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The
American ships sailed on 14 February 1778, but encountered no British warships. Biddle then ordered his captains to proceed to the West Indies, hoping to intercept British merchantmen. After two days, they captured (and were subsequently forced to burn) a dismasted and unsalvageable New England
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Seamen were scarce and recruiting was slow, delaying the ship's maiden voyage. In desperation, captured
British seamen were pressed into service at Philadelphia; the resulting riot forced the soldiers assigned to escort the sailors to fire into the prison windows. Finally manned,
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Twice, after her repairs had been completed and as she was about to get underway, the frigate was kept in port by lightning-splintered mainmasts. Meanwhile, more and more crewmen were lost to sickness, desertion, and the lure of higher pay on merchant vessels.
28:
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s guns were also significantly heavier as she mounted 32-pound cannons on her main deck, 18-pounder guns on her upper deck, and 9-pounder guns on her quarterdeck and forecastle, giving her almost five times the weight of shot that
367:. She departed Charleston on 16 August and was positioned by Biddle at the mouth of the harbor awaiting favorable winds to put to sea. Two days later, a party from the frigate boarded a departing merchantman,
765:
Accounts of shipwreck and of other disasters at sea: designed to be interesting and useful to mariners, with an appendix, containing Dr. Payson's address to seamen and a few prayers for their use
295:, on her first assignment escorting a large group of American merchantmen to sea to obtain supplies and funds for the American cause. On the 15th, the convoy separated, with some of
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limped along, and many members of the crew died and were hastily buried at sea. Biddle also had to deal with a failed uprising by the
British captives on his ship before reaching
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then hoisted
American colors and fired a broadside into the British ship after Biddle and his officers gambled that they were challenging an inferior
818:
739:"Naval Documents of The American Revolution Volume 11 AMERICAN THEATRE: Jan. 1, 1778–Mar. 31, 1778 EUROPEAN THEATRE: Jan. 1, 1778–Mar. 31, 1778"
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and her prizes reached
Charleston on the morning of 6 September. While the frigate was in port having her hull scraped, the president of
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s description was captured; after Biddle identified it as a French man-o'-war, he set it free. Then, as she continued the search,
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Continuing the hunt was out of the question as the ship had lost much of her maneuverability and speed. Now seeking to avoid the
633:
A Full and
Correct Account of the Chief Naval Occurrences of the Late War Between Great Britain and the United States of America
515:
s lookouts spotted sail on the horizon. At 21:00 that evening, an unidentified ship, now flying
British colors, came up on the
390:. After a nightlong chase, she caught up with her quarry the next morning and took four prizes. The first, a 20-gun privateer,
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sprung her foremast. While the crew labored to jury-rig a replacement, the ship's mainmast broke and toppled into the sea.
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s sails and rigging prevented her from pursuing the remaining South
Carolina ships as they slipped away in the darkness.
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and break the
British naval blockade of Charleston. Biddle accepted temporary command of the fleet, which, besides
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339:'s warships, Biddle ordered the ship south towards the Carolina coast. An epidemic of fever broke out as the
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655:"Copy of a Letter from Captain Vincent, of His Majesty's Ship Yarmouth, to Admiral Yong"
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s magazine exploded with a blinding flash. Burning debris up to six feet long struck
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382:. At dusk, on the 3rd, a lookout spotted five vessels: two merchant ships, two
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as the largest ship in the convoy, and demanded they hoist their colors. The
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merchantman which had been captured by a
British privateer while headed for
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trapped until the breeze shifted on 1 September, wafting the frigate across
371:, and took back into its service a pair of deserters among the ship's crew.
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484:. Thereafter, game was scarce. They encountered only neutral ships until
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picked up four survivors off of wreckage on 12 March. Casualties aboard
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on 11 July; he formally assumed command of the frigate in mid-October.
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was finally readied for sea - this time with her masts protected by
270:, with his extensive naval experience, was appointed captain of the
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The frigate herself turned northward with plans to intercept
262:, was launched on 10 July 1776, by Wharton and Humphreys at
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Recruiting was stimulated by the issuing of bounties, and
321:
vessels involved in blockade running. A ship matching the
317:, a British frigate responsible for the loss of several
102:
Sunk by explosion, 7 March 1778 (311 killed/4 survived)
698:
A History of the United States Navy, from 1775 to 1898
406:from a North Carolina privateer while sailing from
291:on 3 February 1777, and three days later rounded
234:. Attaining only moderate success in her career,
744:. U.S. Government printing office via Imbiblio
258:on 13 December 1775. The frigate, designed by
242:stores during a naval action on 8 March 1778.
