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Naval Documents of The American Revolution Volume 5 AMERICAN THEATRE: May 9, 1776–July 31, 1776 Part 1 of 8 United States Government Printing Office Washington, 1970 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 5 AMERICAN THEATRE: May 9, 1776July 31, 1776 WILLIAM JAMES MORGAN, Editor With a Foreword by PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON And an Introduction by REAR ADMIRAL F. KENT LOOMIS, U.S.N. (Ret.) Director of Naval History WASHINGTON: 1970 L.C. Card No. 6460087 For sale by the Superintondent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Ofice \17asllington,D.C. 20402 - Price $13.25 SECRETARY OF THE NAVY'S ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON NAVAL HISTORY James P. Baxter, 111 (Emeritus) Elmer L. Kayser Samuel Flagg Bemis (Emeritus) John Haskell Kemble Francis L. Berkeley, Jr. Leonard W. Labaree Julian P. Boyd Richard W. Leopold Marion V. Brewington Allan Nevins (Emeritus) Jim Dan Hill Walter Muir Whitehill SPECIAL CONSULTANTS FOR NAVAL DOCUMENTS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION L. H. Butterfield Oliver Wendell Holmes Howard H. Peckham Director of Naval History Rear Admiral F. Kent Loomis, U.S.N. (Ret.) Deputy Director of Naval History Captain Paul B. Ryan, U.S.N. (Ret.) The Dexterity of our People in Sea Matters must produce great Things . John Adams 1776 . now we go by that pleasing name of Independant States, I am perfectly easey about the Consequences of the Warr . John Langdon 1776 January 20, 1970 FOREWORD It. is highly gratifying for me to be able to contribute a foreword to Volume V of Naval Documents of the American Revolution. As a one-time naval officer and a life-long reader of history, I find this book doubly enjoyable. Midway through the book the reader comes upon an entry from the Journal of the Continental Congress. At first glance, it looks very much like any other such entry, but the date -- flThursday, July 4, 1776" --- discloses its im- portance. It is the Declaration of Independence entry, as agreed to by the members of the Congress on that date. Appearing as it does amid letters, excerpts from private and public journals, autobiographical excerpts and public papers, the Declaration of Independence can be seen from a unique historical perspective. We are used to seeing the Declaration of Independence as a document that stands apart, a revered and timeless doc- ument of liberty. So it is; but it is also a part of the time when it was composed. Volume V of the Naval Documents of the Revolution reminds the readers of the reality of that time: on the same day Congress agreed to the wording of the Declaration of Independence, "One Cask of Grape Shot" was directed to be delivered to the Marine Committee of Congress. Other sources on or near that date tell of twelve Americans killed and twenty-three wounded in an attack on Charleston and of the parole granted to "Captain Samuel Evans, master of the Friendship, taken as prize by Captain R'd Barron. The men who signed the Declaration of Independence knew that they were not engaging in a textbook exercise. The phrase "our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honorH takes on new meaning when we discover, through theee first-hand accounts, that the patriots were in very grave danger of losing all. This primary source material can be enjoyed by amateur historians or.employed by students of history and profes- sional historians . It is history without embellishment taken directly from words of the men who were in the process of making history. Throughout these pages, the courage and daring of American seamen can be seen again and again. Volume V of Naval Documents of the herican Revolution is a fitting tribute to these men and to the Navy. It is an invaluable work of scholarship in which the editors and the United States Navy can take great pride. INTRODUCTION The turbulen; vast oceans of the world-ever moving, ever changing- are in themselves the very embodiment of freedom and liberty defined so clearly almost two hundred years ago in the Declaration of Independence. Men who take to the sea to trade, to fish, to guard the peace or make war when necessary, share, feel and absorb an independence which is uniquely their own. There dwells in sailors a burning spirit which will not accept the shackles of tyranny just as the waters on which they serve cannot be stilled. This is true today, and the documents presented in the current volume, and previous ones of the series, demonstrate that this spirit was not wanting in the American seafaring patriots who carried the con- flict to the enemy against overwhelming odds. While the Declaration of Independence must be the central great occurrence in the time span of Volume 5, other events, as outlined in President Nixon's Foreword and in the Summary on pages one and two, were unfolding to