USS ''Lexington'' was a 16-gun

brigantine A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts. Ol ...

of the

Continental Navy The Continental Navy was the navy of the United Colonies and United States from 1775 to 1785. It was founded on October 13, 1775 by the Continental Congress to fight against British forces and their allies as part of the American Revolutionary ...

. Purchased by the navy in 1776, she was and served in 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 ...

before being captured by the British in 1777.

History

Originally named the ''Wild Duck'', Abraham van Bibber purchased her for the Maryland Committee of Safety, at St. Eustatius in the

Dutch West Indies The Dutch Caribbean (historically known as the Dutch West Indies) are the New World territories, colonies, and countries (former and current) of the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea, mainly the norther ...

in February 1776. She soon got underway for the

Delaware Capes Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States, lying between the states of Delaware and New Jersey. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltwat ...

and reached

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 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 ...

, on 9 March with a cargo of sorely needed

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

for the patriot forces. Four days later, the Marine Committee purchased ''Wild Duck'', renamed her ''Lexington'' after the

Battle of Lexington The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 were the first major military actions of the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot militias from America's Thirteen Co ...

(the first battle of the war), and turned her over to Wharton and Humphry for fitting out.NDAR, vol 4, pg 320 Commanded by Capt. John Barry, ''Lexington'' dropped down 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 ...

26 March and slipped through the British

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are ...

6 April. The following day she fell in with British sloop ''Edward'', a tender to 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 ...

. After a fierce fight which lasted about an hour ''Edward'' struck her colors. ''Lexington'' took her prize into Philadelphia and as soon as the ship was back in fighting trim, Barry put to sea again. On 26 April ''Lexington'' encountered Sir Peter Parker's fleet sailing to attack

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. Two of the British ships gave chase on 5 May off the Delaware Capes. and chased ''Lexington'' for eight hours and came close enough to exchange fire with the American ship before Barry managed to elude his pursuers and reach Philadelphia safely. ''Lexington'' and dropped down the Delaware to

Cape May Cape May consists of a peninsula and barrier island system in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is roughly coterminous with Cape May County and runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. Th ...

on the 20th, there joining and . ''Liverpool'' stood off the Delaware Capes preventing the American ships from escaping to sea. On 28 June Pennsylvanian

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

''Nancy'' arrived in the area with 386 barrels of powder in her hold and ran aground while attempting to elude British blockader ''Kingfisher''. Barry ordered the precious powder rowed ashore during the night leaving only 100 barrels in ''Nancy'' at dawn. A

delayed action fuse A delay-action bomb is an aerial bomb designed to explode some time after impact, with the bomb's fuzes set to delay the explosion for times ranging from very brief to several weeks. Short delays are used to allow the bomb to penetrate before expl ...

was left inside the brig, which exploded the powder just as a boatload of British seamen boarded ''Nancy''. This engagement became known as the Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet. On 10 July ''Lexington'' slipped to sea. On the 27th she captured ''Lady Susan'', a ship of

Lord Dunmore Earl of Dunmore is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The title Earl of Dunmore was created in 1686 for Lord Charles Murray, son of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl. The title passed down through generations, with various earls serving ...

's Tory Fleet which operated out of the

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 ...

. This

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 ...

was commanded by William Goodrich, a member of the notorious Tory family which had plagued the shipping of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. (

Richard Dale Richard Dale (November 6, 1756 – February 26, 1826) was an American naval officer who fought in the Continental Navy under John Barry and was first lieutenant for John Paul Jones during the naval battle off of Flamborough Head, England again ...

, one of seven members of the ''Lady Susan'' crew who signed on Lexington, later won fame under

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-born naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Often referred to as the "Father of the American Navy", Jones is regard ...

.) Early in September, ''Lexington'' took another sloop, ''Betsy''. About a fortnight later lightning struck ''Lexington'' forcing the brigantine home for repairs. ''Lexington'' anchored off Philadelphia 26 September, and two days later Barry relinquished command. With repairs completed, ''Lexington'', Capt. William Hallock in command, got underway for Cape Francois to obtain military cargo. On the return voyage, British frigate overhauled the brigantine just short of the Delaware Capes 20 December and captured her. The commander of the frigate removed ''Lexingtons officers, but left 70 of her men on board under hatches with a

prize crew A prize crew is the selected members of a ship chosen to take over the operations of a captured ship. History Prize crews were required to take their prize to appropriate prize courts, which would determine whether the ship's officers and crew h ...

. But by luring their captors with a promise of

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...

, the Yankee sailors recaptured the ship and brought her to Baltimore. ''Lexington'', now with Capt. Henry Johnson in command, sailed for

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

20 February 1777 and took two prizes before reaching

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

in March. In France, the brigantine joined ''Reprisal'' and for a cruise seeking the Irish linen fleet scheduled to leave

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

early in June. The American ships, commanded by Capt.

Lambert Wickes Lambert Wickes (1735 – October 1, 1777) was a captain in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Revolutionary activities Wickes was born sometime in 1735 in Kent County, Province of Maryland. His family home, Wickliffe, ...

, got underway 28 May and were carried far to westward by heavy winds. Approaching Dublin from the north they entered the north channel 18 June and hove to off the

Mull of Kintyre The Mull of Kintyre is the southwesternmost tip of the Kintyre Peninsula (formerly ''Cantyre'') in southwest Scotland. From here, the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland is visible on a calm and clear day, and a historic lighthouse, the second ...

. During the next four days they captured nine prizes, sinking three, releasing one, and retaining five. Heading south again on the 22nd, they took and scuttled a brig before arriving off

Dublin Bay Dublin Bay () is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea on the east coast of Ireland. The bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north–south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth He ...

. The next morning they took another brig and released a ship bringing sugar, rum, and cotton from

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. After placing prize crews on both vessels, they resumed their voyage around Ireland. On the 24th they stopped and released a smuggler and the next day took their last prize, a

snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

. When they sighted

ship-of-the-line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which involved the two column ...

near

Ushant Ushant (; , ; , ) is a French island at the southwestern end of the English Channel which marks the westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and in medieval times, Léon. In lower tiers of government, it is a commune in t ...

on the 26th, the American ships scattered and made their way individually to safety in France. ''Lexington'' remained at

Morlaix Morlaix (; , ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. History The Battle of Morlaix, part of the Hundred Years' War, was fought near the town on 30 Septembe ...

, a

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

fishing village, throughout the summer, hemmed in by British warships. However, France, under strong British diplomatic pressure, ordered the American ships out of French waters 12 September. ''Lexington'' got underway the next morning but made little headway because of light wind. She lay becalmed near Ushant on the morning of 19 September when British 10-gun cutter , commanded by John Bazely, came into view. In the ensuing fight, ''Lexington''

rigging Rigging comprises the system of ropes, cables and chains, which support and control a sailing ship or sail boat's masts and sails. ''Standing rigging'' is the fixed rigging that supports masts including shrouds and stays. ''Running rigg ...

was seriously damaged, precluding flight. When the American brigantine ran out of powder, Captain Johnson reluctantly struck his colors.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lexington Brigantines of the Continental Navy 1770s ships Vessels captured from the Continental Navy

History

See also

References

External links