Battle of Block Island

USS Alfred being prepared for her maiden voyage

Date	April 6, 1776
Location	off Block Island, Rhode Island 40°56′06″N 71°01′08″W / 40.934888°N 71.018829°W / 40.934888; -71.018829Coordinates: 40°56′06″N 71°01′08″W / 40.934888°N 71.018829°W / 40.934888; -71.018829
Result	Glasgow escapes capture

Belligerents

Great Britain

United Colonies

Commanders and leaders

Tryingham Howe

Esek Hopkins

Strength

HMS Glasgow

7 ships

Casualties and losses

1 killed
3 wounded

10 killed
14 wounded

The Battle of Block Island was a naval skirmish which took place in the waters off Rhode Island during the American Revolutionary War. The Continental Navy under the command of Commodore Esek Hopkins was returning from a successful raid on Nassau when it encountered HMS Glasgow, a Royal Navy dispatch boat.

Glasgow escaped from the fleet of seven ships, although it sustained significant damage, and the battle is considered a victory for the British. Several captains of the Continental fleet were criticized for their actions during the battle, and one was eventually dismissed as a result. Commodore Hopkins was criticized for other actions pertaining to the cruise, including the distribution of seized goods, and was also dismissed.

HMS Glasgow was a sixth-rate 20-gun frigate of the Royal Navy. In early April 1776 under the command of Capt. Tryingham Howe, it was carrying dispatches from Newport, Rhode Island to the British fleet off Charleston, South Carolina. This fleet had been assembled to launch an assault on Charleston, which ultimately failed in the June Battle of Sullivan's Island.

The Second Continental Congress had established the Continental Navy in late 1775. By February 1776, the first ships of the fleet were ready for their maiden voyage. Commodore Esek Hopkins was to lead a fleet of eight ships on an expedition to the Bahamas, where the British were known to have military stores. In early March, the fleet landed marines on the island of New Providence and captured the town of Nassau. The fleet sailed north on March 17, now including two captured prize ships, all loaded up with cargo captured from military stores. One ship was dispatched to Philadelphia, while the rest of the fleet sailed for the Block Island channel. The fleet's cruise was marked by outbreaks of a variety of diseases, including fevers and smallpox, which significantly reduced the crew's effectiveness.

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Wikipedia