Privateering In Vineyard In the Revolutionary War

William T Munson

Soon after a Lexington fu rmer had fired "the shot mainly the res ult of individual acti on rather than a heard ro und the world." another shot. though not coordinated program under the Continental Con­ as famed nor presumably hea rd so far. was fi red in gress or the govern men L The isolated, Vineyard Sound. This shot was fired from one of ex posed position of Martha's Vineyard. Naushon. the three swivels mounted on the whaleboat of an and the other made any coordi­ intrepid Vineyarder named Benjamin Smith. It was nated m ili tary effort difficult. Much of the the signal for the opening of an engagement that priv3rcering in Vineyard Sound was carr ied o n in ought to rank as the first sea batde of the American vessels that were nor regul arly com_rniss ioned, with Revolution. T hat distinction is generally award ed to li ttle official cognizance other than that of select­ the sloop Ullity. commanded by Jeremiah O ·Brien. men. committees of safery and other local authori­ whi ch captured t he British a rm ed schooner [les. Margareua off Machi as. Maine.' In fact. the affair in Vineyard Sound. although hardl y a major action. This was all the authoriry that Captain Sm ith had does quali fY as the first armed combat of the wa r on when he sall ied forth in a whaleboat with a small rhe sea. crew of volunteers to undcHake rhe capture of the armed British schooner Volante. tender of the Brit­ The Sound was the majo r for ships bound ish cruiser Scarboro ugh. Though there was a great to and from New York. and the privateersmen of dispariry between the two vessels. Smith made up in Martha's Vineyard and Naushon took the opportu­ daring what he lacked in ordinance. boarded and ni ry to prey on the pass ing British vessels. British soon brought the prize into safe harbor.' men of war responded in several in cidents of aggres­ sive action aga in st the privateers, and that in rum The inhabi tants of Naushon also engaged in some led to retali atory action on the part of the islanders. whaleboat privateering. but despite the fine harbor at Tarpaul in which had ea rl ier sheltered pi­ O ne such incident happened in the spring of 1775 rates an d other illicit raiders of commerce) me ac­ when the Falcon. a Bri ti sh Sloop. took two vessels in tivities of this small island were soon curtailed by the Sound "on some frivolous prerence .... o n whi ch the "sloop Falcon. commanded by Captain Linzey.'" the people fitted out twO other vessels in the Vine­ This vessel anchored at in early June. yard Sound. we nt in pursu it of them. retook and 1775. and sent in a landing parry. After securing a brought both into a Harbour and sent the Prisoners major part of the supplies. the men stove in al l of to Taunton GaoL":! In this case it seems th at rhe the whaleboats beached on the shore. The inhabit­ small vessels so fitted out were small sloops rather ants of Nallshon Island were handicapped by the than the more usual whaleboats. fact that although they we re on the route of supply ships. they were also very vul nerable to the raids of All privateering in Vineyard Sound during the Revo­ British men of war that were based at Newport and luci onary Wa r was sporadi c, opportunistic and ra nged constantly in the area. 4

On December II , 1775, the selectmen of Falmouth ca nnon to be mounted on them. These were com­ cri ed ro gec rhe governmcnr to use Tarpaulin Cove pletely ineffecti ve as the British kept close watch as a base for priv3rce rin g operations. In a petition ro upo n the island. Whatever captures were made by the Honorable Council and House of Represe nta­ dlese boars were minor and nor mentioned in rhe ti ves in General CO llrt assembled, they stated that records of the prize courtS of the Southeastern di s­ "in the Island of Naushon is a very commodious (nCL harbor much lIsed by all vessels and where a small ship of war and rwo or three renders might inter­ In June of 1776, Barac hiah Basse tt petitioned th e rupt and even destroy all rhe unarmed vessels pass­ council of the HOllse of Represe ntatives of the Mas­ ing through the sd. Sound.'" sachusens [Q mainrain some milirary and nava l force for the defense of the islands. Ten whaleboats Litrie was or could be done to fo ll ow this advice, were allotted "for the protectio n of Tar polan Cove beyond sending a few whaleboars and some small and Martha's Vineyard" with the added hope that

