The Capture of HMS ''Savage'' was a naval battle of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

involving the American

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

''Congress'' and the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

sloop-of-war During the 18th and 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship of the Royal Navy with a single gun deck that carried up to 18 guns. The rating system of the Royal Navy covered all vessels with 20 or more guns; thus, the term encompassed all u ...

HMS ''Savage''. It occurred in September 1781 off

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

and is considered one of the hardest-fought

single ship action A single-ship action is a naval engagement fought between two warships of opposing sides, excluding submarine engagements; it is called so because there is a single ship on each side. The following is a list of notable single-ship actions. Sing ...

s of the war.

Background

By 1781 the smaller British vessels blockading

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

were raiding the American coast by means of boat expeditions. One commander involved in the operations was

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Charles Stirling Charles Stirling (28 April 1760 – 7 November 1833) was a vice-admiral in the British Royal Navy. Early life and career Charles Stirling was born in London on 28 April 1760 and baptised at St. Albans on 15 May. The son of Admiral Sir Walter ...

of the sloop ''Savage'', armed with sixteen 6-pounders. Stirling was noted for having plundered

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

, the Virginia estate of General

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

, who was commander in chief of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

and later the first American president. Shortly after the raid of Mount Vernon, Captain Stirling sailed his ship south. In the early morning of September 6, ''Savage'' was escorting a convoy when she encountered the sloop-of-war ''Congress'' ten leagues from Charleston. Stirling placed ''Savage'' between the merchant vessels and the stranger. ''Congress'' was under the command of Captain George Geddes of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, armed with twenty 12-pounders and four 6-pounders, with a complement of 215 officers and men. Its Marines were under the command of Captain

Allan McLane Allan McLane (August 8, 1746 – May 22, 1829) was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was appointed as the first United States Marshal of Delaware in 1789, and as United States Customs Service, Customs Col ...

of the

. ''Congress'' was returning from Cap-François,

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

, where McLane had carried dispatches from George Washington to Comte

François Joseph Paul de Grasse François Joseph Paul, Comte de Grasse, Marquis of Grasse-Tilly, KM (13 September 1722 – 11 January 1788) was a French Navy officer. He is best known for his crucial victory over the Royal Navy at the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781 during t ...

, commander of a French fleet, appealing for his aid at Chesapeake Bay.

Battle

When Stirling first saw ''Congress'' he sailed towards her, in the hope that she was a privateer of twenty 9-pounder guns that had been raiding in the area. However, when he got closer and saw that she was significantly stronger even than the privateer he thought she might be, Stirling attempted an escape. However, by 10:30 am the Americans came within range and opened fire with their bow chasers. By 11:00 ''Congress'' had closed the distance and her crew engaged with muskets and pistols, to which the British replied with "energy". At this point Captain Geddes observed that his ship was faster than that of the enemy so he maneuvered ahead of ''Savage'' until almost abreast, in preparation for a broadside. A duel then commenced at extreme close range, during which both ships were heavily damaged. Sailors on both sides were also burned by the flashes of their enemy's cannon. ''Congress''s rigging was torn to shreds during the exchange, which compelled the Americans to stand off for quick repairs. After doing so, they resumed the chase. ''Congress'' was swiftly alongside the ''Savage'' again and another duel began. The Americans and British fought for about an hour, the combat ending with ''Savage'' in ruins. Her quarterdeck and forecastle had been completely cleared of resistance, her mizzenmast was blown away, and her mainmast was nearly gone as well. Geddes felt that this was an opportune time to board the enemy, but just as he was moving his ship in, a

boatswain A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, or the third hand on a fishing vessel, is the most senior Naval rating, rate of the deck department and is responsible for the ...

appeared on ''Savage''s forecastle, waving his hat as a sign of surrender. British forces lost eight men killed and 34 wounded, including Captain Stirling; the Americans had 11 killed and around 30 wounded. In his letter reporting on the action, Captain Stirling noted that after he and his men became prisoners, the Americans had treated them "with great Humanity."

Aftermath

In America, the capture was widely cheered as payback for the looting of George Washington's home by Captain Stirling and ''Savage''s crew. However, the Americans who boarded ''Savage'' never made it back to port. The

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

recaptured ''Savage'' on 12 September, with a prize crew of thirty Americans aboard. Maclay states that the same frigate captured ''Congress'' and recaptured ''Savage''. (The ''London Gazette'' mentions the recapture of ''Savage'', but not the capture of her captor ''Congress''.)

Notes

Citations

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:HMS Savage, Capture of Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War involving Great Britain Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War involving the United States Conflicts in 1781