifications and other hard labor.

[42] General Andrew Lewis (1720-1781) was commander of the Virginia militia and well known at the time for his role as commander of the militia force that fought Chief Cornstalk and the Shawnee in the Battle of Point Pleasant in the Ohio Country on October 10, 1774. In this instance he commanded the forces which established an artillery battery on Cricket Hill, from which to assault Dunmore’s encampment and ships on July 9, 1776.

[43] Lewis Whiting first served as 1^st Lieutenant of Capt. Samuel Colwell’s Company, John Smith’s regiment which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775. Also served as 1^st Lieutenant in Capt. James Metcalf’s company, and joined Col. Reed’s encampment at Roxbury, December 10, 1775. Raised a company in Wrentham and commissioned as their commander in February 1776. Listed as such in the “Return of the Names of the Men…in Capt. Lewis Whting’s company in Col. Wheelock’s Regiment,” Ticonderoga, August 1776. (Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors, 176)

[44] The Regimental Book of the Rhode Island Regiment includes a 40 year old laborer from Glocester named Joseph Mith who enlisted in May 1781 for three years. He died December 29, 1781. (Bruce C. MacGunnigle Regimental Book, Rhode Island Regiment for 1781 &c., 40, 75)

[45] Col. John Paterson was commander of a regiment of 496 men from Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The regiment took part in the Siege of Boston, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the majority of major actions of the Northern campaign throughout the war. In 1778 he was appointed Commander of West Point and served in that capacity until 1781. Five years later, he famously came out of retirement to assist in the quelling of Shay’s Rebellion. (Lenox History, Revolutionary War Heroes-Major General John Paterson, August 27, 2014) https://lenoxhistory.org/revolutionary-war-through-civil-war/revolutionary-war-heroes-major-general-john-paterson/

[46] Some 400 prisoners were taken in the failed attack on Quebec, December 31, 1775. Approximately one hundred Rhode Islanders who had largely volunteered from gathered forces in Boston, were held prisoner for several months.

[47] The sloop Montgomery was owned by Providence merchant Nathaniel Greene and eleven other investors. The sloop was outfitted with ten guns and manned by sixty mariners. (Sidney S. Riders List of Rhode Island Privateers, handwritten notebook, Rhode Island State Archives).

[48] Ibid.

[49] The disruption of trade and shipping to and from the West Indian islands by commissioned privateer vessels in the spring and summer of 1776 meant that shortages by the second year of the American War of Independence were causing a major impact on the islands populations, particularly on Barbados and Jamaica. As shortages of food and supplies increased, the fear of famine became very real. Goods normally shipped from North America dwindled to little traffic, and more urgently, the fear of an uprising among the enslaved population began to panic planter society. In Barbados, of the estimated 70,000 to 75,000 inhabitants at the time of the conflict only 15,000-20,000 were among the white population. Jamaica held an even high percentage of people of color, with an estimated population of 192,000 enslaved blacks and multiracial individuals. There were places on the Island where whites were outnumbered by 10-1. The fear and dread of the planters nearly reached fruition in July of 1776.

[50] As copied in the handwritten notes of Janes N. Arnold from the Providence Gazette August 10, 1776. James N. Arnold Collection, 029-02, Box 21, Folder 1776,Special Collections, Providence Public Library.

[51] Ibid.

[52] Ibid.

[53] The Joseph was a small schooner owned by Nathaniel Greene and five others. She carried six guns and was manned by a crew of forty-five (Sidney S. Rider’s List of Rhode Island Privateers, handwritten notebook, Rhode Island State Archives).

[54] The sloop Independence was registered in Providence on 24 July, 1776. It was owned and commanded by Jabez Whipple.

[55] As copied in the handwritten notes of James N. Arnold from the Providence Gazette, September 7, 1776. James N. Arnold Collection, Special Collections, Providence Public Library.

[56] Capt. Nathan Bull was a Newport mariner who operated several vessels transporting goods and flags of truce (holding prisoners for exchange) including the sloop Dove during the war. In April 1776 the Dove with Bull in command, was taken by the British Royal Navy ship Maidstone while returning to Rhode Island from the Caribbeans. His escape precludes the British taking of Newport in December 1776, after which, Bull often acted as a liaison, traveling between the island and mainland with flags of truce to conduct negotiations.