Painting done in the 19305 by Franklin Lewis Gifford of the English raid on on April 1, 1779. COllrlCSY Woods Hole Library. Ph oto by Paul Ferris Smith. This paiming pomays a typical forage by rhe British in Rt:voll1lion:try ti mes. E:trly in the morning of April I. 1779, rh e British landed on the shores of Linl e Harbor in Woods Hole and proceeded ro sreal rwelve h<.-ad of ca nle from nearby farm s. They drove th em down ro th e shore and knocked (hem on [he head. The British were ahom to 10:ld rhe ca rcasses aboa rd their boats when rh ey were fired upon by so me of the Minutemen who had arrived to repulse this fo ra ging parry. So fierce was the fi re of the Americans (har the Briti sh had to abandon their loot and sai led ofT empry.handed.

Frustra ted and in furiated. the Brirish determi ned on revenge. They d<.-ci dt.--d 1'0 sai l th e neet down from Tarpaulin Cove to Falmouth on April 3 and burn rh e town down. 5

they mighr be used fo r rh e preying on rh e commerce [eer. The CllS[Q m of the courts was [0 divide such of rhe enemy rhar passed wirhour- pri zes according to the number of carri age guns o n [he participati ng privateers. Since whaleboa[s car­ These whaleboats were authorized by the Council ried no such weapons, and the guns they did have eleven days later. T hese whaleboars provided the Is­ were generally of little use in small acri ons of rhis landers with the nucieus of a small privateering fl eet. son , some new method had ro be devised. It was Mainly through the initiati ve of twO captains of the fin all y decided ro divide the prize in proportion to Seacoast compani es. Nathan and Benjamin Smith, [he number of men in each vessel. s this fl eet remained active until th e companies were disbanded. Other than whaleboats, the only vessels used by the Vineyarders for privateering in the Sound were small W haleboats made excell ent privateer vessels in rh e sloops such as the craft fitted out for the express pur­ waters of Vineyard Sound. Manned by anywhere pose of recapturing the prizes ofH.M.S. Falcon. The from eight co fifteen men and armed with o ne or only regularly commissioned privateer based on more swivel gu ns, a whaleboat could sli p up to the Martha's Vineya rd was the sloop Liberty.' She was side of an enemy vessel under covcr of darkn ess. commissio ned by [he Massachusens government, board and secure the ship before the crew had been alrhough there is no record of the usual bond being alerted to the fac t that they were bein g attacked. required of th e master or owner.

Such acti o n would seem almost comparabl e to pi ­ Liberty was under the command of Captain Ben­ racy since these small vessels ca rri ed no commiss ion, jamin Smi th and manned by members of hi s Vine­ but they were se nt Out principally by autho ri ty of ya rd Seacoast Company. Her mi ss ion was ro cap­ the selectmen of the tOw n. A further stamp ofJegal­ rure [he transport Harriot, Weymuse O rrack, Mas­ ity was pur upon the capture by hav ing the prize ter, thar was loaded with "Cole, Poner, and Poraroes "libell ed" by one of the several couns set up for th is bound for Bosron. "'o The transpon was engaged in purpose by the government ofMassachuserrs. In the early March 1776 and brought inro the harbor." case of captures in Vineyard Sound, prizes would be T his was another example of the intrepid seaman­ taken before the CO Urt of the Southeastern district ship and courage of Captain Smith and his com­ located at Barnstable. This is what happened when pany, for the Harriot was a large ship of twO hun­ the schooner Bedford was captured on March 23, dred fifty rons burthen and the Liberty was but a 1776, by the Seacoast Company of Tisbury under small sloop. In rh is case the ve rdicr of rh e Coun was the di rectio n of Capta in Nathan Smirh. The schoo­ not as generous. T he captain and company petitioned ner had been carryin g a cargo of provisio ns for rh e the coun seeki ng more than the one rhird share that British Reef an d army. an d in [his case rhe co urr al­ they had been awarded. " The petirion was disal­ lowed the co mpa ny to take two thirds of rhe con­ lowed. ten[ s of rh e vessel. 7 Pl'iV3[Ce ring in the Sound was not wholly [he prov­ Violenr disputes in rhe pri ze (DUnS were prec ipirarcd ince of rh e Patriots. From the beginning of [he war, when a vessel was ca ptured by mo rc than o ne pri va- loca l trade through the Sound was bothered by the 6

