The Capture of HMS ''Savage'' was a naval battle of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

involving the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

''Congress'' and the British

sloop-of-war In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' en ...

HMS ''Savage''. It occurred in September 1781 off

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

and is considered one of the hardest-fought

single ship action A single-ship action is a naval engagement fought between two warships of opposing sides, excluding submarine engagements; called so because there is a single ship on each side. The following is a list of notable single-ship actions. Single-shi ...

s of the war.

Capture

By 1781 the smaller British vessels blockading

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

were raiding the American coast by means of boat expeditions. One commander involved in the operations was

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 ...

Charles Stirling Charles Stirling (28 April 1760 – 7 November 1833) was a vice-admiral in the British Royal Navy. Early life and career Charles Stirling was born in London on 28 April 1760 and baptised at St. Albans on 15 May. The son of Admiral Sir Walter ...

of the sloop ''Savage'', armed with sixteen 6-pounders. Stirling was noted for having plundered

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

, the Virginia estate of General

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

, who was commander in chief of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

and later the first American president. Shortly after the raid of Mount Vernon, Captain Stirling sailed his ship south. In the early morning of September 6, ''Savage'' was escorting a convoy when she encountered the sloop-of-war ''Congress'' ten leagues from Charleston. Stirling placed ''Savage'' between the merchant vessels and the stranger. American privateers Edgar S Maclay

''Congress'' was under the command of Captain George Geddes of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, armed with twenty 12-pounders and four 6-pounders, with a complement of 215 officers and men. Its Marines were under the command of Captain

Allan McLane Allan McLane (August 8, 1746 – May 22, 1829) was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was appointed as the first United States Marshal of Delaware in 1789, and as Customs Collector of the Port of Wilmingt ...

of the

. ''Congress'' was returning from Cap-François,

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...

, where McLane had carried dispatches from George Washington to Comte François Joseph Paul de Grasse, commander of a French fleet, appealing for his aid at Chesapeake Bay. When Stirling first saw ''Congress'' he sailed towards her, in the hope that she was a privateer of twenty 9-pounder guns that had been raiding in the area. However, when he got closer and saw that she was significantly stronger even than the privateer he thought she might be, Stirling attempted an escape. However, by 10:30 am the Americans came within range and opened fire with their bow chasers. By 11:00 ''Congress'' had closed the distance and her crew engaged with muskets and pistols, to which the British replied with "energy". At this point Captain Geddes observed that his ship was faster than that of the enemy so he maneuvered ahead of ''Savage'' until almost abreast, in preparation for a broadside. A duel then commenced at extreme close range, during which both ships were heavily damaged. Sailors on both sides were also burned by the flashes of their enemy's cannon. ''Congress''s rigging was torn to shreds during the exchange, which compelled the Americans to stand off for quick repairs. After doing so, they resumed the chase. ''Congress'' was swiftly alongside the ''Savage'' again and another duel began. The Americans and British fought for about an hour, the combat ending with ''Savage'' in ruins. Her quarterdeck and forecastle had been completely cleared of resistance, her mizzenmast was blown away, and her mainmast was nearly gone as well. Geddes felt that this was an opportune time to board the enemy, but just as he was moving his ship in, a

boatswain A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, is the most senior rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. The boatswain supervis ...

appeared on ''Savage''s forecastle, waving his hat as a sign of surrender. British forces lost eight men killed and 34 wounded, including Captain Stirling; the Americans had 11 killed and around 30 wounded. In his letter reporting on the action, Captain Stirling noted that after he and his men became prisoners, the Americans had treated them "with great Humanity."

Aftermath

In America, the capture was widely cheered as payback for the looting of George Washington's home by Captain Stirling and ''Savage''s crew. However, the Americans who boarded ''Savage'' never made it back to port. The

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed an ...

recaptured ''Savage'' on 12 September, with a prize crew of thirty Americans aboard. Maclay states that the same frigate captured ''Congress'' and recaptured ''Savage''. (The ''London Gazette'' mentions the recapture of ''Savage'', but not the capture of her captor ''Congress''.)

Notes, citations, and references

Notes Citations References * * {{DEFAULTSORT:HMS Savage, Capture of Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War involving the United States United States Navy in the 18th century Naval operations and battles Conflicts in 1781