Chapter 51: Chapter 49: Battle of Bermuda

Entry in the "Worldwide Online Encyclopedia (WOE)," Edited on November 1st of 2025:

..."The Continental Navy saw limited action during the Revolutionary War, due to its insignificant size and the strength of its opponent. Before France's and Spain's declarations of war, Great Britain and the Royal Navy dominated the Atlantic Ocean and local North American waters. Even with the numerous amount of privateers, the United States rarely engaged the Royal Navy head-on, and the few times it did, the young nation suffered devastating defeats (see Battle of Florida Bay).

However, at the time of the Invasion of Bermuda, the situation in North America, and the world, had changed notably. With two European powers declaring war on Great Britain, both with strong interests in the British Caribbean colonies, the Royal Navy was forced to divert most of its resources to the Caribbean Theater. With the land war in North America grinding to a halt, the Royal Navy withdrew most of its ships from the North American Theather and sent them southward to face the Spanish Royal Navy and the French Royal Navy. However, there were two places where the Royal Navy was still active in the North American Theather: Prince Edwards Island and Bermuda.

The ships that patrolled around Prince Edwards Island were a token force, as the British military expected that the island was indefensible against a full-scale American invasion. The island was in close proximity to the newly declared state of Nova Scotia and was surrounded on all sides by hostile territory. As a result, only four frigates and a handful of sloops guarded the island. Meanwhile, a much larger and more powerful contingent guarded the island of Bermuda, a critically strategic resupply point between Great Britain proper and the British Caribbean colonies. While the United States showed no interest in the island, even after the fall of Charleston and the end of the Boston Campaign, Great Britain remained wary of the prospect of an American invasion of the island. It was not a secret that many of the locals on the island were sympathetic to the American cause and even supplied them with stolen gunpowder in the initial days of the Revolution (see the Bermuda Incident). As such, the Royal Navy had a dozen ships based at Bermuda in order to disrupt any attempts of invasion. In addition to this, the defenses on Bermuda were rebuilt (the defenses were originally dismantled after the Bermuda Incident) and a garrison force of two hundred Royal Marines was stationed on the island.

On September 30th of 1776, Paul Wentworth, an important British spy that gathered information about American activities in North America, acquired information that the Continental Navy was escorting a small fleet to France which contained prototypes of a new breech-loading rifle that could be produced more efficiently than the then known Ferguson rifles. According to the information Wentworth received from a "disgruntled Loyalist in the Continental Navy," the new rifle could "substantially improve" the combat effectiveness of the French Army, and France could produce "at least a thousand" within a year. The fleet was set to depart Norfolk on October 7th and pass by Bermuda around the 12th. Wentworth immediately sent this information to a British contact in Boston, which was then sent rapidly to the commanding naval officer in Bermuda, Vice Admiral Richard Howe.

Unknown to Wentworth, the "Loyalist" was actually a disguised Continental Marine and a member of the Marine Recon Company. The Marine Recon Company distinguished themselves during the Revolutionary War for their combat abilities and intelligence gathering abilities (see Battle of Norton Creek and Operation Michael). The information leak was a planned act carried out under Colonel Knowlton's orders, as the Continental Navy and Continental Marines, in fact, had their sights on capturing Bermuda itself. The "fleet" headed to France did not consist of merchant ships with a few armed escorts. Instead, the fleet was composed of ships of the Continental Navy that were expecting to fight the British. Due to the Continental Congress, the Continental Navy had ten new "Continental Frigates" at its disposal (though only eight would see action in the Invasion of Bermuda). While the new frigates were untested, all of them were well-armed (six with 32-guns, three with 28-guns, and one with 26-guns) (for more information, read about the Fifteen Continental Frigates). The southern fleet consisted of two of these new frigates (both with 32-guns), along with seven armed merchant ships and two schooners (led by Commodore Esek Hopkins).

In addition to the fleet sailing from Norfolk, another fleet, sailing from New York City, was sent as reinforcements for the southern fleet to strike the Royal Navy from the north. The northern fleet consisted of six Continental Frigates (three with 32-guns, two with 28-guns, and one with 26-guns) and three sloops. This fleet was considered the "main" attacking force for the upcoming battle and carried six hundred marines (led by Brigadier General Joseph Warren and Brigadier General Marquis de Lafayette). The leader of the northern fleet was Commodore John Hazelwood, an American naval officer that distinguished himself against the British in South Carolina. Meanwhile, a small French task force, consisting of one fourth-rate ship of the line and two frigates, led by Rear Admiral Chevalier Destouches, departed from Saint Martin in order to aid the Americans.

