''Surprise'', the first American naval ship of the name, was a

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

that the

Continental Navy The Continental Navy was the navy of the United States during the American Revolutionary War and was founded October 13, 1775. The fleet cumulatively became relatively substantial through the efforts of the Continental Navy's patron John Adams ...

purchased in 1777. The

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

had purchased a vessel named ''Hercules'' in 1776 and renamed her HMS ''Racehorse''. captured ''Racehorse'' in 1776 and the Americans took her into service as ''Surprise''. Her crew destroyed ''Surprise'' on 15 December 1777 to prevent the Royal Navy from recapturing her.

HMS ''Race Horse''

The Royal Navy purchased the sloop ''Hercules'' in June 1776 at Jamaica in the British West Indies. The Navy renamed her ''Race Horse'' and commissioned her under Lieutenant Charles Everitt. In August, Commander James Jones replaced Everitt. On 6 December ''Racehorse'' was off Puerto Rico where she encountered ''Andrew Doria''. After a two-hour single-ship engagement ''Racehorse'' struck.

US service

The US Navy commissioned ''Race Horse'' as ''Surprise'' under

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Benjamin Dunn. ''Surprise'' was ordered in April 1777 to join the

brigantine A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts. Older ...

USS ''Andrew Doria'' and

in clearing the

Cape May Cape May consists of a peninsula and barrier island system in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is roughly coterminous with Cape May County, New Jersey, Cape May County and runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay fro ...

channel of British ships.

Scuttling

''Surprise'' was stationed in the Delaware River through the spring and summer of 1777. After Vice Admiral Lord Howe brought his British fleet into the river in September 1777, ''Surprise'' was part of the forces charged with defending Philadelphia. Following the British occupation of

Fort Mifflin Fort Mifflin, originally called Fort Island Battery and also known as Mud Island Fort, was commissioned in 1771 and sits on Mud Island (or Deep Water Island) on the Delaware River below Philadelphia, Pennsylvania near Philadelphia International A ...

on 16 November, ''Surprise'', with the remaining ships of the Continental Navy, including ''Andrew Doria'', sought shelter under the guns of

Fort Mercer Fort Mercer was a earthen fort on the Delaware River on its New Jersey shore constructed by the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Built by Polish engineer Thaddeus Kosciuszko under the command of George Washington, Fort Me ...

Red Bank, New Jersey Red Bank is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. Incorporated in 1908, the community is on the Navesink River, the area's original transportation route to the ocean and other ports. Red Bank is in the New York Metropolitan A ...

. With the evacuation of Fort Mercer on 20 November, Captain

Isaiah Robinson Isaiah Robinson born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was a member of the Philadelphia Ship Masters' Association and served as a lieutenant on with Joshua Barney. He later commanded the 10-gun Continental sloop-of-war , fitted out by the Marine Comm ...

of ''Andrew Doria'' gave orders the next day for the crews to burn their ships to prevent their capture. This was done shortly thereafter.

Citations and references

Citations References * * *

External links

Royal Navy History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Surprise (1777 ship) Ships of the Continental Navy Age of Sail naval ships of the United States 1770s ships Sloops of the Royal Navy Captured ships