USS Randolph Explodes: Worst Loss of Life Until Pearl Harbor

The Battle of Barbados, March 7, 1778, was one of the largest joint Continental and State Navy operations of the war. The frigate USS Randolph, under Captain Nicholas Biddle, former British naval officer, was besting a double decker ship-of-the-line, when the American tragically exploded after a spark entered the powder magazine. Three Hundred and one sailors were killed instantly.[1] Only four survived to be rescued five days later clinging to wreckage. The 36-gun frigate Randolph and 18-gun General Moultrie had engaged the 64-gun HMS Yarmouth, Captain Nicholas Vincent commanding, 150 miles off the coast of Barbados. After a 15-minute engagement, the two American ships had remained relatively unharmed while afflicting heavy damage on the Yarmouth. Shortly after, the Randolph erupted in an enormous explosion. Fiery debris rained down upon the Yarmouth who then pursued the rest of the American fleet. But due to extensive damage, and scattering of rebel vessels, the British soon gave up. The battle was America’s worst naval defeat, in terms of sailor lives lost, until 163 years later and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941.

Never was a man here more sincerely esteemed or lamented than Captain Biddle. His conduct both as an officer and a gentleman had procured general respect. He died in the midst of glory, fighting for his country against a very superior force, with all the gallantry of the bravest officer, and with every prospect of success.

From a Letter that arrived at Philadelphia on July 25, 1778.

USS Randolph

The USS Randolph was the second frigate warship authorized by the Continental Congress (the first was the USS Washington)[2], and first warship launched, named in honor of Peyton Randolph,[3] president of the First Continental Congress and a short spell at the start of the Second Congress.[4] Construction on the 690 ton 32-gun frigate[5] began on December 13, 1775, nearly two months after Payton’s death. The ship was launched on July 10, 1776 and on July 11^th, young experienced former British naval officer was chosen to command, Captain Nicholas Biddle.[6] With Biddle were later selected 1st Lt. William Barnes, 2nd Lt. John McDougall,[7] and 3rd Lt. Joshua Fanning[8]. Original plans designed a 32-gun frigate. Along the 34 ½ foot breadth and 137-foot length of gundeck were thirteen 12-pounders to a side. Four 6 pounders were positioned on the quarterdeck[9] and forecastle.[10] Captain Biddle formerly assumed commanded in mid-October 1776 and believed the number of cannon was inadequate. He received approval that same month from the Marine Commission to add four more 6 pounders for a total of ten; four at the forecastle and six on the quarterdeck,[11] totaling armament at 36 guns.

Captain Nicholas Biddle

Before John Paul Jones obtained the hearts and minds of a new nation, there was Captain Nicholas Biddle (Sept. 10, 1750 – March 7, 1778). By the end of the first year of war, twenty-six-year-old Biddle was regarded as the finest naval officer of the infant Continental Navy. Biddle was a fourth generation born into the extended Biddle family that owned 43,000 acres in New Jersey and properties in Philadelphia. His father, William Biddle 3^rd, moved to Philadelphia in the 1720’s where he married Mary Scull, daughter of the Pennsylvania Surveyor General. Nicholas was six years old when his father died penny-less due to business failures; leaving his large family a spacious home, but little else. In 1764, at age fourteen, Nicholas went to sea on West Indies merchantmen as a cabin boy with his older brother Charles as second mate.[12]  Among his adventures, he and his brother were shipwrecked with Nicholas left on a deserted island while awaiting his brother to return with help.

In 1770, while in Philadelphia, he considered leaving the merchant service whereas he purchased 200 acres of farmland. But in March of 1771, with the threat of war between England and Spain, the adventurous 20-year-old was determined to join the Royal Navy and obtained letters of recommendation, among was praise from Benjamin Franklin with whom he had befriended. By 1772, Biddle was a midshipman on the sloop-of-war HMS Portland under Captain, later Admiral, Sir Walter Stirling. After the Portland was paid off in October, 1772, Biddle remained inactive in London, questioning if he should resign and return home. Opportunity to return to sea came in 1773. He joined the Artic Circle Exploratory Expedition on the converted bomb vessel[13] Carcass, commanded by Captain Constantine Phipps. There he would meet fellow midshipman Horatio Nelson; both were promoted to coxswains.[14] The expedition sailed on June 4, 1773 and after reaching 80 degrees 48 N,[15] thick pack ice forced them to return, arriving England on September 18^th. He was discharged in October and once more faced unemployment while waiting for a ship, With political upheaval in Philadelphia and talk of war, he resigned his commission in the Royal Navy and returned home. He wrote to his sister on October 18, 1773 of the artic journey’s terrors “…what astonishes, confounds and frightens me most of all is that during the whole voyage, I did not apprehend danger.”[16] Perhaps an insight of the person who would, five years later, willingly attack a ship that could hurl four times the weight of metal than his own.

Continental Navy in Philadelphia

Nicholas Biddle returned to Philadelphia and let it be known his willingness to command a ship in service of the growing colonial rebellion.  Because of his years at sea, influential family and friends, and his experience as a British Naval officer, on August 1, 1775, Biddle got his wish. He received a commission to command the Provincial Armed Boat (galley) Franklin, fitted out for the defense of the Providence of Pennsylvania and Delaware River, signed by the Committee of Safety of which Benjamin Franklin was president. The young captain’s break came in December when the infant Continental Navy gave him the reins of the newly converted warship, the brig Andrew Doria[17] of fourteen 4-pounders and 112-man crew.[18] On January 6, 1776, Biddle received orders for the Andrew Doria to be under Commodore Esek Hopkins, Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet of the United Colonies; the first official United States Navy. This predates the construction of Benedict Arnold’s galley and gunboat fleet on Lake Champlain that often in heralded as the birth of the United States Navy.