depredati ons of small boats similar to those used There was little cohes ion or effecri ve direction to aga inst the British. The local inhabitants called them rhe acriviries of th e privateers in Vi neyard Sound i 'Pi caroons' and found th em a SO UTce of grea t annoy­ the priv3ree ring was sporadic, occurred early in the ance. They were based in harbors protected by large r war and had no noticeable effect upon the outcome British vessels and were manned by Tories. The To­ of the wa r. The privateers fo ught no major battles. ri es called themselves British belligerents. but they nor did any of their acti ons gready adva nce the cause acted like little more than pirates. robbing friend of Independence. Their story is one of individual and foe ali ke wheneve r the opportunity presented acti on in the immediate defense and for th e imme­ itself. There were no commiss ions, bonds. or other diate benefit of exposed setdements that were largely reco rds with which to document the 3cciviri es of a li ability to the patriot cause. th ese marauders . However. the privateers did their part in a small way Grey's raid in J 778 destroyed twenty-six whaleboats for independence and did remain a thorn in the side and two sloops at the Vineyard and deprived of the British fl eet. The Vineyarders certainly did Naushon of most of its remaining sustenance. The not dese rve the comments of Col. Beriah Norton. raid ended the Patriot privateering in these parts fo r An early leader of the revolt. Norton spent the late r a time. In its stead. the British began to use the har­ yea rs of his life attempting ro gain restitution for the bor at Tarpaulin Cove as a base for thei r own priva­ damage done by Grey's raid. In a petitio n to the reers. Admiralty Board in England he made the followi ng amazing statement: "It is truly astonishing th at th ese Early in May J 779. a ship was returning fro m the inhabitants should be accused of fitting out Priva­ Connec ti cut Ri ve r with corn for Woods Hole. Corn teers and Rowboats and taking many prizes into port. was then selling at $3.00 per bushel . attesting the when it is in contestably uue mar no privateer or row­ effi ciency of the British blockade. The ship was in­ boat was ever fitted our from the island nor any parr tercepted by a British priva teer as she entered the of one owned by any inhabitant of it. " Sound. captured. and taken to the anchorage at the Cove. Later in the night. Col. Dimmick proceeded Suffice it to say that the absurdity of this reporr is silently to the Cove with members of the Falmouth apparent. Norton's statement was obviously designed militia in three of the armed whaleboats then at to ex tract money from the British and is disproved Woods H ole. They arrived just before daybreak and by the records. Such talk as this must have seemed were fired on by both vessels. They managed to board lirtl e shorr of treaso n to such men as Benjamin and the prize. secure it. and run for safety behind the Nathan Smith and the other hardy Yankees who sal­ reefs of Martha's Vineyard. Here they beached the lied forth in flim sy ill-armed whaleboats to do batde vessel until the tide turned. then refloated her and with armed British men of wa r. sailed to Woods Hole. At that time there were seven enemy privateers in the harbor at Tarpaulin Cove Willi am T. Munson is a loyal Harvard alumnus. His long and according to an ord er issued by the Board of War distinguishcd scrvice as Trusree of rh e Falmouth Public Li bra ry culminared recently when (he Town declared a Bill Munson and the Naval Board to the fri gate Providence. Day wi th a ceremony in his honor a( rhe main li brary. Mr. Munson is a respecred Falmouth attorney. 7

]>aiming done in the 19305 by Franklin Lewis Gifford, "Falmouth Militia Repels British Invasion." COUrtesy Falmourh HislOri c.11 Socicry. PhotO by Paul I:crris Smith. This paiming shows the British rcral i;u ion for the repulse of their raiders at Woods Hole o n April I, 1779. O n April 3, a fl ect of (en schooners and sloops carrying 200 British sympathizers from PlymoUlh and Newporr arrived offSurfOri vc Beach to in vade rhe town of Falmouth and burn it down. Col. Joseph Dimmick of Falmourh is portrayed in this painting as pacin g th e breastworks along (he be:lch while bullets and cannon balls fl y around him. He refused pleas that he protect himself in the tTench. Col. Dimmick was made ge neral after the war. During the war, he was also responsible fo r preventing British lise ofNanrucket as a supply base.