Admiral Howe was recently appointed as the new Commander in Chief of the Royal Navy in the Caribbean Theather and was in transit to the Caribbean when he received the tip off from Wentworth. The admiral, who was unaware of the developments of the Continental Navy, was alarmed at the prospect of France gaining a technological advantage and decided to send seven of the eight ships available to him at the time to intercept the incoming "merchant fleet” (four other British ships were raiding American merchant ships elsewhere in the Atlantic). Only the frigate HMS Galatea was left behind to keep watch on the island.

The battle commenced on the morning of October 12th, when Admiral Howe's flagship HMS Intrepid caught sight of the southern fleet approximately twenty nautical miles south of Bermuda. Commodore Hazelwood, on board his flagship USS Bunker Hill, acted according to American plans and sailed his ships eastward in an attempt to bait the British ships to follow him. His maneuvers convinced Admiral Howe that the fleet did, indeed, consist of the valuable breechloader prototypes and moved the British ships away from Bermuda.

Approximately two hours after the HMS Intrepid spotted Hazelwood's fleet, Hopkin's fleet closed in on Bermuda and attacked the lone HMS Galatea. Despite fighting against nine ships by itself, the HMS Galatea put up a valiant fight and managed to sink a sloop. After receiving numerous hits to its hull and deck, the British frigate struck colors and surrendered to the Continental Navy. Immediately after the HMS Galatea's surrender, five hundred Continental Marines carried out a swift landing to overtake the island. While the marines fought for control of the island, five Continental Frigates and one of the two sloops sailed away from Bermuda and towards the east to join with the southern fleet (the USS Norfolk and the other sloop remained behind to provide limited fire support and to act as escape ships for the marines if the battle at sea turned awry).

The fight on Bermuda itself was costly for the Continental Marines, as the Royal Marines employed tactics similar to tactics used by the American marines and inflicted numerous casualties in the initial assault. More than four dozen marines were killed or injured in the initial landing, in addition to an additional five dozen casualties by the end of the invasion. During the attack into the town proper, around two hundred Loyalists joined the Royal Marines in defense of the island. The defending marines managed to spread the word of the American invasion and roused a sizeable force of locals to resist the invaders. However, this also tipped off the locals that were sympathetic to the American cause and rallied a few dozen of them to harass the Royal Marines and Loyalists. One particular Bermudian, Henry Tucker, provided the American marines with invaluable intelligence on the layout of the island and supported the invasion force with a small group of militiamen he had managed to gather. While most Bermudians were pro-American, the presence of the Royal Marines and the number of Loyalists, limited the American leaning Bermudians from supporting the Continental Marines outright. Nevertheless, when the British were removed from the island, the Bermudian population supported the United States more vocally and acted without fear of repercussions.

The battle continued for five more hours before the British surrendered due to the death of their commanding officer Major John Pitcairn. In the end, the Continental Marines displayed their proficiency in marksmanship and their veteran status by overwhelming the Royal Marines and the Loyalists despite the relative even numbers between the two forces. Colonel Warren, who was the leader of the assault, accepted the surrender and hoisted the American flag in the middle of the town to signal to the American ships that were waiting offshore.

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While the battle was being decided on Bermuda, Admiral Howe finally engaged the Continental Navy just four hours after spotting the American ships. Commodore Hazelwood moved his ships intentionally slower than its maximum speeds and was turning northward when the Royal Navy bore down on his ships. The American commodore gambled his ships due to the fact that Admiral Howe was aware of the prized "breechloaders" that were "on his ships." As such, the commodore correctly believed that his British counterpart would be reluctant to fire on the American ships indiscriminately and would attempt to disable his frigates first in order to capture the merchant ships as prizes. This proved to be true when Admiral Howe initially aimed for only the frigates and avoided heavily damaging the merchant ships and schooners, a move that would come back to haunt him later on.

The two Continental Frigates under Commodore Hazelwood's command, the USS Virginia and the USS Bunker Hill, were the primary targets for the seven British ships. In the initial volleys, the USS Virginia was heavily damaged while the USS Bunker Hill, received relatively light damages as it narrowly missed the shots aimed at her. The American ships returned fire immediately, with several shots striking the HMS Bristol (fourth-rate ship) and two frigates. The three British ships received only minor damages and continued on without any hindrance.

It is important to note that one of the American schooners, the USS Enterprise, was outfitted with eight four-pounder rifled cannons. Even though the four-pounders did little damage compared to the more powerful eighteen-pounders and twenty-four pounders, the rifled cannons allowed the crew of the USS Enterprise to unleash accurate shots upon the British ships. The rifled cannons were developed at Pelissier Ironworks, which was owned by Quebec Representative Christophe Pelissier. Developing rifled cannons were both costly and time-consuming, which was why only the USS Enterprise was armed with them. Still, the rifled cannons would prove to make a difference in the battle as the USS Enterprise would go on to cripple and sink the HMS Canceaux.

