Nancy (1775)

Nancy flying an American flag at St. Thomas, engraving by John Sartain
History
United States
Name:	Nancy
Owner:	Joseph Shallcross Joseph Tatnall
Builder:	Barney Harris
Fate:	Destroyed June 29, 1776 during the Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet
General characteristics
Type:	Brig
Armament:	Six 3-pounder guns
Service record
Commanders:	Captain Hugh Montgomery
Operations:	Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet

Nancy was an American brig, also called brigantine, chartered to transport war supplies during the American Revolutionary War. After learning that independence had been declared, her captain, according to his daughter, raised the first American flag in a foreign port. Evading British capture, she was later intentionally destroyed with a huge blast on June 29, 1776, during the Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet near Cape May, New Jersey.

Nancy was built c. 1775 by Barney Harris in Wilmington, Delaware, and was owned by Joseph Shallcross, Joseph Tatnall, and others. Her captain was Hugh Montgomery, also from Wilmington. Another part owner was Vincent Gilpin, who named the brig after his daughter Ann.

On March 1, 1776, Robert Morris of the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety chartered Nancy to transport gunpowder and arms for the revolution.

Later in March, she sailed to Puerto Rico to purchase arms and ammunition. By early June, she had loaded additional supplies in the Caribbean islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix.

While at St. Thomas, Captain Montgomery received news that independence had been declared. An American flag was created by ensign Thomas Mendenhall and flown to replace the British one. This was "the first American stars ever seen in a foreign port"; that is, according to Elizabeth Montgomery, the captain's daughter, and Thomas C. Mendenhall, by family tradition. Her book includes an mezzotint engraving by John Sartain that shows Nancy flying an American flag with a circle of ten stars surrounding three central stars.