Originally chartered by the Rhode Island General Assembly

Rhode Island General Assembly

The State of Rhode Island General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. A bicameral body, it is composed of the lower Rhode Island House of Representatives with 75 representatives, and the upper Rhode Island Senate with 38 senators...

 as Katy, USS Providence was a sloop

Sloop-of-war

In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...

 in the Continental Navy

Continental Navy

The Continental Navy was the navy of the United States during the American Revolutionary War, and was formed in 1775. Through the efforts of the Continental Navy's patron, John Adams and vigorous Congressional support in the face of stiff opposition, the fleet cumulatively became relatively...

.

Service as Katy

From early 1775, British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 men-of-war, especially His Majesty’s Frigate , searched Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

 shipping and annoyed the colony’s merchants who had become wealthy through smuggling. On 13 June Deputy Governor Nicholas Cooke

Nicholas Cooke

Nicholas Cooke was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations during the American Revolutionary War, and after Rhode Island became a state, he continued in this position to become the first Governor of the State of Rhode Island. Born in the maritime town of Providence, he...

 wrote James Wallace

James Wallace

James Wallace may refer to:*James Wallace , English football player*James Wallace , British Member of Parliament for Horsham, Attorney-General...

, the frigate’s Captain, demanding restoration of several ships which Rose had captured. Two days later the Rhode Island General Assembly ordered the committee of safety to fit out two ships to defend the colony’s shipping, and appointed a committee of three to obtain the vessels. That day the committee chartered the sloop Katy from John Brown

John Brown (Rhode Island)

John Brown I was an American merchant, slave trader, and statesman from Providence, Rhode Island. In 1764, John Brown joined his brothers Nicholas Brown and Moses Brown as well as William Ellery, the Baptist Reverend James Manning, the Baptist Reverend Isaac Backus, the Congregationalist Reverend...

 of Providence

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

 and the sloop Washington at the same time. The General Assembly appointed Abraham Whipple

Abraham Whipple

Abraham Whipple was an American revolutionary naval commander in the Continental Navy. Whipple was born near Providence, Rhode Island and chose to be a seafarer early in his life. He embarked upon a career in the lucrative West Indies trade, working for Moses and John Brown...

, who had won fame in the burning of British armed schooner

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

 HMS Gaspée

Gaspée Affair

The Gaspée Affair was a significant event in the lead-up to the American Revolution. The HMS Gaspée, a British customs schooner that had been enforcing unpopular trade regulations, ran aground in shallow water on June 9, 1772, near what is now known as Gaspee Point in the city of Warwick, Rhode...

 in 1772, commander of Katy, the larger ship, and made him commodore of the tiny fleet. Before sunset that day Whipple captured a tender to HMS Rose. Katy cruised in Narragansett Bay

Narragansett Bay

Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...

 through the summer protecting coastal shipping.

The supply of gun powder, an essential commodity scarce in the Continental Army

Continental Army

The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...

 throughout the Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

, was desperately low during the first year of the struggle for Independence. Late in the summer of 1775 the shortage in Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

’s Army besieging Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 became so severe that he was unable to use his artillery and his riflemen would have been unable to repel an attack had the British taken the offensive.

In an effort to obtain precious powder for the Continental Army, Cooke ordered Whipple to cruise for a fortnight off Sandy Hook, New Jersey

Sandy Hook, New Jersey

Sandy Hook is a barrier spit, approximately 6.0 miles in length and varying between 0.10 and 1 miles wide in Middletown Township in Monmouth County, along the Atlantic Ocean coast of eastern New Jersey in the United States. The barrier spit encloses the southern entrance of Lower New York Bay...

, to intercept a powder-laden packet expected from London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. He was then to proceed to Bermuda

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

 to capture the powder stored in the British magazine there. Katy departed Narragansett Bay 12 September but caught no sight of the packet. Later upon reaching Bermuda, Whipple learned that the powder from the magazine was already en route to Philadelphia.

