USS Lynch ( 1776 ) USS " Lynch " ( 1776 ) was a schooner acquired as part of the Continental Navy in 1776 . She served for over a year on the New England coast , interfering with British maritime trade when possible . In 1777 she was assigned dispatch boat duty and , after delivering her secret dispatches in France , set sail for the United States with French secret dispatches , only to be captured by the British , but only after destroying the French dispatches . Chartered by order of Washington . The first ship to be so named by the Navy , " Lynch " , a fishing schooner chartered by order of General George Washington 26 January 1776 from Col . John Lee of Marblehead , Massachusetts , was commissioned 1 February 1776 at Manchester , New Hampshire , Comdr . John Ayers in command . Continental Navy service . " Lynch " eluded fire from HMS " Fowey " when she sailed 7 February 1776 from Manchester , New Hampshire , to fit out at Beverly , Massachusetts . Shortly after midnight 2 March , " Lynch " slipped out of Beverly and dodged " Fowey " and " Nautilus " to make her way to rendezvous in Cape Ann Harbor with three other ships in the little American fleet commanded by Commodore John Manley . On the night of the 4th , Manley ’ s schooners drove off British brig " Hope " in a spirited engagement . The next day they took their first prize , " Susannah " , a 300 ton English merchantman laden with coal , cheese , and porter for General Howe ’ s beleaguered army in Boston , Massachusetts . After escorting their prize to Portsmouth , Manley ’ s squadron returned to Cape Ann , where on the 10th he captured a second prize , Boston bound transport " Stokesby " , a 300 ton ship carrying porter , cheese , vinegar , and hops . " Lynch " and the others escorted the prize toward Gloucester , Massachusetts , but " Stokesby " ran hard aground . After much of the prize ’ s cargo had been removed , British brig " Hope " arrived and put the torch to the hulk . Howe evacuates Boston . While Manley ’ s squadron was at Gloucester , General Howe evacuated Boston and Washington ordered his ships to dog the British fleet and pounce upon any stragglers . The patriot schooners departed Gloucester 21 March and sighted a merchant brig off Boston Light that afternoon . They chased their prey and by evening were close enough to open fire . Their quarry then hove to , but two English men of war , " Savage " and " Diligent " , arrived to compel the American schooners to abandon their prize . Soon afterwards , Manley divided his fleet , keeping " Lynch " and " Lee " with his flagship " Hancock " . On the afternoon of 2 April they sighted brig " Elizabeth " . This prize , an American vessel captured by the British the previous October , was full of loot plundered from the warehouses of patriot merchants just before the evacuation of Boston , and carried a goodly number of Tory refugees . Many of the Tories were transferred to " Lee " , their leaders were taken on board " Hancock " , and the captive crew was imprisoned in " Lynch " , which accompanied " Hancock " to Portsmouth , arriving 4 April to refit and recruit . Underway again 13 May , " Lynch " joined " Lee " and Warren in Cape Ann Harbor . A fortnight later HMS " Milford " pursued the schooners but they escaped in the fog . On 7 June they captured British transport " Anne " carrying a light infantry company of the 71st Highland Regiment and some twoscore British tars sent out as fleet replacements . The Highlanders were transferred to " Lynch " and taken to Plymouth , Massachusetts . Cruising the New England coast through the summer , on 26 August " Lynch " and " Warren " encountered British frigate " Liverpool " and scurried away in opposite directions . " Warren " was captured while " Lynch " escaped and a few days later reached Boston . " Lynch " next cruised athwart the transatlantic shipping lanes . On 27 September she ran across a fleet of 120 sail bringing a division of Hessians to reinforce General Howe . Frigate HMS " Unicorn " peeled off the convoy and chased the schooner . " Lynch " only managed to escape by jettisoning her guns and water , enabling her to stay out of range until darkness allowed her to slip away . The schooner was laid up after reaching Boston . Service as a dispatch boat . Late in February 1777 " Lynch " was reactivated to take important dispatches to France . Under command of Capt . John Adams , she got underway from Boston 3 March and reached Nantes 2 April with valuable intelligence for the American Commissioners at Paris . Captured by the British . On 19 May , while trying to slip away from the French coast , " Lynch " , again carrying important secret documents as well as arms and clothing for the American Army , was intercepted by British ship of the line " Foudroyant " south of Belle - Île , on the western coast of Brittany . Unable to escape , Adams was captured before he could run the schooner aground , but he did manage to sink the dispatches . " Foudroyant " took her prize to England , arriving Plymouth , England , 23 May . References .