Naval Documents of The American Revolution Volume 4 AMERICAN THEATRE: Feb. 19, 1776–Apr. 17, 1776 EUROPEAN THEATRE: Feb. 1, 1776–May 25, 1776 AMERICAN THEATRE: Apr. 18, 1776–May 8, 1776 Part 1 of 7 United States Government Printing Office Washington, 1969 Electronically published by American Naval Records Society Bolton Landing, New York 2012 AS A WORK OF THE UNITED STATES FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THIS PUBLICATION IS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. NAVAL DOCUMENTS OF The American Revolution NAVAL DOCUMENTS OF The American Revolution VOLUME 4 AMERICAN THEATRE: Feb. 19, 1776-Apr. 17, 1776 EUROPEAN THEATRE: Feb. 1, 1776-May 25, 1776 AMERICAN THEATRE Apr. 18, 1776-May 8, 1776 WILLIAM BELL CLARK, Editor For and in Collaboration with The U.S. Navy Department With a Foreword by - SECRETARY OF THE NAVY JOHN H. CHAFEE And an Introduction by REAR ADMIRAL ERNEST.'MCNEILL ELLER, U.S.N. (Ret.) Director of Naval History WASHINGTON: 1969 L.C. Card No. 64-60087 MARllvF rnR?S APR as 19';~i REFEiGki,.ui: si~~iaM For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price $14.25 NAVAL HISTORY DIVISION SENIOR EDITORIAL STAFF Rear Admiral Ernest McNeiIl Eller, U.S.N. (Ret.) Rear Admiral F. Kent Loomis, U.S.N. (Ret.) William James Morgan, Ph.D. ILLUSTRATIONS AND CHARTS Commander V. James Robison, U.S.N.R. W. Bart Greenwood SECRETARY OF THE NAVY'S ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON NAVAL HISTORY Samuel Flagg Bemis (Emeritus) Elm& L. Kayser James P. Baxter, I11 John Haskell Kemble Francis L. Berkeley, Jr. Leonard W. Labaree Julian P. Boyd Richard W. Leopold Marion V. Brewington Allan Nevins Jim Dan Hill Walter Muir Whitehill SPECIAL CONSULTANTS FOR NAVAL DOCUMENTS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION L. H. Butterfield Oliver Wendell Holmes Howard H. Peckham I believe that the time is near when the Americans will be their own masters. Caron de Beaumarchais 1776 Heaven seems now to ojer us the glorious privilege . of being the Guardians of the Rights of Man- kind . Major Joseph Ward 1776 THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY WASHINGTON March 3, 1969 FOREWORD On 13 October 1775 the Continental Congress authorized the first two ships of the Navy. From this small beginning we have seen the country's Navy grow into a most powerful force for the security of our nation. It has also continued, as it began, as a force for the defense of freedom- our own and that of our allies, who are united to us by the sea only if we keep strong on it. In this valuable documentary series, through the words of participants and eye witnesses, we read of a small Continental Naval force which promptly challenged Britain's absolute control of the sea. Our first amphibious expedition landed in the Bahamas 3 March 1776, and captured gravely needed munitions, proving to the foe that the infant American Navy was a threat to be reckoned with. Likewise we read in this volume how the tight siege by Gen- eral Washington's army forced the British garrison out of Boston. Yet because the Royal Navy controlled the sea, the troops embarked in their transports and sailed away without loss under the guns of the Royal Navy. Where or when they would come over the hori- zon to strike again from the sea anywhere down the long coast, no one could predict with certainty. But with their powerful fleets it was clear they would strike again and soon. From the letters and other documents in these pages we can also sense the quickening of the Revolution and inexorable march toward the Declaration of Independence - and in time to the entry of France, Spain and Holland to turn the conflict into the fourth World War of the 18th century. As our nation approaches the two hundredth anniversary of its birth, this series emphasizes once again the unchanging significance of seapower. 3nMemoriam On 31 October 1968, when this Volume was still in page proof, William Bell Clark left his typewriter, beloved manuscripts, and notes for the last time. He never awakened from that evening's sleep but instead quietly embarked upon the great Joyage beyond earth's last horizon. His was a full and satisfying life of devoted work and marked achievement. Mr. Clark's unique knowledge of early naval history and his great industry will be sorely missed, and will be an inspiration to those of us who carry forward this monumental series. Nothing but death shall stay me. Julius Caesar, IV, 3. INTRODUCTION "No man is an island unto himself" in this age of satellite communication, jet aircraft and intercontinental missiles. Yet even in the 18th century, as the documents in this volume point up, the Ear reaching sea made the affairs of the small emerging American nation in some ways the affairs of all. The spark of liberty could not have survived in America without extensive aid from overseas. Among the many significant events in these