Service as Providence

Soon after she returned to Providence, Katy was purchased by Rhode Island 31 October. Late in November, Katy sailed for Philadelphia carrying seamen enlisted by Commodore Esek Hopkins

Esek Hopkins

Commodore Esek Hopkins was the first and only Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. He was also an accomplished merchant captain and privateer.-Early life and career:...

 in New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

 for Continental service. Arriving 3 December, Katy was immediately taken into Continental service and renamed Providence.

Captain Whipple assumed command of , a larger ship; and Captain John Hazard was placed in command of Providence, later formalized by a commission from Congress

Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....

 dated 9 January 1776. The ships joined a squadron being formed by Congress under the command of “Commander in Chief of the Fleet of the United Colonies” Esek Hopkins

Esek Hopkins

Commodore Esek Hopkins was the first and only Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. He was also an accomplished merchant captain and privateer.-Early life and career:...

.

On 5 January 1776, Congress ordered Hopkins to sail for Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...

 and clear waters there of the ships of a fleet organized the previous autumn by Governor Dunmore

John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore

John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore was a British peer and colonial governor. He was the son of William Murray, 3rd Earl of Dunmore, and his wife Catherine . He is best remembered as the last royal governor of the Colony of Virginia.John was the eldest son of William and Catherine Murray, and nephew...

 of Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. These English and Tory

Tory

Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...

 ships had ravaged the shores of the bay and the rivers which empty into it. Once Whipple’s ships had completed this task, they were to move south and clear the Carolina coast of enemy shipping. before sailing North to Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

 to perform a similar service.

Providence and her consorts departed Philadelphia early in January but, delayed by ice, did not get to sea until 17 February. Deeming it unwise to cruise along the southern coast, Hopkins led his little fleet to Abaco

Abaco Islands

The Abaco Islands lie in the northern Bahamas and comprise the main islands of Great Abaco and Little Abaco, together with the smaller Wood Cay, Elbow Cay, Lubbers Quarters Cay, Green Turtle Cay, Great Guana Cay, Castaway Cay, Man-o-War Cay, Stranger's Cay, Umbrella Cay, Walker's Cay, Little Grand...

 in the Bahamas which they reached on 1 March and staged for a raid on New Providence

New Providence

New Providence is the most populous island in the Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. It also houses the national capital city, Nassau.The island was originally under Spanish control following Christopher Columbus' discovery of the New World, but the Spanish government showed...

. The next day they seized two sloops on which Hopkins placed a landing party of 200 marines and 50 sailors. At mid-morning of the 3rd, under cover of guns of Providence and , the Americans went ashore unopposed on the eastern end of New Providence and advanced toward Fort Montagne which opened fire interrupting the invader’s progress. The defenders spiked their guns and retreated to Fort Nassau

Fort Nassau

The name Fort Nassau was used by the Dutch in the 17th century for several fortifications, mostly trading stations, named for the House of Orange-Nassau...

. The next day Nassau surrendered and gave the Americans the keys to the Fort. Hopkins then brought his ships into the harbor and spent a fortnight loading captured munitions, before heading home 17 March.

Off Block Island, Hopkins’ ships captured the schooner , belonging to the British fleet at Newport, Rhode Island

Newport, Rhode Island

Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...

 4 April, and at dawn the next day took the brig Bolton. That evening the Americans added a brigantine and a sloop, both from New York, to their list of prizes.

About 0100, 6 April, sighted , a 20-gun sloop carrying dispatches from Newport to Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

. The American fleet engaged the enemy ship for one and one-half hours before she turned and fled back toward Newport. After daylight Hopkins ordered his ships to give up the chase and headed with his fleet and prizes for New London where they arrived on the 8th.

On 10 May, John Paul Jones

John Paul Jones

John Paul Jones was a Scottish sailor and the United States' first well-known naval fighter in the American Revolutionary War. Although he made enemies among America's political elites, his actions in British waters during the Revolution earned him an international reputation which persists to...

 assumed command of Providence with temporary rank of Captain. After a voyage to New York returning to the Continental Army

Continental Army

The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...

 about 100 soldiers whom Washington had lent to Hopkins to help man the American fleet, and after returning to Providence, Jones hove down the ship to clean her bottom and sailed 13 June escorting Fly to Fishers Island

Fishers Island

Fishers Island, approximately 9 miles long and 1 mile wide, is located at the eastern end of Long Island Sound, 2 miles off the southeastern coast of Connecticut across Fishers Island Sound...

 at the entrance to Long Island Sound. En route he saved a brigantine bringing munitions from Hispanola from the British frigate .