[57] Gideon Coggeshall (1726-1801) was a well-known mariner and member of a prominent Quaker family from Middletown, Rhode Island. His son Timothy Coggeshall (1753-1794) was also a mariner, merchant, and shipowner. While this is the only known reference to Gideon Sr., having involvement in the war, a relative John Coggeshall was expelled from Quaker Meeting for his involvement in the Revolutionary cause, and in 1782, a Gideon Coggeshall, likely a grandson, enlisted at aged 17. (WikiTree Family Tree, Ancestors Family Search, RIHS Enlistments, Muster, and Size Rolls of recruits enlisted to serve in the Rhode Island Regiment the campaign of 1782 Document 14, https://www.rihs.org/the-revolutionary-war-soldiers-index/coggeshall-gideon/

[58] See footnote VII.

[59] The sloop Yankee Ranger was owned by Joseph Tillinghast, John B. Hopkins, John Brown, and others. One document shows the sale of a 1/16^th share of the vessel. She carried four carriage guns (2 pounders) and six swivel guns with a crew of twenty to twenty-five men. She successfully captured three prizes in August 1776 under command of Captains John Warner and Samuel Tripp. The sloop was taken out of commission in June 1777.(Naval Documents of the Revolutionary War, Volume 6, ) https://ibiblio.org/anrs/docs/E/E3/ndar_v06p04.pdf

[60] As copied in the handwritten notes of James N. Arnold from the Providence Gazette, September 14, 1776. James N. Arnold Collection, 029-02, Box 21, Folder 1776, Special Collections, Providence Public Library.

[61] The sloop General Greene was owned by Silas Casey, Jacob Greene, Griffin Greene and four others. She carried sixteen guns and a crew of thirty mariners. (Sidney S. Rider’s List of Rhode Island Privateers, handwritten notebook, Rhode Island State Archives).

[62] As copied in the handwritten notes of James N. Arnold from the Providence Gazette, September 24, 1776. James N. Arnold Collection, 029-02, Box 21, Folder 1776, Special Collections, Providence Public Library.

[63] Ibid.

[64] Ibid.

[65] Captain James Munro (1747-1814) was a prominent providence privateer, commanding at least seven ships during his career. In April 1776 he was commissioned as commander of the Sally, whose first prize was the British Brig Agnes in September of that year, and soon after, the frigate Blaze Castle. Munro brought the captured vessel back to Providence and ultimately sold the ship to John Innes Clark and Joseph Nightingale of Providence, who outfitted her with twenty six ponder cannons. Unable to leave the harbor because of the British occupation of Newport, the privateer languished until a daring escape by Munro in November 1777 was perpetrated under cover of dark skies and a fair wind. The Blaze Castle brought provisions of coal, wine and dry goods to the West Indies, but was captured on one such voyage in June 1778 by the HM frigate Unicorn. Munro was taken prisoner but released later that year and made his way back to Providence. The following June, he took command of another privateer, the brig Saratoga, with sixteen guns. In August 1779 however, after the successful capture of other vessels, the Saratoga was captured and her crew imprisoned on a prison ship in New York Harbor. On October 9, 1779 Munro escaped from the prison ship Old Jersey and made his way to Washington’s headquarters to deliver intelligence about the British forces occupying the city. (Mark E. Monroe/Colin Munro, James Munro, American Naval Sailor, Three Decks Forum, https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_crewman&id=20798

[66] Owned by John Brown, the sloop Sally was outfitted with ten, 6 pound cannon. Along with the sloop Diamond, the Brig Marlborough, and other vessels owned or invested with, Brown was one of the most successful owners of privateering vessels from Providence. The Diamond alone, under a “Capt. Stacey” captured twelve prizes in 1776 alone, though armed only with six four pond cannons, and ten swivel guns for a crew of thirty to forty men. (Christian McBurney, Providence Merchant John Brown Gets Rich Privateering in 1776 and 1777, Online Review of Rhode Island History, 2023, https://smallstatebighistory.com/providence-merchant-john-brown-gets-rich-privateering-in-1776-and-1777/

[67] Major John Crane (1744-1805) was a carpenter and member of the Sons of Liberty in Boston before moving to Providence in 1774 due to the Boston Port Act. Once in town, he was commissioned a Lieutenant of Artillery and commanded the newly formed Rhode Island Train of Artillery. In Boston, this unit became part of the Continental Artillery Regiment. Crane took part in the Battle of Bunker Hill and was commissioned as Major for Artillery regiment commanded by Henry Knox at the close of 1775. The article relates to the incident off Corlear’s Hook, September 14, 1776 when he lost a portion of his foot from cannon shot by the HMS Rose. Though reportedly nearly dying from lockjaw, Crane recovered and was promoted to Colonel and command of the 3^rd Continental Artillery regiment, a position he held until the close of the war. (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Crane-2444 ).

