HMS ''Swift'' was a 14-gun ''Swan''-class ship-sloop, launched on 1 January 1777. She was commissioned that month under Lieutenant George Keppel and sailed for North America on 27 March. Command later passed to Thomas Lennox Frederick, who captained her in operations on the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

. On 22 November 1778, she was in pursuit of an American privateer, ''Rattlesnake'', off

Cape Henry Cape Henry is a cape on the Atlantic shore of Virginia located in the northeast corner of Virginia Beach. It is the southern boundary of the entrance to the long estuary of the Chesapeake Bay. Across the mouth of the bay to the north is Cape Ch ...

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 ...

. During the action ''Swift'' grounded on Middle Ground and she was burnt by her crew to prevent her from falling into enemy hands. Rattlesnake was wrecked also.Winfield p.282

Citations

References

* * Winfield, Rif, ''British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714-1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates''. Seaforth Publishing, 2007. .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swift (1777) Sloops of the Royal Navy 1777 ships Swan-class ship-sloops