Pennsylvania Navy Meets British in Action, May 8, 1776

The Committee of Safety, which organized July 3, 1775, early in the following year, had a survey made of the Delaware River, with a view to its more extensive fortification. Leave was obtained from New Jersey to construct works on that side of the river; a permanent fort was determined upon at Billingsport; the fort at Fort Island was hurried to completion; it was decided to fortify Liberty Island, and additions were made to the chevaux-de-frise. To the naval flotilla were added the floating battery Arnold, the ship-of-war Montgomery, the fireship Aetna and some guardboats for Philadelphia harbor. This naval force soon had a chance to show its mettle.

On May 6 news came to Philadelphia by express from Fort Penn that two warships, a schooner and three tenders were coming up the river. The Committee of Safety ordered the gunboat flotilla and the Montgomery and Aetna, under command of Commodore Andrew Caldwell and Captain James Reed, to attack the enemy. His vessels were the Roebuck, forty-eight guns, under command of Captain Hammond, and the sloop-of-war Liverpool, twenty-eight guns, under command of Captain Bellew, and their tenders.

Captain Proctor, in command of the fort at Fort Island, volunteered for the fight with 100 of his men and served on board the Hornet. The Montgomery, the Continental ship Reprisal, under command of Captain Wickes, and the battery Arnold, under Captain Samuel Davidson, remained near the chevaux-de-frise, in a line with the forts. The other boats went down the river to the mouth of Christiana Creek, coming up with the enemy on the afternoon of May 8.

Fire was immediately opened on both sides and was maintained with much spirit until dark. The Roebuck ran ashore and careened; the Liverpool came to anchor to protect her and the provincial boats withdrew to obtain more ammunition.

During this engagement, the Continental schooner Wasp, with Captain Alexander, which had been previously chased into Wilmington, came out and captured an English brig belonging to the squadron. The fireship was not brought into use, and before morning the Roebuck was again afloat.

The attack was renewed at 5 o’clock in the morning when the British ships retired, being closely pursued as far as New Castle by the Philadelphia navy.

The officers of the flotilla complained grievously of the supplies furnished them by the Committee of Safety as being defective in quality 325and deficient in quantity; the powder was so bad that the men had to cut up their clothes and equipments to make the cartridges serviceable. There were also other defects, so that the officers threw the whole blame of their failure to destroy or capture the enemy vessels upon the committee. The Assembly investigated, however, and exonerated the committee.

The American loss was one killed and two wounded. The British lost one killed and five wounded. So it was quite probable this engagement was fought at long range. Members of the Provincial Navy, however, brought up some splinters from the enemy’s ships to exhibit at the Coffee House as trophies of the fight. The Roebuck and the Liverpool returned to their stations at Cape May, depending upon New Jersey, instead of Pennsylvania, for poultry and fresh provisionsprovisions.

This engagement served a valuable purpose. Congress and the Provincial Assembly were certainly admonished to increase their navies. The Committee of Safety added to the galleys and other vessels, sloops, schooners, guard boats and also firerafts. This added force was composed of 743 men. Samuel Davidson was appointed to succeed Commodore Caldwell, as commander of the flotilla, soon after the fight, but on account of much opposition from other officers, never took up the command.

The Committee of Safety organized a system of privateers and letters of marque at this time, with the sanction of Congress. They created a Court of Admiralty, of which George Ross, of Lancaster, was judge; Matthew Clarkson, marshal, and Andrew Robinson, register.

Before July there had also been commissioned the brigs Hancock and Congress, and the sloop Chance, under Captains Wingate Newman, John Kaye, and James Robertson. As early as May the Congress and Chance had taken three valuable ships from Jamaica bound for London, with large cargoes of rum, sugar and molasses, 22,420 “pieces of eight,” 187 ounces of plate and a fine turtle, intended as a present to Lord North. The President of the Continental Congress received and enjoyed this turtle.

It is also of interest to our Province to note that the activities of the young navy resulted in other important prizes. The privateer Congress captured the schooner Thistle; the privateer Franklin, of Philadelphia, took a British storeship with seventy-five tons of gunpowder and 1000 stands of arms; the ship Lexington, under Captain John Barry, of Philadelphia, captured the Edward; the Wasp took the schooner Betsy. In the meantime the British Roebuck and Liverpool, with their tenders, made many captures of vessels about the Delaware Capes, chasing others ashore. But the record of the young American Navy was glorious and certainly a fine beginning for the brilliant successes which were to follow.

Thus we find that the Committee of Safety constructed the Pennsylvania State Navy three months before Congress proposed a Continental navy.

326By August, 1776, the fleet numbered twenty-seven vessels, with Captain Thomas Reed as commodore, the first officer of that title in America. Another distinguished officer was Nicholas Biddle.

Three months after the State Navy was begun the Continental Congress took action for the construction of a Continental navy, which was also fitted out in Philadelphia. When the Congress of the United States established the Navy Department in 1798, the first navy yard was located in Philadelphia, where ship building had been an established enterprise since 1683. The city is today famous for the quality and quantity of ships built for this and other nations of the world.