Combat· American Revolutionary War
Mass State Mars vs British 22-gun cutter, off Belle Isle
The Massachusetts state ship Mars carried the war into European waters when she engaged a British 22-gun cutter off Belle Isle, far from American shores.
Massachusetts State Marines aboard Mars added their musket fire to the exchange, performing the shipboard combat role expected of Marines in a single-ship action. Neither vessel gained a decisive advantage, and the two disengaged after trading fire. The cruise itself was the more notable point: deploying a state warship to fight in European seas was an ambitious projection of resources for a single American state, and the presence of state Marines on so distant an operation was unusual. It reflected the wider American naval strategy of carrying the conflict to Britain's home waters, harassing enemy shipping where it was least expected. State Marine establishments, like the Continental Corps, took part in this far-flung effort to stretch and pressure the Royal Navy.
Podcast episodes on American Revolutionary War
Record no. 146