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Continental Marines

Marines were assigned set sail on February 17, 1776, under the command of Commodore Esek Hopkins. Seven of the eight vessels in the fleet carried a detachment of Marines. The largest detachment, and the only one actually in uniform, was aboard Hopkins's flagship, the Alfred. This detachment numbered 62 Marines and was personally commanded by Captain Nicholas.

The newly formed American Marines had an inauspicious beginning at best: After only two days at sea there was a collision between two of the small fleet's ships, the Hornet and the Fly; the Hornet returned to port, and the Fly couldn't keep up with the rest of the fleet. This reduced Hopkins's fleet to 6 ships, manned by 580 men and carrying a mere 238 Marines, and posed a serious threat to his planned course of action. The orders he received from Congress had specified he clear the Chesapeake and central seaboard of British ships but were sufficiently lenient to allow the commodore to exercise his own discretion. He headed for the Bahamas with the purpose of seizing its capital, Nassau.

Nassau stands on the northern side of New Providence Island along a harbor separating New Providence Island from Paradise Island (which was known at the time as Hog Island). Fort Montagu protects it on one side and Fort Nassau on the other. A British garrison normally guarding Nassau had been withdrawn a few months earlier with the outbreak of hostilities, leaving Nassau guarded only by militiamen.

Hopkins's fleet reached the island on March 3 and anchored some six miles east of Nassau. Montfort Browne, the governor of the Bahamas, had known about the American fleet for two days but had done nothing to oppose the threat. As Nicholas's Marines disembarked and began marching toward Nassau, however, he decided that some defense was in order. Governor Browne sent a troop of militiamen to man Fort Montagu, but, as the Marines moved closer, he began to fear that they might move inland around the fort and attack Nassau directly.

Browne ordered his militiamen to fire three cannon shots as a warning and then to return to Nassau to help defend it against Nicholas's men. The American Marines, however, continued straight to Fort Montagu. Finding it deserted, they occupied it.

Captain Nicholas decided to allow his men to rest inside the fort for the night. He sent a message to Commodore Hopkins indicating the fort had fallen without any opposition. Encouraged by this news and believing now that the island could be taken without violence, Hopkins sent a proclamation to the citizens of New Providence stating that the objective of the American expedition was to take the powder and other British military supplies stored in Nassau. It was not his intention, he stated, to attack the citizens of New Providence or seize their property.

Hopkins's proclamation undermined any hope Browne had of resisting the American advance. At a council of war that evening, Browne's militia officers and the social elite of Nassau elected to surrender to the Americans. Browne ordered that some 162 barrels of powder be slipped out of Fort Nassau aboard merchant ships before the Americans could seize the fort but still left a fair amount of munitions behind when he withdrew.

The following morning, an emissary from the governor told Captain Nicholas that Fort Nassau would not be defended. The military stores remaining constituted a rich reward for seemingly little effort: 58 cannon, 15 mortars, 16,000 shot and shell, and various other equipment. It took two weeks for the crew to load this equipment aboard the fleet's ships, during which time Governor Browne was guarded by a detachment of Marines.

The governor and the citizens escaped unscathed - although Browne complained that the Marines helped themselves to his liquor - and the fleet sailed from Nassau on March 17. The first official action of the American Marines had been successful and had resulted in the first American invasion and seizure of foreign land.

Hopkins's small fleet continued to have luck on its side for some short while. Most of the return voyage from the Bahamas was uneventful, but when the fleet reached the waters off the coast of Rhode Island, it encountered a myriad of British ships. Nevertheless, Hopkins's fleet rnanaged to defeat two small naval vessels and captured a number of merchant ships.

On April 6, however, the fleet ran into the HMS Glasgow, a 20-gun frigate commanded by Captain Tyringham Howe. The encounter lasted three and a half hours with the Glasgow engaging first the Cabot, then Hopkins's flagship, the Alfred, and finally the Columbus. So completely outnumbered, the Glasgow should have been an easy target for the American fleet, but instead the British frigate held off each of the ships it engaged.

