Several narrative accounts of the navy of the American Revolution have been written. These usually form the introductory part of a history of the American Navy since 1789. The earliest of these accounts is that of Thomas Clark, published in 1814, and probably the best that of James Fenimore Cooper, first printed in 1839. Later narratives are rather more popular than Cooper’s. Many sources of information, which were not accessible to the earlier writers, and were not much used by the later, were

The history of the Continental navy covers a period of ten years, extending from 1775 to 1785. During this time the Continental Congress made many experiments in naval legislation and devised several organs of naval administration. The first of these organs, with whose origin and work this chapter is concerned, was the Naval Committee. It lasted for only a few months. Its lineal successors, each of which will be duly considered, were the Marine Committee, the Board of Admiralty, and the Agent of

With the exception of New Jersey and Delaware, each of the thirteen original states during the Revolution owned one or more armed vessels. Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina had the largest fleets. New Hampshire with its one ship and Georgia with its four galleys just escaped from being in the same class with New Jersey and Delaware. The navies of Rhode Island, New York, and North Carolina were small. The navy of no one state was so large as that of

MANUSCRIPT SOURCES Adams, John. Letters for 1775 and 1776, deposited for the present by Charles Francis Adams with the Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston. A few letters are valuable for the early history of the Continental Navy. Continental Congress. Manuscript Journals. Supplements and corrects the printed journals. Continental Congress. Records and Papers, formerly found in the Bureau of Rolls and Library, Department of State, Washington; but now in most part in the Library of Congress,

Amory’s James Sullivan. 2 vols. Boston, 1859. Throws some light upon Massachusetts’s prize courts. Austin’s Elbridge Gerry. 2 vols. Boston, 1828-29. Contains information in respect to prize courts. Boston Gazette for 1775-1783. Boston. Of the highest value for the cruises, engagements, and prizes of the Massachusetts navy. Clowes. W. L. Royal Navy. 7 vols. Boston and London, 1897-1903. Volume IV contains an account of the naval battle at the mouth of the Penobscot. Continental Journal and Weekly

Caulkins, Frances M. History of Norwich. Norwich, 1845. Contains information relative to the naval part which Norwich and Norwich men played in the Revolution. Connecticut Revolutionary Archives. MSS. Contains much miscellaneous information relating to the Connecticut navy. Volumes VIII and IX contain valuable material concerning the prizes captured by Connecticut vessels. Connecticut Colonial Records for 1775-1776. Hartford, 1890. Valuable for the beginnings of the Connecticut navy. Connecticut

Almon’s Remembrancer for 1778. London. Valuable for an account of the British raid to the north of Philadelphia in May, 1778. Bioren, Laws of Pennsylvania. 4 vols. Philadelphia, 1810. Contains statutes relating to the establishment of prize courts. Barney, Mary. Memoirs of Commodore Barney. Boston, 1832. Of value for a history of the “Hyder Ally.” Jameson, J. F. Essays in the Constitutional History of the United States. Baltimore, 1886. Chapter I, Predecessor of the Supreme Court, gives an excel

Almon’s Remembrancer for 1779 and 1781. London. Contains original material for the raids into Virginia of Matthews and Collier, and of Arnold and Phillips. Calendar of Virginia State Papers. 10 vols. Richmond, 1875-92. Volumes I-III throw light upon the years 1780-1783. Volume VIII, pages 75-240, prints the Journals of the Committee of Safety of Virginia, February 7 to July 5, 1776. Force, Peter. American Archives. 9 vols. Folio. Washington, 1837-53. Prints important state records. Ford, W. C. W

Almon’s Remembrancer for 1780. London. Valuable for the naval defence of Charleston, 1779-1780. Clowes, W. L. Royal Navy. 7 vols. Boston and London, 1897-1903. Gives good accounts of the cruise of the “Randolph” in 1778, and the capture of the “South Carolina” in 1782. Connecticut Gazette for 1782, New London. Reports the capture of the Bahamas by the Spaniards and Commodore Gillon. Cooper’s Statutes of South Carolina. 10 vols. Columbia, 1836-41. Valuable for naval legislation. Deane Papers. Col

Force, Peter. American Archives. 9 vols. Folio. Washington, 1837-53. Prints official records. Of considerable value for the navies of Maryland, North Carolina, and Georgia. Georgia Historical Society Collections. 5 vols. Savannah, 1840-1902. Prints a part of the proceedings of the Georgia Council of Safety. Contains a few naval items of importance. Jones, C. C., jr. History of Georgia. 2 vols. Boston, 1883. Contains a few references to the work of the Georgia galleys. Maryland Archives. 21 vols.

Arnold, Samuel G. History of Rhode Island, 2 vols. New York, 1859. Volume II contains a few items of naval information. Carson, H. L. Supreme Court of the United States. Philadelphia, 1902. Contains references to the admiralty legislation of New York. Connecticut Gazette for 1779. New London. Gives a good account of the achievements of Captain Talbot. Fernow’s New York in the Revolution. Albany, 1887. Contains the rolls of several New York vessels. Force, Peter. American Archives. 9 vols. Folio.

COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF CAPTAINS LIEUTENANTS [665] This list is compiled from two lists of naval officers which are now found in the Division of Manuscripts of the Library of Congress. One of these was prepared by the Naval Department in 1781, the other by the Auditor’s Office of the Treasury Department in 1794. A complete roster of the naval officers of the Revolution does not exist. The list now printed is almost complete. It may contain a few inaccuracies. The names are arranged alphabetically, wi

PRINCIPAL FLEET OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS [666] The term “Period of Service” is used in a somewhat general sense. The dates are close approximations. Among the vessels used by the Naval Department as packets, merchantmen, or scout-ships are the following: “Despatch,” “Georgia Packet,” “Phœnix,” “Mercury,” “Baltimore,” “Enterprise,” and “Fame.” [667] Several of Arnold’s vessels were employed on the Lakes in 1775....