As the battle raged on, the small French fleet appeared just south of the British positions and engaged the British from behind. Unknowingly, Commodore Hazelwood created an opportunity for the French ships to strike at the British ships while they were out of position. The Royal Navy managed to turn in time to greet the surprising appearance of the French ships, but were struck with a solid volley from the French Fourth-Rate ship Fier and her escorts. The volley impacted HMS Mermaid and damaged the ship heavily, to the point where the ship began to take water rapidly after being struck by the French ships (she sank just an hour later). Taking advantage of the confusion, Commodore Hazelwood ordered his ships to use their advantage in speed and smaller size to maneuver around the British ships and force the British to split their attention. The plan worked phenomenally as the American ships prevented the British ships from fully directing their attention on the French ship of the line and harassed them continuously. However, after the arrival of the French, the USS Virginia was struck with more cannon fire from the HMS Intrepid and was out of the battle, leaving the USS Bunker Hill as the sole frigate in the fight.

Shortly after the arrival of the French fleet, Commodore Hopkins' fleet appeared on the horizon from the northwest, which shocked Admiral Howe greatly. With the appearance of another American Fleet, the British admiral suspected that the battle was a ruse for an invasion of Bermuda (unknowing to him, Bermuda was already under American occupation by this time). Thus, Admiral Howe moved his ships to intercept the incoming fleet and sail back to Bermuda. He also ordered his ships to fire upon all vessels, including the merchant ships.

Onboard the USS Benedict Arnold, Commodore Hopkins ordered his ships to prevent the Royal Navy from returning to Bermuda and employed a similar tactic to Commodore Hazelwood; he moved his ships flexibly and engaged the British from a distance.

The combined fire from all sides took a toll on the British fleet. While the Royal Navy managed to sink another Continental Frigate (USS Pennsylvania) and destroyed several smaller ships, it found itself outgunned and outnumbered. Admiral Howe lost two frigates in a span of an hour before he finally abandoned his plans to break for Bermuda. He then redoubled his efforts to exploit a gap between the northern American fleet and the French Fleet to escape to the Bahamas. It was during this effort that the HMS Bristol was crippled to a halt by the steady fire from USS Samuel Kim (under the command of Captain John Paul Jones, who would be promoted after the battle).

The northern American fleet moved in quickly to surround and capture the British fourth-rate. Captain Jones had a small detachment of marines on his ship in case of boarding action (led by General Lafayette) and his ship led the way to seize the crippled British ship for the Continental Navy. Despite receiving extensive damages from heavy British fire, the USS Samuel Kim managed to hook onto the HMS Bristol and started the boarding action. General Lafayette, who showed resilience and bravery at the Battle of Charleston, led one hundred marines and dozens of sailors from the USS Samuel Kim onto the beleaguered British ship and captured it within an hour. The captain of the British ship, Captain Henry Mowat, surrendered his ship to the French general after a tough battle which resulted in the death of ten marines and numerous sailors of the USS Samuel Kim. By then, Admiral Howe’s flagship and the surviving two frigates managed to escape the battle and sailed to the Bahamas.

The battle would have huge ramifications for both Great Britain and the United States. For the United States, it was the first major naval victory over Britain and allowed the United States to have a stronger position during peace negotiations with Great Britain. In particular, the loss of Bermuda meant that the Royal Navy lacked a sufficient base to resupply from in between Great Britain proper and the British Caribbean colonies. As such, the United States would acquire all of Britain’s North American possessions in exchange for basing rights in Bermuda and East Florida till the end of the war with France and Spain. Despite the deal, the loss of Bermuda would allow France and Spain to gain an edge in the Caribbean, which would result in the fall of Jamaica in March of 1777.

For Great Britain, the loss of Bermuda and a number of its ships would be another nail in the coffin for Lord North. Combined with the loss of South Carolina and Georgia, along with the failures of the disastrous Boston Campaign, Lord North’s ministry would collapse totally and would allow the Whigs to form a new government under Lord Rockingham. Despite its shaky beginnings, the new Whig government would prove to be an effective and powerful political force for the next decade.

Another ramification of the loss of Bermuda was a heavy blow to Britain’s psyche. The island nation was embarrassed by its former colony in nearly every land battle. However, it never lost a naval battle against the United States until Bermuda. After the loss of Bermuda, the British public would grow skeptical of the true might of the British military and this would result in new reforms in both the army and the navy. Additionally, the seemingly “invincibility” of the Americans would greatly affect the decisions made by Britain in the Anglo-American War...”

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