[68] The HMS Asia was a 64-gun, third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched in 1764. She played a prominent role in the early part of the American Revolution, first serving as the transport for 500 Royal Marines sent to New York City in 1774 to quell tensions there. She arrived in New York on December 4, remained as part of a flotilla under Admiral Richard Howe. In January 1775 she was assigned to Vice-Admiral Graves Northern Squadron under command of Captain George Vanderput. The Asia returned to New York waters and provided protection to merchant ships, in particular, escorting the Duchess of Gordon on which Royal governor William Tryon had sought refuge. Aboard the Asia, Tryon and Loyalist plotted the assassination of George Washington, a plot that was discovered and cost the life of Thomas Hickey, an Irish-born member of Washington’s Life Guard who had entered into the plot. The Asia later took part in the Battle of Brooklyn in 1776, and later in the year was damaged by fire in an engagement. She was retired from the main theater of war, and by 1778-1779 was escorting vessels to East India. (Naval Documents of the American Revolution, Volume 1, American Theater, Dec. 1, 1774 – Sept. 2, 1775),(Brad Melzer, The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington Flatiron Books, 2019), (Brooklyn Citizen, October 10, 1897, p. 13).

[69] Captain John Field (1738-1808) was a Providence mariner and Master of the privateer Joseph which had several successful cruises.

[70] Captain Thomas Child took command of the privateer sloop Joseph after her initial voyage in April 1776 under Capt. James Munro. Child successfully captured British prizes into the fall of the year.

[71] The Colombus was a 20-gun armed ship commissioned by the Continental Navy in 1776.

[72] Captain Abraham Whipple (1733-1819) was a lifelong mariner, becoming Captain of a merchant vessel at a young age, he then became captain of the privateer Gamecock, and found a successful career, capturing twenty-three French vessels during the French and Indian War. Whipple was among those who led the boats on the attack against the HMS Gaspee as she lay grounded above the Providence River, and in 1775 was appointed a Commodore of the Continental Navy and assigned captain of the Colombus. He claimed to have “fired the first shot on water in defiance of the British flag”, and reputedly ran a tight ship. In July 1775 he was summoned from his vessel to Philadelphia to answer to charges filed by his junior officers. He was found guilty of nothing more than “a rough and indelicate mode of behavior” toward his Officers, and was encouraged to “cultivate harmony” with them in the future. By 1779 he commanded a squadron defending Charlestown Harbor aboard his flagship Providence. Abraham Whipple would be captured at Charlestown and be held as prisoner until the close of the war. On returning to Rhode Island, he farmed in Cranston for several years before moving to Marietta, Ohio where he died in 1819. (Rick Stattler, Historical Note, Abraham Whipple Collection, Rhode Island Historical Society, MSS 802)

[73] Capt. Arthur Crawford was a Providence-based privateer and Master of the Sloop of War Hawke. In October 1776, he filed for the cargo of the Thomas, as shown: said Mariner Commander of the Private Sloop of War called the Hawke fitted out from Providence afor[e]said and duly Commissioned with Letters of Marque and Reprisal to Cruize against the Enemies of the United States of America, Comes into this Honble Court and for himself and in Behalf of the Owners of and the Officers and Mariners belonging to said Sloop, gives your Honor to understand and be informed That on theTwenty first Day of September AD 1776, being on a Cruize against the Enemies of the said United States on the High Seas, in Latitude 45″. and Longitude 48″ he took and captured the Ship called the Thomas burthened Two Hundred Tons or thereabouts late Commanded by one Thomas Bell with her Appurtenances together with her Cargo consisting of Blankets, Coarse woolen Cloths, Irish Linnens, Sheeting, Shoes, Stockings, Dowlass, Brandy, Port Wine, bottled Porter, Cheese ~c.&c.&c. bound from London in the Kingdom of Great Britain to Quebec in the Province of Canada; and which said Ship with her Appurtenances together with her Cargo before the time of Capture belonged to and were the Property of some of the Inhabitants of the Island of Great Britain, and were designed to supply the British Fleets and Armies now acting against these United States; and
that your Informent hath sent the said Ship into the port of Providence within your Honors Jurisdiction. Wherefore he humbly prays that your Honor would take the Premises into Consideration, and order the proper Process and Monitions to issue as are in such Cases required by Law or that
your Honor would otherwise Proceed as to Justice and Right…” (Naval Documents of the American Revolution, Vol. 6, 1175)

