Combat· American Revolutionary War
Loss of Continental ship Alfred to HMS Ariadne and HMS Ceres
On March 9, 1778, the British ships Ariadne, 20 guns, and Ceres, 16 guns, captured the Continental ship Alfred in the Atlantic at latitude 16° 31' north, longitude 55° 40' west.
Alfred, under Captain Elisha Hinman, and the frigate Raleigh, under Captain Thomas Thompson, had left France on December 29, 1777. Thompson ordered Hinman to observe one of two sails sighted that morning, which proved to be armed enemy ships. Alfred dropped astern, and both British ships made toward her. The firing lasted about ten minutes before she hauled down her colors, with Raleigh within three miles. Raleigh escaped after a chase of 19 hours. Alfred's Marine officers were Captain John Welsh, First Lieutenant William Hamilton and Second Lieutenant Nathaniel Richards. The prisoners were taken to Barbados, where the officers except Richards, who was paroled, were put aboard the Yarmouth for England. An inquiry led to Thompson's court martial and dismissal. Alfred had been Commodore Hopkins' flagship, carrying Captain Samuel Nicholas and his company of approximately 60 Marines.
Record no. 136