Battle off Halifax (1780)

The Battle off Halifax took place on 10 July 1780 during the American Revolutionary War. The British privateer Resolution fought the American privateer Viper and heavy casualties were suffered by both sides.[6] The battle was "one of the bloodiest battles in the history of privateering.... a loss of 51 lives in a single battle was virtually unheard of."[7]

For the later battle, see Battle off Halifax (1782).
Battle off Halifax (1780)
Part of the American Revolutionary War
Date10 July 1780
Location
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Result American victory
Belligerents
United States United States of America  Kingdom of Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
United States William Williams[1][2][3] Kingdom of Great Britain Thomas Ross[4]
Strength
1 Privateer (16 guns)
British report: 130 men
American report: 90 men		 1 Brig
unknown
Casualties and losses
British report: 33 killed and wounded
American report: 1 killed, 2 wounded[5]		 8 killed; 10 wounded
1 Brig captured

Background

During the American Revolution, Americans regularly attacked Nova Scotia by land and sea. American privateers devastated the maritime economy by raiding many of the coastal communities,[8] such as the numerous raids on Liverpool and on Annapolis Royal.[9] A few months before the Battle of Halifax, in December 1779 the schooner Hope wrecked near the Sambro Island Light on the Three Sisters Rocks. Captain Henry Baldwin and six other crew were killed. Weeks later, 170 British sailors were lost when two vessels - North and St Helena - were wrecked in a storm when entering Halifax harbour.[10][11]

Battle

Just off Sambro Island Light, the American privateer Viper (22 guns, 130 men), under the command of William Williams took the British brig Resolution (16 guns) under the command of Captain Thomas Ross of Halifax.[5] In the "hot engagement" for 90 minutes, the British had killed 8 and 10 wounded, while the American killed and wounded totalled 33 men. Both vessels were much disabled and the British surrendered.[6]

Aftermath

American privateers remained a threat to Nova Scotian ports for the rest of the war. For example, after a failed attempt to raid Chester, Nova Scotia, American privateers struck again in the Raid on Lunenburg in 1782.

See also

Notes
  1. William Williams at awiatsea.com; Retrieved 16 February 2021
  2. Gardner Weld, Massachusetts privateers of the Revolution (1927) at babel.hathihursttrust.org, p. 317
  3. Gardner Weld, Massachusetts privateers of the Revolution (1927) at babel.hathihursttrust.org, p. 156
  4. Capture of ship in 1777
  5. Viper (William Williams) at awiatsea.com; Retrieved 16 February 2021
  6. Murdoch, Beamish (1866). A History of Nova-Scotia, Or Acadie. Vol. II. Halifax: J. Barnes. p. 608.
  7. Plunder & Pillage: Atlantic Canada's Brutal and Bloodthirsty Pirates and ... By Harold Horwood, p. 134
  8. Benjamin Franklin also engaged France in the war, which meant that many of the privateers were also from France.
  9. Roger Marsters (2004). Bold Privateers: Terror, Plunder and Profit on Canada's Atlantic Coast" , p. 87-89
  10. p. 78
  11. Murdoch, Beamish (1866). A History of Nova-Scotia, Or Acadie. Vol. II. Halifax: J. Barnes. p. 600.

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