[74] The renowned Sloop of War USS Providence was originally built and launched as the Katy in 1775, with Capt. Abraham Whipple as commander and assigned the task of cruising Narragansett Bay in protection of coastal shipping. She sailed from Providence late in November 1775 with a crew put together by Commodore Esek Hopkins. On her arrival in Philadelphia on December 3^rd., she was formally renamed the USS Providence of the Continental Navy, and Capt. John Hazard was placed in command. Known for speed, and carrying twenty guns, the Sloop of War joined a small fleet under Hopkins that captured several prizes before returning in late spring. On May 10, 1776, the command of the USS Providence was given to Lieutenant John Paul Jones with the following orders from Commodore Hopkins: “You are to take command of the sloop Providence and put her in the best condition you can – and you are to take soldiers abord that belong to General Washington’s army and carry them to New York as soon as you can.” She was to have a successful career as both an escort and a privateer. On an independent cruise that year, she netted some nine prizes, and sank several enemy vessels before her return to Providence on October 8^th. She remained at anchor on the Providence River while the British took Newport, but broke the enemy’s blockade in February 1777 under command of Lt. Jonathan Pitcher and sailed to New Bedford. From there the Providence sailed to Cape Breton and captured a transport vessel with two officers and twenty-five soldiers of the British army, as well as the crew. She made two more successful cruises under command of Capt. John Peck Rathbun. In mid-January 1778, she set out for New Providence in the Bahamas. She successfully attacked the fort at Nassau, spiking the guns, carrying off some 1600 pounds of gunpowder, and releasing 30 American prisoners of war. By January 30^th, she had captured another six vessels, two of which were burned, three others manned and sailed away, while a 16-gun ship was brought back to New Bedford. The privateer remained active in 1779, ordered to take a cruise off the Massachusetts coast in early April, then sailing south, captured the 12 gun Brig HMS Diligent in May. The USS Providence was assigned to Commodore Saltonstall’s squadron, which departed Boston on July 19, 1779 as part of the Penobscot expedition. She was skuttled by the crew at the end of that campaign to avoid her from falling into British hands. (Frank N. Rathbun, “Rathbun’s Raid on Nassau”, United States Naval Institute Proceedings 1970, 40-47. Letter from Commodore Esek Hopkins to Lieutenant John Paul Jones, Naval Documents of the American Revolution, Vol. 5, 27. Naval Documents of the United States, Vol. 11, European Theater, Jan. 1, 1778-March 31, 1778, American Theater, Jan. 1, 1778 – March 31, 1778).

[75] Captain Abner Coffin was a Providence -based privateer and Master of the privateer Ship Favorite and others during the American Revolution. (Naval Documents of The American Revolution, Vol 6, American Theater, 89, 1349).

[76] The two-masted Brig Industry had an investment of sixteen owners, not uncommon in the world of merchant shipping but brought over to the privateering enterprises that were taken at the beginning of the war. Merchant John Brown had a 3/16ths interest in the vessel and its cargo. (https://smallstatebighistory.com/providence-merchant-john-brown-gets-rich-privateering-in-1776-and-1777/ ).

[77] The HMS Cerberus was a 28-gun Frigate that holds the distinction of having carried three British Generals – John Burgoyne, Henry Clinton, and William Howe into Boston harbor just weeks after the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord. She lent support to the Artillery during the Battle of Bunker Hill, and as the article describes, recaptured vessels with engagements on the high seas. When the Cerebus was scuttled by her crew to avoid her from falling into French hands at Newport, Rhode Island in 1778, it closed a twenty year career for the warship. (HMS Cerebus, the Warship that Brought Burgoyne, Clinton, and Howe to the Colonies, New York Almanac, October 8, 2025, https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2025/10/hms-cerberus-burgoyne-clinton-howe/ ).

