American Marines Capture Forts at New Providence, Bahamas
March 3-4, 1776: About 270 American marines landed on the island of New Providence (now known as Nassau) in the Bahamas, which were under British rule. They occupied the two British forts on the island without firing a shot and took all of the military equipment and supplies that were in the forts (except for a shipload of gunpowder that the British managed to send away during the night). The next week and a half were spent loading everything on the American warships in the harbor and preparing to sail; when this was done, the marines boarded the ships and left the island on March 16, taking with them a great deal of valuable supplies for the American war effort: 88 cannons, 15 mortars, 5,337 shells, 11,071 cannonballs, 24 casks of gunpowder, and more (including “3 Tann’d Hides”, “1 old Hammer”, and “1 Sun Dial”). They also took with them the island’s governor and two other high-ranking prisoners.
Captain Samuel Nicholas, who commanded the marines, described the raid in a letter:
We embarked, and made sail on Saturday evening, March 2, and on Sunday, at two o’clock, landed all our men (two hundred and seventy in number) under my command at the east end of the Island, at a place called New-Guinea. The inhabitants were very much alarmed at our appearance, and supposed us to be Spaniards, but were soon undeceived after our landing. Just as I had formed the men, I received a message from the Governour, desiring to know what our intentions were. I sent him for answer, to take possession of all the warlike stores on the Island belonging to the Crown, but had no design of touching the property or hurting the persons of any of the inhabitants, unless in our defence. As soon as the messenger was gone, I marched forward to take possession of Fort Montague, a fortification built of stone, about half way between our landing place and the town. As we approached the fort, (within about a mile, having a deep cove to go round, with a prodigious thicket on one side and the water on the other, entirely open to their view,) they fired three twelve-pound shot, which made us halt, and consult what was best to be done; we then thought it more prudent to send a flag [i.e., a flag of truce] to let them know what our designs were in coming there. We soon received an answer, letting us know that it was by the Governour’s orders that they fired. They spiked up the cannon and abandoned the fort, and retired to the fort within the town.
Note: to “spike” a cannon was to pound a spike through the touchhole of the cannon, so as to temporarily disable it.
John Brown, who acted as governor of New Providence after the Americans left, wrote to a British naval commander:
Early in the Afternoon the Enemy to[ok] possession of Fort Montagu where they remained until the next Morning; in the mean time a Spirit of Disaffection shewed itself amongst the Inhabitants many of them declaring that they wou’d not fight against the Americans in consequence of which they deserted the Fort in great numbers, so that by ten oClock in the Evening where were not in the fort more than one hundred Men, the Governor Council Militia Officers & even Slaves included … & at day break the Governor, Council & Officers finding themselves almost entirely deserted, were at last obliged to leave the Fort; soon after which the Rebels entered the same & sent a party to the Government House, which took the Governor as their Prisoner.
A few facts about the New Providence raid: The commander-in-chief of the American naval squadron was Commodore Esek Hopkins of Rhode Island, aboard the ship Alfred. Among the American naval officers was Lieutenant John Paul Jones. The governor of the island was Montfort Browne.
Sources
An exact draught of the island of New Providence one of the Bahama Islands in the West Indies. [17] Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/74692182/.
Naval Documents of the American Revolution, 4:463.
Naval Documents of the American Revolution, 4:478-79.