Battle of Nassau The Battle of Nassau ( March 3 – 4 , 1776 ) was a naval action and amphibious assault by American forces against the British port of Nassau , Bahamas , during the American Revolutionary War ( also known as the American War of Independence ) . It is considered the first cruise and one of the first engagements of the newly established Continental Navy and the Continental Marines , the progenitors of the United States Navy and Marine Corps . The action was also the Marines ' first amphibious landing . It is sometimes known as the Raid of Nassau . Departing from Cape Henlopen , Delaware , on February 17 , 1776 , the fleet arrived in the Bahamas on March 1 , with the objective of seizing gunpowder and munitions that were known to be stored there . Two days later the marines went ashore and seized Fort Montagu at the eastern end of the Nassau harbor , but did not advance to the town , where the gunpowder was stored . That night , Nassau ' s governor had most of the gunpowder loaded aboard ships that then sailed for St . Augustine . On March 4 , the colonial marines advanced and took control of the poorly - defended town . The colonial forces remained at Nassau for two weeks , and took away all the remaining gunpowder and munitions they could . The fleet returned to New London , Connecticut in early April , after capturing a few British supply ships , and notably failed to capture in an action on April 6 . Background . When the American Revolutionary War broke out in 1775 , Lord Dunmore , the British provincial governor of the Colony of Virginia , with the British forces under his command , had removed Virginia ' s store of provincial arms and gunpowder to the island of New Providence in the Crown Colony of the Bahamas , in order to keep it from falling into the hands of the rebel militia . Montfort Browne , the Bahamian governor , was alerted by General Thomas Gage in August 1775 that the rebel colonists might make attempts to seize these supplies . The desperate shortage of gunpowder available to the Continental Army had led the Second Continental Congress to organize a naval expedition , one of whose goals was the seizure of the military supplies at Nassau . While the orders issued by the Congress to Esek Hopkins , the fleet captain selected to lead the expedition , included only instructions for patrolling and raiding British naval targets on the Virginia and Carolina coastline , additional instructions may have been given to Hopkins in secret meetings of the Congress ' Naval Committee . The instructions that Hopkins issued to his fleet ' s captains before it sailed from Cape Henlopen , Delaware on February 17 , 1776 , included instructions to rendezvous at Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas . The fleet that Hopkins launched consisted of " Alfred " , " Hornet " , " Wasp " , " Fly " , " Andrew Doria " , " Cabot " , " Providence " , and " Columbus " . In addition to ships ' crews , it carried 200 marines under the command of Samuel Nicholas . In spite of gale force winds , the fleet remained together for two days , when " Fly " and " Hornet " became separated from the fleet . " Hornet " was forced to return to port for repairs , and " Fly " eventually caught up with the fleet at Nassau , after the raid took place . Hopkins did not let the apparent loss of the two ships dissuade him ; he had intelligence that much of the British fleet was in port due to the high winds . Prelude . Governor Browne received further intelligence in late February that a rebel fleet was assembling off the Delaware coast , but apparently took no significant actions to prepare a defense . New Providence ' s harbor had two primary defenses , Fort Nassau and Fort Montagu . Fort Nassau was located in Nassau , but was poorly sited to defend the port against amphibious attacks , and had walls that were not strong enough to support the action of its 46 cannon . As a result , Fort Montagu had been constructed in 1742 on the eastern end of the harbor , commanding its entrance . At the time of the raid , it was fortified with 17 cannons , although most of the gunpowder and ordnance was at Fort Nassau . The fleet arrived at Abaco Island on March 1 , 1776 . The force captured two sloops owned by Loyalists , one of those men being Captain Gideon Lowe of Green Turtle Cay , and pressed their owners to serve as pilots . George Dorsett , a local ship ' s captain , got away from Abaco and alerted Governor Browne to the presence of the rebel fleet . The landing force was transferred to the two captured sloops and " Providence " the next day , and plans were formulated for the assault . While the main fleet held back , the three ships carrying the landing force were to enter the port at daybreak on March 3 , and gain control of the town before the alarm could be raised . The decision to land at daybreak turned out to be a mistake , as the alarm was raised in Nassau when the three ships were spotted in the morning light , rousing Governor Browne from his bed . He ordered four guns fired from Fort Nassau to alert the militia ; two of the guns came off their mounts when they were fired . At 7 am he held a discussion with Samuel Gambier , one of his councillors , over the idea that the gunpowder should be removed from the islands on the " Mississippi Packet " , a fast ship docked in the harbor . They ultimately did not act on the idea , but Browne ordered thirty mostly unarmed militiamen to occupy Fort Montagu before retiring to his house to " make himself a little decent " . Battle . Landing and capture . When the guns at Fort Nassau were heard by the attackers , they realized their surprise was lost , and aborted the assault . The elements of the fleet rejoined in Hanover Sound , about six nautical miles east of Nassau . There Hopkins