[78] The USS Cabot was a 14-gun Brig of the Continental Navy. One of the first vessels authorized by Congress for purchase, along with the Brig Andrew Doria. The Cabot was placed under command of Capt. J. B. Hopkins, outfitted with 14 six pound cannons, and assigned to the fleet of Commodore Esek Hopkins. She joined in the attack on Nassau in March 1776, also taking part in the capture of the vessel New Providence. The Cabot was the first to fire in the Battle of Block Island the following month. In June she set out on a cruise, capturing several prizes well into the fall. In 1777, the command of the USS Cabot was assigned to Capt. Joseph Olney. Her last journey came when she st out of Boston in early March and encountered the British Frigate HMS Milford. The larger ship set chase to the Cabot and eventually ran her aground near the mouth of the Chebogue River, in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. Olney and his crew were able to escape the ship and climb into the woods. The British recovered the vessel and put her to use for the Royal Navy. (Naval Documents of the American Revolution, Vol. 2, American Theater, Sept. 3, 1775 – October 31, 1775, 441. Naval History and Heritage Command, Cabot I (Brig) 1775-1777, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/cabot-brig-i.html ).

[79] The ten-gun Sloop of War Montgomery was initially owned and outfitted by Providence merchant Nathaniel Greene and eleven other investors. On August 8, 1776, William Rhodes petitioned the Commission to be granted to him and other owners: “Sir, We the Subscribers all of Providence in the State of Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations, Merchants, request your Honor to grant a Commission, or Letters of Marque and Reprisal to William Rhodes Commander of the Private Sloop of War Montgomery of which we are Owners,² She is burthened about Sixty Tons, carries Ten Carriage Guns Four Pounders and Two Pounders, and Ten Swivel Guns, manned with Sixty Men, and fitted with a suitable Quantity of Muskets, Blunderbusses, Cutlasses, Pistols, Powder, Ball and other Military Stores. She hath on board Twenty barrels Beef and Pork Forty Hundred-weight of Bread, Two-barrels of Flour, with some Rice, Beans, Pottatoes &c. Samuel Warner ー is First Lieutenant, Thomas Ruttenber Master and Joseph Bucklin junr. Second Lieutenant. We are with great Respect Sir [&c.].” (navydocs.org https://www.navydocs.org/node/6647 ).

[80] The privateer Eagle under command of Capt. Isaac Field, “belonging to John Mathewson and others in Providence” was commissioned in 1776, and “mounting ten carriage guns (-) sixty-five men to fit out and set forth the Schooner in a warlike manner and by and with the said schooner and the crew thereof by force of arms to attack ships and take the ships and other vessels belonging to the inhabitants of Great Britain, or any of them with their tackle, apparel, furniture and loadings on the high seas…” The Continental commander John Paul Jones famously followed the Eagle with his Sloop of War Alfred in November 1776, having failed to find any men in Newport willing to sign aboard. He met the privateer anchored off Tarpon Cove, laid his vessel alongside, and took twenty-four men off and impressed them into his crew. Such was the popularity of signing aboard a privateer for Rhode Island’s young men of the sea. (Richard and Gloria Schmidt, Rhode Island Privateers: Isaac Field and the Eagle, Portsmouth History Notes, March 23, 2024, https://portsmouthhistorynotes.com/2024/03/23/rhode-island-privateers-isaac-field-and-the-eagle/ ).