The story of how Fa lmouth was warned about this arrack is raid by Judith Stetson in \%otU Ho /~ Rtf/l'criolls, edited by Mary Lou Smith, published by dle Woods Hole Historical Collection, 1983, p. 22. : "Some officers of the nee! spent the evening of the 2nd enjoyi ng a fro lic at lhe house of John Slocum , a renowned Tory li ving on the island of Pasque near Tarpaulin Cove. Slocum overheard their plan and could not bear 10 have the

town destroyed without a warning. He sent his son running down the islands (Q row across [0 Woods Hole and wa rn th e village. When rhe English arrived at 9 the nex t morning ofT Surf Drive beach, rhey fo und Major Dimmick with two Fal mouth co mpanies ;lIld rwo Sa ndwich companies rcady to beat them off. After some ski rmishing during which rhe cannonballs buried themselves harmlessly in rhe April slush ins[e:ld of rebound ing in to rhe defenders, th e neet sailed away.'" 8

Mr. Munso n consulted archives at {he New England Historical Notes Sociery and Widener Library in {he coursc of resca rching his paper. I. G.W. Allen in his preface to MflJStlclmsl't/s Pri '!(Iu~rJ ofthr R~I IO­ /"I;on gives credil 10 Machias as l0C3 rion of the fi rs t action of Ihe war, but says there wert' reporrsof "somc" action nea r Manha's Vineyard, bm on whal "authori ty" Ihese were reporled he docs not know. AlII hority for theaurhemicityof lhis aClion was found Bibliography in the records by Dr. Charles E. Banlu: and appear in his manu­ scripl for his History of Mnrthfli V;IIryam. Emmon's Stmistiral Mtwflclmlt'tts ArcbillN Volu mes CO X, CXCIV. CLXXI. CXCI. Hi;rory oflh~ u.s. Na,,?,comains record of this action. Procudillgs ofth~ MIUUlclmsttls Historical Soriny Vol. V. 2. N~fII Ellgla nd C"ron ;d~, M:ay 18, 1n5. N~fII Ellglmlll ClJ rol1icl~ May 18. 1775. 3. Emmons, Stflt;sliml Hi;rory ofI",. U.S. Navy. Banks. C harles E.• MallllS(ript for History Of Martha's VillryardVo lumes 4. T he m:a nuscri pi reference called this "t he sloop lywlJrlauo ' bUi J-V. (he re is no record of any British 51001' by Ihal name being in Banks, C harles E., TIJ~ History ofMartha's Vil1ryardVolumes I and II. Ihese wa ters. Howcver th ere arc cons(:a nt references in other George H . Dean; BOS lon. 19 11 (republis hed by Dukes Coumy sources to the ac ti vities of the FtllrO I/ in Tarp:aulin Cove. HislOrical Society. 1966.) 5. Amelia Forbes Emerson, Enrly HisloryofNnw/)oll /skU/d, p. 266. Allen. Gardner W.• Mtwflclmmts !TilJaum oftlu Ama;can RnJOlution 6. T:a rpolan Cove. June 11 , 1776. Letter of B:af3chiah Basscn 10 Volume 44. PrOCttdings of M:l5S3chuscus Hislorical Society, the Council of the House or Represen tatives of the M:l5S3chu­ Boslon, 1927. settS Bay. M:l5S3c huscttS Archives CCIX. 3 15. Em mons. George FOSler, Stmi;ricnl History of U.s. Navy, Gideon & 7. Massachuscns Archives, Council Records. Co., Washingron 8. Timothy Pickering, Ph iladel phia, 10 Messrs. And rew and Wa rd , Emerson, Amelia Forbes. Enrly His,oryofNmulm" Island, Thom:uTodd 21 February 1n9; Pickering P:apcrs (Mas.sachuscns Historical Co.. BoslOn. 1935. Socic[)') V, 137. Maday, Edgar Stanton. A History ofAnurimn Pri/l(uun, D. Apple!on 9. All en, M nSJllclJllJtttJ Prirlflludng. 205. & Co., 1899. 10 . MIlSJlli'lmSetts All'h;ua CXCIV. 28 1. (handwriltCn co m me nl ~)

11 . Le n er 10 James Oris by Ikriah Nonon. March 7, 1776. 12. MIlSJlli'lUlJnts Arrb;,/N CLXXXI, 78.