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The Battle of the Rice Boats, also called the Battle of Yamacraw Bluff, was a land and naval battle of the American Revolutionary War that took place in and around the Savannah River on the border between the Province of Georgia and the Province of South Carolina on March 2 and 3, 1776. The battle pitted the Patriot militia from Georgia and South Carolina against a small fleet of the Royal Navy. In December 1775, the British Army was besieged in Boston. In need of provisions, a Royal Navy fleet was sent to Georgia to purchase rice and other supplies. The arrival of this fleet prompted the colonial rebels who controlled the Georgia government to arrest the British Royal Governor, James Wright, and to resist the British seizure and removal of supply ships anchored at Savannah. Some of the supply ships were burned to prevent their seizure, some were recaptured, but most were successfully taken by the British. Governor Wright escaped from his confinement and safely reached one of the fleet's ships. His departure marked the end of British control over Georgia, although it was briefly restored when Savannah was retaken by the British in 1778. Wright again ruled from 1779 to 1782, when British troops were finally withdrawn during the closing days of the war. ==Background== In April 1775, tensions over British colonial policies in the Thirteen Colonies boiled over into war with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Following those events, Patriot colonists surrounded the city of Boston, placing it under siege, although the encirclement was incomplete: the city could be resupplied by sea. News of this action and the June Battle of Bunker Hill fanned the flames of independence throughout the colonies. Although the Province of Georgia had managed to remain relatively neutral before these events, radicals in the Georgia provincial congress came into power during the summer of 1775 and progressively stripped Georgia's Royal Governor, James Wright, of his powers.〔Jones, pp. 194–210〕 While Wright had requested a naval presence near Savannah, Patriots in Charleston, South Carolina had intercepted his request and substituted for it a dispatch indicating he did not need such support.〔Jones, p. 180〕 The dispute in Georgia reached a crisis point when British men-of-war began arriving at Tybee Island in January 1776. On January 12, three ships were seen at anchor off Tybee Island; by January 18 the fleet consisted of the HMS ''Cherokee'', , , , and a number of smaller vessels. Wright's opinion, expressed to Joseph Clay and others, was that the fleet had been sent to punish the local rebels.〔Johnson, p. 129〕 In fact, these ships were the beginnings of a fleet assembled to acquire provisions in Savannah for the beleaguered British troops in Boston. In December 1775 General William Howe had ordered an expedition to purchase rice and other provisions in Georgia.〔Johnson, p. 128〕 By early February the entire fleet had assembled off Tybee Island. It was under the overall command of Captain Andrew Barclay (or ''Barkley'') on the , and included and two transports, HMS ''Whitby'' and HMS ''Symmetry'', carrying about 200 British army regulars from the 40th Foot under the command of Major James Grant.〔 The arrival of the first ships in January prompted the Georgia Committee of Safety to order the arrest of Wright and other provincial representatives of the Crown on January 18. Joseph Habersham, a major in the Georgia militia, placed Governor Wright under house arrest, and extracted a promise from the governor that he would not attempt to communicate with the British ships.〔Russell, p. 73〕 Wright, who continued to be harassed in spite of his confinement, feared for his life, and escaped the mansion on the night of February 11. He made his way to the plantation of a Loyalist supporter and was taken from there to the ''Scarborough''.〔Jones, p. 212〕 In the meantime, Georgia's provincial assembly had met, elected representatives to the Second Continental Congress, and begun the process of raising regiments for the Continental Army.〔Jones, pp. 215–217〕 After Governor Wright arrived aboard the ''Scarborough'' he wrote a letter to the remaining members of his council, in which he expressed frustration over getting assurances of safety and access to the desired supplies from the Patriot authorities.〔Russell, p. 74〕 Georgia had, along with the other twelve colonies, in 1774 adopted the terms of the Continental Association created by the First Continental Congress banning trade with Great Britain.〔Jones, p. 188〕 With negotiations effectively failed, Barclay ordered his fleet into action on February 29.〔 His objective was a number of merchant vessels docked at Savannah, whose owners were desirous of moving their goods, something that became possible on March 1 when the previous constraints expired.〔Russell, p. 75〕 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 the Rice Boats」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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