[81] Within the first to be commissioned as an officer in the Continental Navy, Elisha Hinman (1732-1807) had been a mariner since the age of fourteen, and at twenty was the captain of a merchant vessel. As the Commander of the USS Cabot, he captured five British ships sailing from Jamaica on his maiden voyage. He was commissioned as Captain of the ship Alfred, and with that vessel captured one merchantman, and two larger ships off Jamaica, which he ferried to France for sale by an American agent. On his return voyage however, he was overtaken by two British vessels and taken prisoner. Incarcerated at Fortune prison, he bribed guards and walked away after just five days, making his way to Dunkirk by mid-August and waited for a ship he could board for home. He returned aboard the Sloop of War Providence in August 1778. He was at sea again by 1780, in command of the gunboat Dean, on which he served until the close of the war. It was found after the war, that the government owed him upwards of $ 3,000.00 in back wages, but issued him a promissory note rather than any funds. When the British attacked New London, Connecticut in September 1781, Hinman lost all his family’s property. In desperation, he was forced to sell the note for three shillings on the pound. He wrote as a Revolutionary veteran to John Adams in 1798, begging for command of a revenue cutter, citing his former service, his continued good health, along with his increasing financial need. He was given command of the Federal revenue cutter Argus, after the death of its Captain, a position he held until 1803. (Biography of Captain Elisha Hinman, U.S. Navy, Revolutionary War, Military Roll of Honor. Pension application of Noah Walrond, October 24, 1832, Fold3, https://www.fold3.com/memorial/527301826/captain-elisha-hinman/gallery#gallery ).

[82] Misspelling of Captain Thomas Stacy, (sometimes spelled Stacey). the Rhode Island privateer. ( Christian McBurney, Providence Merchant John Brown Gets Rich Privateering in 1776 and 1777, Journal of the American Revolution, October 18, 2022)

[83] The 6-gun Sloop of War Diamond was registered in Providence on July 1, 1776 under command of Capt. William Chace. An article in the Gazette of August 17^th reported the taking of a British vessel of distinguished passengers: “Wednesday last arrived here from a short Cruiz of one Month the Privateer Sloop Diamond, Captain William Chace, of this Port, and brought in a Prize Ship from Dominica, bound to Bristol [England]. The following passengers were on board, viz, a Youth about 7 years of age, Son to the Governor of Dominica; Mr. Hutchinson, a Member of the Council of that Island; and Mr. Charles Hobby Hubbart of Boston: The[se] Gentlemen arrived at Antigua from England December last, in a Transport ship, where on Account of his Attachment to the American Cause, he was apprehended and confined to jail upwards of six Months, [a] great Part of that Time in a dungeon”. (Maureen Taylor, Revolutionary War Privateers 1774-1783, Rhode Island Roots, June 2026, 100-112).

[84] Capt. Christopher Whipple is mentioned in the orders of the Continental Congress as one of two Officers who would be given command of two Continental vessels that were to be built in 1775. Commodore Abraham Whipple would command the larger ship, and Capt. Christopher Whipple the smaller vessel. Due to the urgency to respond to the infestation of ships in the Atlantic corridor, Commodore Whipple was given the Katy, built and outfitted by merchant John Brown to set out as soon as ready to protect the shipping routes. Capt. Christopher Whipple would then have been given command of the Sloop of War Washington, chartered on June 12, 1775. Given orders to challenge the British Naval presence in Narragansett Bay , the two vessels had numerous encounters, the Washington sailed as part of Commodore Whipple’s small but successful fleet. Nonetheless, she returned to port in poor condition. I could find no documentation as to when Christopher Whipple was assigned to the Gen. Putnam but for the documentation here.

[85] The armed schooner General Putnam was originally a Providence based privateer owned and outfitted by Providence merchants John Jenckes and Nathaniel Greene, along with eight other investors. Not to be confused with the later privateer built in Connecticut in 1778. (Gardner W. Allen, A Naval History of the American Revolution ,Chapter 3: Washington’s Fleet 1775-1776. ).

[86] Capt. Job Pearce sailed out of East Greenwich with the private 24- gun Sloop of War, Greenwich, owned by merchants Jacob Greene and Silas Casey, with other Greene family members investing as well. On October 21, 1776 the Greenwich arrived in Newport with the prize of a 300 ton ship, laden with timber and fish from Nova Scotia. Ten days later the sloop brought a second prize-a captured Brig, up the western passage of Narragansett Bay. (Naval Records of the American Revolution, Vol. 6, American Theater, August 1, 1776-October 31, 1776, 1360-1361, Sidney S. Rider, Notebook of Rhode Island Privateers, Rhode Island Archives).

