Battle of Gloucester (1775) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battle of Gloucester
Part of the American Revolutionary War
Detail from a 1775 map showing Boston, Cape Ann and Gloucester harbor. Gloucester Harbor is labelled "Cape Ann Harbour".
Date August 8 or 9, 1775 Location Cape Ann, Massachusetts 42°36′23.12″N 70°39′49.39″W / 42.6064222°N 70.6637194°W / 42.6064222; -70.6637194 Result Colonial victory
Belligerents
Massachusetts Bay	Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
Joseph Foster Bradbury Saunders	John Linzee
Strength
Land: unknown militia Sea: 2 unarmed schooners	1 sloop-of-war, 3 small boats
Casualties and losses
2 killed 1 wounded	1 killed 4 wounded 24 captured 3 small boats captured 1 sloop-of-war damaged
One of the two American schooners had been captured by the British and was freed during the battle. Ten colonists impressed for naval service were freed by the American militia during the battle.

The Battle of Gloucester was a small fight, also called a skirmish, that happened early in the American Revolutionary War. It took place in Gloucester, Massachusetts, on August 8 or 9, 1775. A British ship, HMS Falcon, commanded by Captain John Linzee, saw two American schooners returning from the West Indies.

Captain Linzee captured one schooner. He then chased the second one into Gloucester Harbor. The American ship got stuck in the shallow water. The people of Gloucester quickly called their local fighters, known as militia. They captured the British sailors sent to take the stuck schooner. They also got back the ship that the British had captured earlier. This small battle was a victory for the American colonists.

Why did the Battle of Gloucester happen?

Tensions rise in Massachusetts

In April 1775, things were very tense between the British colonists in Massachusetts and the British governor, General Thomas Gage. This tension led to the start of the war. General Gage sent his soldiers to Concord to find military supplies that the colonists had hidden.

However, the colonists found out. They fought the soldiers in Lexington and Concord on April 19. After these fights, many local militia groups arrived. They surrounded the British soldiers in Boston, starting the Siege of Boston.

Supplies for British soldiers

During the siege, the British army in Boston needed food and supplies. They could only get these by sea. The colonists had removed farm animals and hay from islands near Boston. So, General Gage and Admiral Samuel Graves sent ships to raid coastal towns. They wanted to find food and stop colonial ships.

Sometimes, when British soldiers landed to get supplies, they faced resistance. For example, colonists and British troops fought over supplies near Boston in the Battle of Chelsea Creek on May 27.

HMS Falcon arrives

On August 5, 1775, the British ship HMS Falcon, led by Captain John Linzee, arrived near Ipswich Bay. Captain Linzee sent a small boat with about 50 men to shore. They wanted to find sheep for food at Coffin farm in West Gloucester.

Major Coffin saw them coming. He quickly gathered a few men with rifles. They hid behind sand mounds and started shooting. The British sailors thought a large group was waiting for them. So, they gave up trying to get the sheep and went back to their ship.

After this, Linzee sent his boat to check another schooner in the harbor. But this ship only had sand for weight. Linzee then sailed around Cape Ann for a few days. He also forced some local men from ports and ships to join his crew. This was called impressment.

What happened during the Battle of Gloucester?

On August 8 or 9, Captain Linzee saw two American schooners sailing towards Salem. It was around 8 in the morning. He quickly captured one schooner without any trouble. He put some of his own crew on board the captured ship.

Then, he chased the second schooner. The captain of this American ship knew the area well. He sailed his ship deep into Gloucester Harbor. Around noon, the ship got stuck in the shallow water near Five Pound Island.

The chase into the harbor

Linzee forced a local fisherman to guide his ship, Falcon, and the captured schooner into the harbor. Then, he sent 36 men in three small boats to take the stuck American schooner. Among these men were 10 Americans who had been forced to join the British navy, including four from Gloucester.

As the British boats got closer to the schooner, the people of Gloucester sounded the alarm. Local militia groups quickly gathered. They were led by Captains Joseph Foster and Bradbury Sanders.

Fighting from the shore

The militia, armed with muskets and two old swivel guns, started shooting from the shore at the small British boats. The British rowed faster and boarded the grounded schooner. But once they were on the ship, they were stuck. The militia kept firing at them from the shore.

Captain Linzee tried to stop the townspeople from shooting. He fired Falcon's cannons at the town. He even sent a group of men to try and burn the town. But this plan did not work. The British group on the grounded schooner continued to be attacked from the shore.

The British lieutenant in charge was wounded. He and a few men managed to escape in a small boat around 4 pm. Falcon's master was left in charge. The remaining British men on the grounded ship were eventually captured, including the Americans who had been forced to join the British. By 7 pm, all the small British boats had been taken.

American ships recovered

Linzee then decided to send the first captured schooner (the one he had taken earlier) to get his men back. But Linzee suspected that the American crew on that ship took the chance to overpower the British prize crew. They managed to get their ship back. Linzee later said, "After the master was landed I found I could not do him any good, or distress the rebels by firing, therefore I left off."

What happened after the battle?

Captain Linzee's attempt to burn Gloucester as punishment was not the last time the British tried this. In October 1775, Admiral Graves ordered Captain Henry Mowat to lead an expedition. His mission was to punish coastal towns in New England. Gloucester was one of the targets. Captain Linzee's defeat in Gloucester was one reason given for this mission.

However, Mowat decided not to attack Gloucester. He thought the buildings were too spread out for his cannons to do much damage. Mowat's main action was the Burning of Falmouth (which is now Portland, Maine). Reports of this event helped convince the Second Continental Congress to create the Continental Navy.

Images for kids

• 

  Detail from a 1775 map showing Boston, Cape Ann and Gloucester harbor. Gloucester Harbor is labelled "Cape Ann Harbour".