The Glasgow was heavily damaged in these battles but was eventually able to slip away, demonstrating Hopkins's lack of experience and inability to control a fleet in ship-to-ship combat. Nine Americans were killed in the conflict and 16 were wounded. Among these casualties were Marine Lieutenant John Fitzpatrick, the first Marine killed in action, and Lieutenant John Hood Wilson, who was mortally wounded. In return, however, Marine musketry killed one man and wounded two more, the only casualties suffered by the Glasgow.

Ultimately, there was an investigation into the liberties Hopkins had taken with his orders. He was censured and dismissed from service. Overall, however, the American Marines's first action was seen as a success. The Continental Congress was pleased with the Marine companies, which had performed as had been intended by the resolution of November 10, 1775, engaging in an amphibious assault on an enemy fortress as well as participating in ship-to-ship combat, although they did not have the opportunity to engage in a boarding action.

The expedition's shortcomings were not the fault of the Marines. Governor Browne had been able to spirit away much of the powder at Fort Nassau, but the Marines were in no position to prevent this, and it had been the unopposed advance of the Marines that caused Browne and his officers to waver in opposition to the American expedition. The escape of the Glasgow was the result of Hopkins's inability to control his fleet effectively, and the Marines performed well, inflicting the only casualties suffered on the British ship. On June 25, 1776, Nicholas was promoted to major, and his pay was increased to $32 per month. He was also given orders to raise another four Marine companies for the frigates under construction in Philadelphia.

The organization and use of Continental Marines during the Revolutionary War was based upon the precedents set by the British Royal Navy. What knowledge the colonists had of military logistics, strategy, and tactics derived from their experience fighting with British regular forces against French and Spanish forces during King George's War and the French and Indian War. It was only natural that they would base their own organizations on these examples, including decentralizing the Marine companies by assigning them to individual vessels or joint service with one of the Continental Army units. Even if they had ignored the precedents set by the British forces, the conditions of the American Revolutionary War probably would have dictated such a strategy.

The newly created Continental Navy had great difficulty outfitting its ships. Although the colonies could boast a plenitude of experienced sailors, most of them preferred to serve aboard privateers, where the financial rewards were significantly higher. As a result, the Navy never had enough men to crew an entire fleet and had to rely on single-ship voyages as the rule.

The British Royal Navy was significantly larger than the little fleet the colonies managed to put together, consisting of more than 250 vessels at the beginning of the war and expanding beyond that during the war. Not all of these ships were committed to the American colonies, of course, as Britain had several other holdings, but the Continental Navy never had a chance to truly command the sea. It therefore came to rely primarily on commerce raiding or acting as escorts for convoys bringing supplies to the colonists.

In 1776, six Continental ships raided and captured a variety of British warships and merchants. In addition, two other vessels, the Lexington and the Reprisal, were converted from merchant ships and took part in raids as well. By the end of the year, there were 600 Marines in service, many serving on these eight ships. Marines were also serving alongside the Continental Army. The army had pushed into Canada in 1775 before being turned back at Quebec. A strong British army of 8,000 troops was able to push down the Richelieu River into New York. General Benedict Arnold, despite his later treason, proved himself to be an able cornmander. Arnold understood that the British advance relied upon water transportation, and so he began building a fleet of 17 ships manned by 900 sailors and Marines on Lake Champlain. Arnold's fleet was destroyed at the Battle of Ualcour Island in October 1776, but it had delayed the advance of the British who decided to withdraw to Canada for the winter.

The British had also launched an assault on the central colonies in August 1776, capturing New York City and advancing as far as Delaware by winter. General Washington hoped to stall this campaign and revive the colonists' morale by undertaking a daring raid on a British outpost in New Jersey. Among the troops with Washington's army were three of the Marine companies raised by Major Nicholas for service in the frigates then under construction - the fourth company had already entered service aboard the Randolph under the command of Marine Captain Samuel Shaw. Captain Benjamin Dean, Captain Andrew Porter, and Captain Robert Mullan commanded the three companies in Washington's Continental Army.