test by fire America's search for independence. Would it remain only an inspired declaration or become a reality? We cannot stress too strongly or too often that this work is made possible by the complete cooperation and priceless assistance received from libraries, historical societies, museums, other depositories, and private collectors in this country and abroad. Unpublished Crown copyright material in the Public Reccrd Office, London, is reproduced by per- mission of Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Special appreciation must be accorded to Mr. John F. Leavitt, Associate Curator of The Marine Historical Association Incorporated, Mystic, Connecticut, who giving freely of his own time and knowledge prepared the fine pictorial article, "Shipwrights' Tools during the Revolu- tion," for this volume. As a perceptive commentator noted, the death of Mr. William Bell Clark, while Volume 4 was under preparation, deprived this project of "one of the keenest, albeit vicarious, observers of the American Revolu- tionary scene the twentieth century has yet produced." Through Mr. Clark's industry and foresight, and the gracious understanding of his widow, he has left a legacy of building blocks for Volume 5 and beyond. The work he had compiled for subsequent volumes, his library, and large collection of manuscript transcripts tirelessly amassed have come to the Naval History Division as an extremely valuable part of our holdings. William James Morgan of the Naval History Division, author and Revolutionary War student, is now editor of the series. Those who are familiar with the undertaking since publication of Volume 1, and particu- larly the distinguished members of the Secretary of the Navy's Advisory Committee, know that Dr. Morgan has been intimately and essentially associated with the work since its inception. He comes, therefore, quali- fied and certainly no stranger to the awesome task. Dr. Morgan is backed by a small crew of experienced, dedicated and highly capable colleagues in our Historical Research Section-Mr. Robert L. Scheina, Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Scheffenacker, Mr. Robert I. Campbell, Mrs. Anne C. Ruggieri, Lieutenant (junior grade) Robert Munson, Ensign Kristin G. Tryon, Mr. E. Gordon Bowen-Hassell, Yeoman First Class Lenzie D. Crosby, Miss Jacquelyn L. Schmok, and during summer Naval Reserve duty, Chief Personnelman George K. McCuistion. We mourn the death during the past year of Commander William B. Row- botham, RN (Ret) , who did outstanding research for us in the Public Record Office and other United Kingdom repositories. Maps and charts are the province of Mr. W. Bart Greenwood, Navy Department Librarian, assisted by Miss Mary Pickens. The excellent selec- tions found in this volume bear testimony to Mr. Greenwood's intense personal interest and knowledge of eighteenth century cartography. Mr. Charles R. Haberlein, Jr., of our Curator's Branch has done a fine job collecting, selecting, and describing illustrations. On January 23, 1970, after a distinguished career crowned by his thirteen years as Director of Naval History, Rear Admiral Ernest McNeill Eller, USN, retired from the naval service. The outstanding achievements of the Naval History Division during Admiral Eller's tenure give full testimony to his total dedication, his keen intelligence, and boundless energies. This monumental Naval Documents work was started by him. He guided and nurtured the project which must now stand as the high- water mark among a legion of lasting and meaningful accomplishments. Admiral Eller has charted the difficult seas, and has set us a true course to follow. F. Kent Loomis EDITOR'S PREFACE As may be expected, an expanding war at sea and preparations for future operations, clearly evident in this volume, are accompanied by commensurate density of documentary coverage. The choice of what to include in a volume and what to place aside becomes increasingly dif- ficult and of paramount importance. A large element of subjective judg- ment, by necessity, comes into play during the process. A prime criterion for arriving at a decision to print is an item's contribution to broad coverage of major events during the period spanned by a particular volume. For example, in Volume 5 the build-up at New York and on Lake Champlain, the attack on Charleston, the new Conti- nental frigates, and of course, the Declaration of Independence are center stage. In the present volume more extensive use has been made of footnotes to call attention to items which have had to be omitted. To illustrate, several depositories hold considerable collections of privateer bonds. Bonds are largely repetitious; we have included only representative examples from several states, but have directed any user with specialized interests in this subject to major collection sources.

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