426:, laden with salt, had also been captured by
8:
606:amounted to five men killed and 12 wounded.
598:resulted in 311 deaths, including Biddle's.
788:Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
402:, the second prize, had been recaptured by
834:Sailing frigates of the United States Navy
677:A naval history of the American Revolution
663:. No. 11876. 19 May 1778. p. 2.
649:
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422:, a French privateer on escort duty, and
782:This article incorporates text from the
414:with a cargo of sugar, rum, ginger, and
16:For other ships with the same name, see
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496:. Biddle had the ship repurposed as a
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238:was destroyed by an explosion of her
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7:
527:. The stranger turned out to be the
398:for the British troops at New York;
303:and the rest setting course for the
125:132 ft 9 in (40.46 m)
133:34 ft 6 in (10.52 m)
492:on 4 March bound from New York to
149:10 ft 6 in (3.20 m)
14:
545:had double the number of guns as
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347:, on the afternoon of 11 March.
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26:
819:Shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea
701:. D. Appleton and Co. pp.
695:Maclay, Edgar Stanton (1898).
1:
809:Ships of the Continental Navy
791:. The entry can be found
508:On the afternoon of 7 March,
674:Allen, Gardner Weld (1913).
452:should join forces with the
430:while plying their way from
814:Ships built in Philadelphia
448:, suggested to Biddle that
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829:Maritime incidents in 1778
345:Charleston, South Carolina
264:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
250:Construction of the first
232:First Continental Congress
192:American Revolutionary War
15:
169:
165:26 x 12 pdrs; 10 x 6 pdrs
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34:
25:
719:. James F. Justin Museum
682:Houghton Mifflin Company
763:Allen, William (1823).
636:. T. Egerton. pp.
630:James, William (1817).
230:, the president of the
141:18 ft (5.5 m)
107:General characteristics
537:As a 64-gun, two-deck
482:St. Augustine, Florida
254:was authorized by the
717:"Action off Barbados"
587:The damage caused to
444:'s General Assembly,
86:Wharton and Humphreys
299:charges heading for
256:Continental Congress
684:. pp. 296–298.
374:Inshore winds kept
660:The London Gazette
198:Battle of Barbados
561:could fire. The
418:. The two brigs,
394:, was laden with
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468:, the converted
462:General Moultrie
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287:sailed down the
260:Joshua Humphreys
221:Continental Navy
78:13 December 1775
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434:to Charleston.
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268:Nicholas Biddle
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228:Peyton Randolph
225:Founding Father
180:Nicholas Biddle
69:Peyton Randolph
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442:South Carolina
420:Charming Peggy
380:Charleston Bar
365:lightning rods
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289:Delaware River
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246:Construction
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94:10 July 1776
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18:USS Randolph
748:29 December
723:25 November
460:, included
428:True Briton
404:True Briton
392:True Briton
319:New England
305:West Indies
186:Operations:
175:Commanders:
824:1776 ships
803:Categories
610:References
573:until the
466:Notre Dame
454:State Navy
432:Martinique
337:Royal Navy
297:Randolph's
266:. Patriot
223:named for
208:The first
154:Complement
589:Yarmouth'
529:HMS
240:gunpowder
604:Yarmouth
600:Yarmouth
596:Randolph
582:Yarmouth
575:Randolph
571:Yarmouth
569:engaged
563:Randolph
559:Randolph
551:Yarmouth
547:Randolph
543:Yarmouth
531:Yarmouth
521:Randolph
517:Randolph
510:Randolph
490:schooner
458:Randolph
450:Randolph
438:Randolph
386:, and a
376:Randolph
361:Randolph
341:Randolph
330:Randolph
285:Randolph
272:Randolph
252:Randolph
236:Randolph
212:Randolph
162:Armament
91:Launched
65:Namesake
59:Randolph
494:Grenada
416:logwood
408:Jamaica
323:Milford
314:Milford
219:in the
217:frigate
116:Frigate
83:Builder
75:Ordered
35:History
780:
498:tender
472:, and
412:London
400:Severn
301:France
178:Capt.
122:Length
742:(PDF)
578:'
554:'
513:'
486:Polly
474:Polly
388:sloop
384:brigs
326:'
146:Depth
138:Draft
793:here
750:2023
725:2013
705:–84.
640:–44.
565:and
504:Loss
312:HMS
210:USS
130:Beam
112:Type
99:Fate
57:USS
54:Name
410:to
396:rum
157:315
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703:83
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646:^
638:40
618:^
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
