HMS Diana (1775)
HM Armed Schooner Diana was the first British vessel captured and destroyed by colonial forces during the American Revolutionary War[1].
The 120 ton schooner was afloat for little more than a year. It was built in 1774 in the Province of Massachusetts Bay and served as an unarmed private fishing boat for 8 months before Vice Admiral Samuel Graves purchased her for the Royal Navy in January 1775 for £750.[2] According to Graves, the Diana was "so exceedingly well built that she is allowed to be the best Vessel of the Kind that has been yet in the King’s Service."[2] Diana was refitted and armed with four 6-pounders and twelve swivel guns[1] to help enforce the Boston Port Act. It was placed under the command of Vice-Admiral Graves's nephew, Lieutenant Thomas Graves. Open warfare between the combatants began with the Battle of Lexington and Concord on 19 April 1775. During the siege of Boston that immediately followed, the new American Patriot army surrounded Boston with troops, but British forces had naval supremacy over all the waterways nearby and occupied Boston itself.
On 27 May 1775 Diana experienced unfavorable winds while exchanging fire with colonial land forces under John Stark during the Battle of Chelsea Creek. Rowboats began to tow it to safety, but the rowers were forced to leave their task under heavy fire. Diana drifted and ran aground on the Chelsea shore. General Israel Putnam then arrived with Patriot reinforcements and two cannon. Putnam offered "good quarter" to the sailors of Diana if they would surrender, but this offer was not accepted. The schooner rolled onto its side due to the lowering tide, but the crew continued to fire cannon when they were unable to stand on its deck.[3] The British escaped Diana soon after midnight on 28 May, fleeing to the sloop Britannia, tender of the HMS Somerset. The Britannia, under the command of Thomas Graves's brother John Graves, was able to escape the shallow water and return to safety. American forces boarded Diana and removed the weapons and all other items of value before destroying the vessel by burning it.[4]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chelsea Historical Society Accessed 15 August 2007
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Letter to Philip Stevens from the flagship HMS Preston, Boston, 8 January 1775, Naval Documents of the American Revolution, Vol 1. (1964), p. 59-60.
- ↑ McKay, Robert D.The Battle of Chelsea Creek: An account of the second engagement of the American Revolution, 27 May 1775. (1928) Chelsea Evening Record.
- ↑ Chamberlain, Mellen; Watts, Jenny C.; Cutter, William, R.; Massachusetts Historical Society. (1908)A Documentary History of Chelsea: Including the Boston Precincts of Winnisimmet, Rumney Marsh, and Pullen Point 1624-1824 Volume II. University Press, p. 451. Googlebooks Accessed 15 August 2007