[87] Major General Robert Howe ( 1732-1786 ) became the colony of North Carolina’s highest ranking officer during the Revolutionary War. Having trained the Brunswick Militia, he was appointed commander of the Second North Carolina Continentals. Howe and his men are credited for their role in the Battle of Norfolk and the defeat of Lord Dunmore. In 1777, he led North Carolina troops to meet Major General Charles Lee, then commander of the Southern Campaign. Howe himself was given that post later in the year, and in 1778 marched the troops to the Georgia -Florida border to attack British troops at St. Augustine. The disastrous campaign ended after several months of futility, with Howe retreating north in late summer to aide in the defense of Savannah, which was lost in December 1778. ( Richard Carney, Robert Howe (1732-1786), North Carolina History Project, https://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/robert-howe-1732-1786/ )

[88] William Moultrie (1730-1805) was commissioned as Colonel of the 2^nd South Carolina regiment of Provincial troops in 1775. The following year, his defense of a small fort on Sullivan’s Island prevented the fleets of Sir Henry Clinton and Sir Peter Parker from infiltrating the harbor and taking Charleston. After this engagement he was promoted to Brigadier-General. He successfully repelled the British again at Port Royal in 1779, but was captured when Charleston finally surrendered in 1780. He was then placed in charge of the American prisoners of war and frequently negotiated on their behalf before he was released in a prisoner exchange in 1782. That year he was promoted to Major General before the close of the war. (C.L. Bragg, Crescent Moon Over Carolina: William Moultrie and American Liberty, Columbia, University of South Carolina Press, 2013).

[89] William Chace was owner and commander of the privateer Diamond registered in Providence on July 1, 1776. He appears in several notices of prizes taken that year in the Providence Gazette, and in the correspondence of Governor Nicholas Cooke, who wrote to Stephen Hopkins and William Ellery that “since my last, two very valuable prizes have been taken here, by the sloop Diamond, Capt. William Chace, laden with sugar, coffee. Cotton &c, as also a bark, laden with rum and sugar taken by the sloop Montgomery.” (Maureen Taylor, Revolutionary War Privateers List 1774-1783, Rhode Island Roots, June 2026, 100-112, Revolutionary Correspondence, Governor Nicholas Cooke, 161).

[90] Providence Gazette, December 14, 1776. Rhode Island Historical Society Microfilm Collection, Robinson Research Library.

[91] Capt. Jonathan (John) Tillinghast was the brother of the more famous Capt. Joseph Tillinghast of Providence, both from a longstanding seafaring family. (RIHS Tillinghast Papers)

[92] The sloop Independence was registered in July 1776 by owner and commander Jabez Whipple. On September 3, 1776 in Nantucket, a handwritten document reads “Whereas we the Officers & Seamen of the sloop Independence have, of our own accord do appoint Capt. Jabez Whipple of the above mention sloop to be out lawful agent for the Cruize of the Sloop Independence…” The document is signed by 19 crew members, none of whom is John Tillinghast. It is uncertain when he took command of the vessel. (RIHS, MSS 673, sub-group series 9, Box 3, Folder 169).

[93] The sloop Joseph was commissioned by Governor Nicholas Cooke in 1776 from Providence merchants John Innes Clark and Joseph Nightengale. She was a vessel of 60 tons burden, armed with four carriage guns and 10 swivels, and carried a crew of 12-20 men. Cruising under Capt. John Field in October 1776, she captured a schooner bound from Nevis to London laden with a valuable cargo of sugar that was sent back to the port of Providence. In other engagements, the Joseph operated alongside other privateers to intercept British shipping. (Naval Documents of the American Revolution, Vol. 6, American Theater from Sept. 1, 1776 to Oct. 31, 1776, 1136).

[94] Captain Hoysted Hacker of Providence served as a Continental Naval officer, serving on the USS Providence as a Lieutenant, and then Captain, as the ship sailed alongside the Alfred under Commander John Paul Jones for naval operations near Nova Scotia. In June 1776, he took command of the brig Hampden of New Haven and in September, sailed to Providence to rendezvous with the Alfred. The two ships departed the port on October 27, 1776 bound for Cape Breton Island, where they hoped to free American prisoners of war. The Hampden ran aground soon after getting underway and was heavily damaged. Capt. Hacker and his crew transferred to the Providence to continue the cruise. (Naval Documents of the American Revolution, Vol. 5, 770, Ibid, 753, Naval Records of the American Revolution 1775-1778, Orders dated 28 October 1776 from Commodore Esek Hopkins to Captain John Paul Jones to transfer Hacker’s crew).

