Combat· American Revolutionary War
Action with HMS Falcon, Gloucester
When the British sloop-of-war HMS Falcon chased American vessels into Gloucester Harbor, Massachusetts, the town's citizens and militia turned out to defend their shipping.
Acting in a Marine role, the Gloucester men opened fire on the boats Falcon sent ashore to seize prizes, killing several British sailors and Marines and wounding an officer. The defenders captured roughly 35 of Falcon's crew, about half her complement, and drove the warship off with the loss of her boats. Two Americans were wounded. The fight is one of the earliest documented cases of armed coastal resistance to Royal Navy operations in New England, showing how determined townspeople could blunt British naval power close to shore. Because it took place months before Congress established the Continental Marines in November 1775, the Gloucester defenders were militia rather than Marines, but they filled the Marine role in spirit.
Podcast episodes on American Revolutionary War
Record no. 125