The battalion as a whole numbered 141 men and officers fit for duty with another 36 listed as sick. Major Nicholas and his battalion of Marines were sent to reinforce Washington's troops in December, where they were incorporated into a Philadelphia militia brigade under Brigadier General John Cadwalader. Their main task was to provide both infantry and artillery support.

Cadwalader was unable to cross the Delaware and participate in the first battle of Trenton with Washington. On his own initiative, however, he crossed the Delaware on December 27 and took part in the second battle of Trenton on January 2, where his brigade, including Nicholas's Marines, defended a crucial bridge at Assunpink. On January 3, Cadwalader's brigade participated in Washington's assault on Princeton, supporting General Hugh Mercer's Continental Army brigade in one wing of the two-pronged attack. Mercer encountered two regiments of British regulars and, despite Cadwalader's reinforcement, both brigades were forced to withdraw.

Even so, the efforts of Cadwalader and Mercer and their men proved very valuable. Their support allowed Washington to attack the British flank, scattering the three British regiments there and taking Princeton. Nicholas's 3 Marine companies suffered heavy losses at Trenton and Princeton, losing 61 of their 141 men by the time the Army quartered for the winter at Morristown, New Jersey.

After they took Princeton, one company was assigned to escort British prisoners to Philadelphia in February. With no ship to board, however, the company disbanded. A second company returned to Philadelphia in April to return to naval duties aboard the frigates Washington and Delaware. The remaining Marines were either absorbed into Washington's Continental Army artillery or left service.

Many of the Marines who had returned to Philadelphia or who had been assimilated into Washington's Continental Army saw further action along the Delaware River at the end of 1777. The British captured Philadelphia in September of that year, and in an effort to hinder British control of the sea lanes, the Pennsylvania State Navy and six ships of the Continental Navy were detailed to defend the seaboard along the Delaware and Pennsylvania coasts.

Two of the Continental frigates, the Andrew Doria, which had sailed under Hopkins's command during the New Providence raid, and the newly finished frigate Delaware, carried detachments of Continental Marines. Three forts defended the Delaware River: Fort Mercer and Fort Mifflin just south of Philadelphia and Fort Billingsport farther south. Marines were stationed at Fort Mercer and Fort Mifflin, but the Continental Army could spare no forces for the defense of the Delaware River, and a mere 112 Pennsylvania militiamen under the command of Colonel William Bradford defended Billingsport.

While engaging a British artillery battery at Philadelphia, the Delaware ran aground and was captured. On September 28, two British regiments under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Stirling, the 10th and the 42nd, the infarnous Black Watch, began to push up the Delaware River, first fighting off the New Jersey militia and then attacking Billingsport. Colonel Bradford's militiamen were no match for two regiments of British regulars.

The Andrew Doria and its detachment of Marines evacuated the militiamen from the garrison. The landing parties, led by Lieutenants Dennis Leary and William Barney, also brought out most of the powder stored at Billiiigsport, spiked the five cannon there, set fire to the fort, and exchanged fire with the Black Watch before returning to the Andrew Doria.

The British, however, continued to press their way up the Delaware. The Marines garrisoned in Forts Mercer and Mifflin resisted the British pressure for seven weeks, but, ultimately, the British assault overwhelmed them. Fort Mifflin was evacuated on November 15 and Fort Mercer fell one week later. The British torched the American ships that had been assisting the defense of the Delaware.

The capture of Philadelphia and the Delaware River had a significant impact on the Revolutionary War effort; it meant that the British would spend the winter in the comfort of the city of Philadelphia while General Washington and his Continental Army would spend a torturous winter at Valley Forge.

Frederick M. Franks Jr. (Editor), Clifton G. Ganyard. A Few Good Men: The Revolutionary War. Alpha Bravo Delta Guide to the U.S. Marine Corps. Alpha. June 3, 2003.

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