[95] The Warship Alfred, the flagship of the fledgling Continental Navy, was originally built in Philadelphia as the ship rigged vessel Black Prince. The Continental Congress order her to be outfitted as a warship, and the young Lieutenant John Paul Jones, newly assigned to the vessel, hoisted the Grand Union flag on the day of the Alfred’s commission on December 3, 1775. Captain Dudley Saltonstall was appointed her command. After an initial cruise in early 1776, she returned to Providence and remained inactive through the summer due to a shortage of funds and men to operate the vessel. It did not depart Providence again until in the company of the 14-gun brig Hampden in October 1776.

[96] Providence Gazette, edition of December 14, 1776, RIHS Microfilm Collection, Robinson Research Library.

[97] Ibid.

[98] Lying as the Southernmost tip of the mainland, the Point was an important encampment location for militia and point of embarkation for troops ferried to Aquidneck Island during the Battle of Rhode Island in August, 1778.

[99] The Yankee Ranger was a 10-gun Sloop of War commissioned in Providence in July 1776 under initial command of Capt. John Warner, and owned by a host of investors, including Joseph Tillinghast, Nicholas Brown, William Wall, among others. While active with other privateers that summer, she was taken command by Capt. Samuel Tripe by mid-September, when cruising alongside the Montgomery, the vessels took three prizes bound for the West Indies. (Maureen Taylor, Revolutionary War Privateer Lists 1774-1783, Rhode Island Roots, June 2026, 100-112, Robert A. Geake, Fear of Famine, Uprising, and the Loss of Fortune: How Privateering Created Panic in the West Indies, The Cocumscussoc Review, July 2026).

[100] Providence Gazette, edition of December 14, 1776, RIHS Microfilm Collections, Robinson Research Library.

[101] Admiral of the Fleet, Sir Peter Parker (1721-1811) was a Royal Navy officer whose career began as a Lieutenant in the War of Jenkin’s Ear, when he was deployed in a squadron to the West Indies under Admiral Edward Vernon. He later saw action in the War of the Austrian Succession, and as Captain of the fourth-rate HMS Bristol, he was engaged with the invasion of Guadeloupe during the Seven Years War. The American Revolution brought him to North America to provide naval support for the expedition of Sir Henry Clinton in the southern colonies. He led an attack on the fortifications on Sullivan’s island, but sustained heavy damage to his vessel and had to repair from the effort to take Charleston, South Carolina. He later served under Lord Howe in the occupation of New York City, and subsequently would command the squadron that captured Long Island and Rhode Island in December, 1776. (Tony Heathcote, The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734-1995, Pen & Sword, 2002, 205, David Lee Russell, Victory on Sullivan’s Island: The British Cape Fear/Charleston Expedition, Infinity, 2002, 222).

[102] British General Hugh Percy (1742- 1817), is best remembered for rescuing the British regulars under command of Colonel Francis Smith who had been ambushed at Concord and were bogged down in retreat. Percy marched 1000 soldiers and several cannon to Lexington in short order to engage the rebels and facilitate a withdrawal to Boston with few casualties. He later commanded a division during the Battle of Long Island in 1776 and the capture of Fort Washington.

[103] Dr. John Morgan (1735-1789), a physician, served as the second Director General and Physician -in- Chief of the Continental Army. He was appointed by the Continental Congress on October 17, 1775, but resigned two years later amid a growing crisis in the hospital department.

[104] Dr. Joseph Josselyn (1736-1780), was a physician from Scotland who arrived in East Greenwich in 1770. Persuaded to stay and set up a practice in town by Governor William Greene, he operated a small hospital near the Court House. There, he inoculated patients for smallpox, and was well respected in town. When the war arrived, he enlisted as a surgeon in the Ninth Continental Infantry of the Rhode Island troops. ( Martha M. McPartland, A History of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, 1960, 123).

[105] On board were also crew taken prisoner, as reported by the Gazette on January 11^th; “Thursday (Jan.9) 98 prisoners taken in several of the enemy’s vessels by the Alfred in her last cruise arrived here to be exchanged.”