nautical pages, none had greater impact than France's secret policy to prolong the war through undercover aid that could come only by sea and lvould eventually involve her powerful fleets to bring victory. It is interesting that at the outset Bourbon autocracy promoted Ameri- can freedom-fanning the fires that would spread to France and destroy the monarchy. Surely Providence works in mysterious and unforeseen ways- as America experienced often during the Revolution and in the stirring years to come when this land of freedom has become a beacon of hope to all men. The initial decision to include foreign documents relating to the war at sea seems more than ever justified as we get deeper into the years of con- flict. They bring breadth of perspective, significance and deeper meaning. At the same time the growing sea of documents has vastly increased our task of selection. It has taken four broad-beamed volumes to reach to the first months of the second year of the Revolution. Documents printed in the volumes contain the principal, but by no means all the large holdings collected in the Naval History Division for this period. Through drastic editorial review, extracting or eliminating material, and footnote references, we have been able to extend the time span of Volume 4 over that covered in Volume 3. We will hold this course of selection even more closelv in sub- sequent volumes. The wholehearted support of libraries, historical societies, museums, archives, other depositories, and private collectors and researchers in the United States and abroad continues to make this work a reality. Unpub- lished Crown copyright material in the publib Record Office is reproduced by permission of the Controller of H.M. Stationery Office. We were able to get this great editorial project underway a decade ago because of the knowledge and dedication of William Bell Clark. In his heart was an abiding love for the American Revolution as affected by naval events. In his mind he had stored information from a lifetime of research and reading. In his library he had tens of thousands of pages of transcripts relating to the Revolution. Therefore, when he quietly sailed on into vaster seas we suffered a grievous loss indeed in a splendid American, an esteemed friend, and an editor whose knowledge can not be fully replaced by any man alive. We will carry on this series but will not cease to think of him and miss him. Within the Naval History Division the key to this project's success and steady progress continues to be the intelIigent know-how, intense interest, and hard work of Dr. ?Villiam James Morgan and his devoted crew in our Historical Research Section-Lieutenant Patrick A. Lyons, Mr. Robert I. Campbell, Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Scheffenacker, Mrs. Eleanor Roll, Yeo- man First Class Joseph V. Eckert, Miss Anne Kenenski, and a talented part time worker in our vineyard, Mr. arti in Petersilia. Lieutenant Raymond P. Schmidt and Chief Personnelman George K. McCuistien, on summer Naval Reserve duty with us, made significant con- tributions. Mr. W. Bart Greenwood, Navy Department Librarian, and Miss Mary Pickens did a fine job with the maps as did Mr. Charles R. Haberlein Jr., of the Curator's Branch, with other illustrations. France's secret decisions that highlight the importance of the sea for the future of America represent only a small portion of the material in Volume 4 that points up this unchanging verity in history of the sea's mighty role. For example, on one day in 1776, 19 April, the first anniversary of the embattled patriots' stand at Lexington and Concord, we find these wide spread indications: a. Virginia newspaper reported that two British tenders sailed up the James River and captured a vessel "with about 200 barreIs of flour on board." b. Pennsylvania decided to build an additional Aoating battery to cover the water approaches to Philadelphia. c. New York directed her sloop Montgomery to hasten to sea to "act against the enemies of the United Colonies." d. Massachusetts named "five armed Vessels now building"-In- dependence, Rising Empire, Republic, Freedom, and Tyranni- cide. e. Halifax, Nova Scotia. Vice Admiral Shuldham wrote an urgent dispatch to the Admiralty. H.M.S. Glasgow had arrived much "shattered" having "off Rhode Island fallen in with and been attack'd by several Armed Vessels of the Rebels." f. London. Admiralty Secretary Philip Stephens had no way of knowing that Boston was recently evacuated as he addressed an order to Shuldham. He urged extreme vigilance in protecting homeward-bound West Indies trade, and that British Captains "take or destroy any Rebel1 Cruizers they may happen to meet with." Throughout the~volumethese, and many other documents, as President Kennedy wrote in the Foreword to Volume 1, "make 'amply clear the criti- cal role played by sea power in the achievement of American independence." E.