Combat· American Revolutionary War
Andrew Doria vs HMS Racehorse
In December 1776 the Continental Navy brig Andrew Doria captured the British 12-gun sloop Racehorse after an engagement of two hours.
The brig had sailed in October for Dutch St. Eustatius for a cargo of military supplies and arrived there on November 16, 1776. She met the Racehorse on the return voyage to Philadelphia with her stores. Her lieutenant of Marines was Dennis Leary, a former midshipman in the brig, appointed in September 1776 when Isaac Craig left the ship. One account describes an obstinate engagement in which the Andrew Doria had two men killed and some wounded, while the Racehorse suffered more severely. The prize was sent into Philadelphia. Papers of the Continental Congress show that the Marines shared in the bounty for the capture. The Andrew Doria reached Philadelphia late in December 1776. One authority surmised that her Marines landed in time to march into New Jersey with Major Samuel Nicholas' battalion, but no documentary proof of this has been found.
Record no. 129