USS Warren (1776) - Successful Cruises

Successful Cruises

Aided by favorable weather, Warren finally slipped through the British blockade on or about 8 March 1778 and escaped into the open sea. Before the Continental frigate put into Boston on 23 March, Warren took two prizes in her first cruise: the ship Neptune, bound from Whitehaven, England to Philadelphia with a cargo of provisions, and another supply vessel. She apparently conducted a second cruise off the eastern seaboard in the autumn, as records indicate that she cruised for a time in company with the Massachusetts State Navy ship Tyrannicide in September.

Warren remained at Boston into the winter of 1778 and apparently did not sortie again until 13 March 1779. The frigate, under the command of Commodore John B. Hopkins, departed in company with Queen of France and Ranger for a cruise off the northeastern coast. The squadron took the armed schooner Hibernia as a prize on 6 April.

Good fortune smiled upon them even more the following day. At 04:00 American lookouts sighted two "fleets" of ships. One contained ten vessels and the other, nine. Warren and her two consorts set upon the nine-ship group to windward and, by 14:00, had captured seven of the nine. The British convoy had been bound from New York to Georgia. The catch included two ships, four brigs, and a schooner. Most of the prizes were richly laden with provisions for the British Army. Warren towed the brig Patriot from 10 April, bringing her triumphantly into port.

Initially, Congress expressed great pleasure with Hopkins' exploit, but its satisfaction soon soured. The Marine Committee charged Hopkins with violating his orders, maintaining that he had returned to port too soon and had not sent his prizes to the nearest port. As a disciplinary measure, the Committee relieved Hopkins, suspended him from the Navy, and gave his command to Captain Dudley Saltonstall. The latter decision would have sad repercussions for both ship and her new commander.

While Warren lay at Boston, fitting out for further operations, the British established a base on the Bagaduce peninsula, near the present site of Castine, Maine, in mid-June 1779. This British intrusion into the figurative back yard of the Massachusetts colony could not go unchallenged. Thus a large—but unfortunately uncoordinated—force was assembled in hope of evicting the newly established British. Saltonstall became the naval commander, in Warren, and was given 19 armed vessels and some 20 transports with which to project the Continental invasion.