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The Battle of Block Island (April 6, 1776) was a nighttime naval encounter between the Continental Navy, returning from a successful raid on Nassau in The Bahamas on its maiden voyage, and , a Royal Navy dispatch boat. ''Glasgow'' successfully escaped capture by a fleet of seven ships under the command of Commodore Esek Hopkins, although she sustained significant damage in the encounter. Several of the ship captains of the Continental fleet were criticized for their actions in the engagement, and one was dismissed as a result. Commodore Hopkins was criticized for other actions pertaining to the cruise, including the distribution of seized goods, and was eventually also dismissed from the Navy. ==Background== was a sixth-rate 20-gun frigate of the Royal Navy. In early April 1776, under the command of navy captain Tryingham Howe,〔Morgan, p. 43〕 she was carrying dispatches from Newport, Rhode Island to the British fleet off Charleston, South Carolina.〔 (This fleet had been assembled to launch an assault on Charleston, which ultimately failed in the June Battle of Sullivan's Island.)〔Greene, p. 184〕 The Second Continental Congress had established the Continental Navy in late 1775.〔Morison, pp. 57–58〕 By February 1776 the first ships of the fleet were ready for their maiden voyage, and Commodore Esek Hopkins led a fleet of eight ships on an expedition to the Bahamas, where the British were known to have military stores. In early March, the fleet (reduced by one due to tangled riggings en route) landed marines on the island of New Providence and captured the town of Nassau.〔Morison, pp. 67–68〕〔Field, p. 117〕 After loading the fleet's ships, enlarged to include two captured prize ships, with military stores, the fleet sailed north on March 17, with one ship dispatched to Philadelphia, while the rest of the fleet sailed for the Block Island channel.〔Field, pp. 118–119〕 The fleet's cruise was marked by outbreaks of a variety of diseases, including fevers and smallpox, resulting in significant reductions in crew effectiveness.〔 By April 4 the fleet had reached the waters off Long Island, and captured a prize, , which was also laden with supplies. The next day brought a second prize, the ''Bolton''.〔Field, p. 120〕 Hoping to catch more easy prizes, Hopkins continued to cruise off Block Island that night, forming the fleet into a scouting formation of two columns. The right, or eastern, column was headed by the , followed by Hopkins' flagship, the , at 20 guns the largest ship of the fleet, and the left column was headed by the , followed by the . Behind these came the , with and trailing further behind as escorts for the prizes.〔 The need to provide crews for the prizes further reduced the fighting effectiveness of the fleet's ships.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Block Island」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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