held council , and a new plan of attack was developed . According to accounts now discredited , Hopkins ' lieutenant , John Paul Jones , suggested a new landing point and then led the action . Jones was unfamiliar with the local waters , unlike many of the captains present in the council . It is more likely that the landing force was led by " Cabot " lieutenant , Thomas Weaver , who was also familiar with the area . With the force enlarged by 50 sailors , the three ships , with the " Wasp " offering additional covering support , carried it to a point south and east of Fort Montagu , where they made an unopposed landing between 12 and 2 pm . This was the first landing of what eventually became the United States Marine Corps . A Lieutenant Burke led a detachment out from Fort Montagu to investigate the rebel activity . Given that he was severely outnumbered , he opted to send a truce flag to determine their intentions . From this he learned that their objective was the powder and military stores . In the meantime , Governor Browne arrived at Fort Montagu with another eighty militiamen . Upon learning the size of the advancing force , he ordered three of the fort ' s guns fired , and withdrew all but a few men back to Nassau . He himself retired to the governor ' s house , while most of the militiamen , rather than attempting to make a stand , also returned to their homes . Browne sent Lieutenant Burke out to parley with the rebels a second time , in order to " wait on the Command Officer of the Enemy to know his Errand and on what account he had landed his troops . " The firing of Montagu ' s guns had given Nichols pause for concern , but his men had occupied the fort , and he was consulting with his officers on their next move when Burke arrived . They obligingly repeated to Burke that they had arrived to take the powder and weapons , and were prepared to assault the town . Burke brought this news back to Browne around 4 pm . Rather than advance further on Nassau , Nichols and his force remained at Fort Montagu that night . Browne held a war council that evening , in which the decision was made to attempt the removal of the gunpowder . At midnight , 162 of 200 barrels of gunpowder were loaded onto the " Mississippi Packet " and HMS " St . John " , and at 2 am they sailed out of Nassau harbor , bound for Saint Augustine . This feat was made possible because Hopkins had neglected to post even a single ship to guard the harbor ' s entrance channels , leaving the fleet safely anchored in Hanover Sound . Nichols ' marines occupied Nassau without resistance the next morning , after a leaflet written by Commodore Hopkins was distributed throughout the town . They were met en route by a committee of the town ' s leaders , who offered up the town ' s keys . Return voyage . Hopkins and his fleet remained at Nassau for two weeks , loading as much weaponry as would fit onto the ships , including the remaining 38 casks of gunpowder . He pressed into service a local sloop , the " Endeavour " , to carry some of the materiel . Governor Browne complained that the rebel officers consumed most of his liquor stores during the occupation , and also wrote that he was taken in chains like a " felon to the gallows " when he was arrested and taken to the " Alfred " . During their sojourn at Nassau , the " Fly " arrived . Her captain reported that she and the " Hornet " had fouled their riggings together , and that " Hornet " suffered significant damage as a consequence . On March 17 , the fleet sailed for Block Island Channel off Newport , Rhode Island , with Governor Browne and other officials as prisoners . The return voyage was uneventful until the fleet reached the waters of Long Island . On April 4 they encountered and captured HMS " Hawk " , and the next day they captured the " Bolton " , which was laden with stores that included more armaments and powder . The fleet finally met resistance on April 6 , when it encountered HMS " Glasgow " , a heavily - armed sixth - rate ship . In the ensuing action , the outnumbered " Glasgow " managed to escape capture , severely damaging the " Cabot " in the process , wounding her captain , Hopkins ' son John Burroughs Hopkins , and killing or wounding eleven others . The fleet sailed into the harbor at New London , Connecticut on April 8 . Aftermath . Browne was eventually exchanged for American general William Alexander ( Lord Stirling ) , and was roundly criticized for his handling of the whole affair . Nassau remained relatively poorly - defended , and was again subjected to American rebel threat in January 1778 . It was then seized by Spanish forces under Bernardo de Gálvez in 1782 , and returned to British control after the war . While Hopkins was initially lauded for the success at Nassau , the failure to capture the " Glasgow " and crew complaints about some of the captains led to a variety of investigations and courts martial . As a result of these , the " Providence " captain was relieved of his command , which was given to John Paul Jones . Jones , who had performed well in the " Glasgow " encounter in spite of a crew reduced by disease , thereafter received a captain ' s commission in the Continental Navy . The manner by which Commodore Hopkins distributed the spoils was criticized , and his failure to follow his orders to patrol the Virginia shore resulted in censure by the Continental Congress . After a series of further missteps and accusations , Hopkins was forced out of the navy in 1778 . Two ships of the United States Navy have been christened USS " Nassau " ; USS " Nassau " ( LHA - 4 ) , an amphibious assault ship , is named specifically in recognition of this battle , while USS " Nassau " ( CVE - 16 ) was named for Nassau Sound , the body of water between Florida and the Bahamas .