Penobscot Expedition
On 19 July 1779, the Continental armada sailed from Boston, bound for Penobscot Bay. The expedition turned out to be a dismal failure. First, the fleet was unfit for the work and was primarily composed of privateers. The military forces — as in the seagoing ones — lacked decisive leadership; and the land forces lacked artillery and necessary equipment and supplies. Cooperation between military and naval forces was entirely lacking, with the obvious end result that the entire expedition collapsed in disaster.
Warren and the other vessels of the American fleet were consequently burned to prevent their capture by the British. Warren was probably set afire by her crew on either 14 or 15 August 1779 in the Penobscot River, above the Bagaduce peninsula.
Later that autumn, Saltonstall was tried by court martial on board the frigate Deane in Boston harbor. He was summarily dismissed from the Continental Navy.
Read more about this topic: USS Warren (1776)
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