Providence next escorted a convoy of colliers

Collier (ship type)

Collier is a historical term used to describe a bulk cargo ship designed to carry coal, especially for naval use by coal-fired warships. In the late 18th century a number of wooden-hulled sailing colliers gained fame after being adapted for use in voyages of exploration in the South Pacific, for...

 to Philadelphia arriving 1 August. There, a week later, Jones received his permanent commission as Captain. On the 21st, Providence departed the Delaware Capes to begin an independent cruise, and in a few days took the brigantine Britannia and sent the whaler into Philadelphia under a prize crew. On 1 September, daring seamanship enabled Jones to escape from the British frigate . Two days later Providence captured Sea Nymph, carrying sugar, rum, ginger, and oil, and sent the Bermudan brigantine to Philadelphia. On the 6th Providence caught the brigantine Favourite carrying sugar from Antigua to Liverpool, but recaptured the prize before she could reach an American port.

Turning north, Jones headed for Nova Scotia, and on 20 September escaped another frigate before reaching Canso two days later. There he recruited men to fill the vacancies created by manning his prizes, burned a British fishing schooner, sank a second, and captured a third besides a shallop which he used as a tender. Moving to Ile Madame, Providence took several more prizes fishing there before riding out a severe storm. One more prize, the whaler Portland surrendered to Providence before she returned to Narragansett Bay 8 October.

While Providence was at home, Hopkins appointed Jones the Commander of , a larger ship and the Commander in Chief’s flagship on the expedition to the Bahamas. Shortly thereafter, Capt. Hoysted Hacker took command of Providence. The two ships got under way 11 November. After ten days they took the brigantine Active and the next day took the armed transport Mellish carrying winter uniforms and military supplies for the British Army. On the 16th they captured the snow Kitty. The next night, Providence, troubled by leaks which had developed during bad weather on the cruise, headed back for Rhode Island and arrived at Newport two days later.

The British seized Narragansett Bay in December 1776 and Providence, with other American vessels there, retired up the Providence River. In February 1777, under Lt. Jonathan Pitcher, Providence ran the British blockade; after putting into New Bedford, she cruised to Cape Breton where she captured a transport brig loaded with stores and carrying two officers and 25 men of the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 besides her crew. Under command of Capt. J.P. Rathbun, Providence made two cruises on the coast and about mid-January 1778, sailed from Georgetown, N.C., again bound for New Providence in the Bahamas, this time alone. On 27 January she spiked the guns of the fort at Nassau, taking military stores including 1,600 pounds of powder, and released 30 American prisoners. She also made prize of a 16-gun British ship and recaptured five other vessels which had been brought in by the British. On 30 January the prizes were manned and sailed away. Providence, with her armed prize, put into New Bedford.

During the early part of April 1779 Providence was ordered to make a short cruise in Massachusetts Bay and along the coast of Maine. She later sailed south of Cape Cod and on 7 May, captured the brig HMS Diligent, 12 guns, off Sandy Hook. She fired two broadsides and a volley of muskets during the engagement and Diligent, with mast rigging and hull cut to pieces, was forced to surrender. Providence then was assigned to Commodore Saltonstall’s squadron which departed Boston 19 July 1779 and entered Penobscot Bay 25 July. Providence was destroyed by her crew, along with other American vessels in the Penobscot River, 14 August 1779, to prevent her falling into the hands of the British towards the end of the failed Penobscot Expedition

Penobscot Expedition

The Penobscot Expedition was the largest American naval expedition of the American Revolutionary War and the United States' worst naval defeat until Pearl Harbor...

.

The Providence Maritime Heritage Foundation maintains a reproduction of the Providence that was designated in 1992 as the flagship and tall ship ambassador of the state of Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

.

External links

• Photo gallery at Naval Historical Center