In March, Hopkin’s small fleet of five newly fitted warships was ordered to the Chesapeake where they would also patrol the North Carolina coast; however, the Commodore set sail for Providence Island in the Bahamas – his eye set on taking British held Nassau. While in route, Hopkins was joined by three other American warships. The eight-ship fleet did not encounter the British ships and were able to capture two British forts and town of Nassau. They occupied it long enough to dismantle and load precious cannon and stores before departing on March 17, 1776. One ship headed to Philadelphia while the rest sailed north to the Block Island Channel; west of Long Island between Rhode Island at the entrance to Long Island Sound. On April 6^th, at the Battle of Block Island between three American ships and the HMS Glasgow of 20 cannon, the Americans did poorly due to poor seamanship. Brittle’s ship entered the action late and pursued the escaping Glasgow. Interestingly, among the crew of Hopkin’s flagship Alfred was 1^st Lt. John Paul Jones.

Biddle’s reputation grew as the Andrew Doria patrolled along the Middle States and New England coast. He captured several prizes off the banks of Newfoundland including a bonanza of two transports carrying 400 Scottish Highland troops bound for Boston.[19]  On September 17, 1776, Biddle left the Doria,[20] having been assigned the USS Randolph, the first launched frigate of 36 guns.

By then Commodore Hopkins had resigned from the navy, pressured to leave the service after having disobeyed orders to attack Nassau, and then delivering most of the supplies to Connecticut, instead of Congress. He was not replaced and the navy became decentralized, left to individual Committees of Safety[21] and ship captains to determine actions for the good of the rebellion. As such, Captain Biddle responded to the needs of local governments and acted accordingly.

Nicholas Biddle sat down and penned a letter to his brother James just as he left on his first mission as a captain in the new Continental Navy. In it he said: “I know not what may be our fate; be it however what it may, I will never cause a blush on the cheeks of my friends or countrymen.”[22] It defines a man who confessed to his sister that he did not apprehend danger and later solved to do his duty, no matter the outcome. Biddle was determined to sail in harm’s way and fulfill what he believed was his obligation as captain of what was then, the most powerful armed ship in the infant American Navy. One thinks of the skipper of another naval vessel generations later who famously quoted “This is going to be a fighting ship. I intend to go in harm’s way…” Within a year it’s commander, Commander Ernest Evans, Native American, posthumously won the Medal of Honor.[23]

Prior to Fateful Action with the HMS Yarmouth

Among war-time difficulties of fitting out his ship for sea, Biddle faced a critical problem of finding a suitable crew. Seamen either sought to cash in on the merchant fleet’s need for able seamen, or were attracted to privateering and the substantial payout from English prizes. The meager and promised wages offered by financially stretched local and national governments could not compete.  Therefore, as he had first done when fitting the Andrew Doria, he turned to pressing crewmen into service.^[24] He turned to British prisoners, sailors, and soldiers, taken from his prizes; some had volunteered and others forced.[25] To finish his quota of around 300 men, he drafted additional crew from the army. Manned and fitted with a store of ammunition and supplies, the Randolph set sail on its maiden voyage on February, 1777. 

The maiden voyage involved escorting many merchantman safely to sea whereupon they would separate and continue onto France or the West Indies. While searching for British shipping, the Randolph sprung her foremast and soon after broke the mainmast that tumbled into the sea. Crippled, Biddle set course for Charleston, South Carolina. During this voyage, Biddle dealt with an epidemic that killed several crew members as well as an uprising among pressed prisoners. The ship limped into Charleston on March 11, 1777. Due to delays in repairs and seeking to find crew replacements due to sickness and desertions to privateers, the Randolph finally set sail on August 16^th. The second voyage was more productive. Biddle took the sloop True Britan, a British privateer of 20-guns and recaptured two brigs and a merchantmen; two of whom were Frenchmen. The Randolph returned to Charleson on September 6^th escorting her prizes.[26]

Biddle spent the fall and winter of 1777 – 1778 in port at Charleston having the Randolph’s hull scraped and ship refitted for what would be the third and final voyage.  On December 17, 1777, President of South Carolina’s General Assembly, John Rutledge, on behalf of the S Carolina legislature, suggested that the Randolph join forces with state ships and lead the small fleet to break the British naval blockade of Charleston. The South Carolina Volunteer that was under Capt. Sullivan before he was given the General Moultrie remained in Charleston, considered unseaworthy for this expedition. The fleet, beside the USS Randolph of 315 sailors and marines, consisted of four converted South Carolina state ships:

• General Moultrie, 18[27]-gun ship and heaviest at 200 tons, was built as a war ship making its maiden voyage under Capt. Phillip Sullivan (replacing Capt. Jacob Johnston who had resigned in December)[28] She had a crew of 155 officers and men.
• Notre Dame, 16-gun brig[29] state ship under Captain William Hall with 94 crew.
• Fair American, 16-gun brig[30] former privateer under Capt. Charles Morgan with 99 crew.
• Polly, 14-gun[31] former privateer brig under Capt. Hezekiah Anthony[32] with 74 crew.

To help complement able sailors for this fleet action, the state offered a thirty-dollar sign on bonus which added about 300 men divided out among the vessels. Biddle and Rutledge requested General William Moultrie and Major General Robert Howe for an additional 300 Continental soldiers to serve as marines. After much back and forth, it was decided the South Carolina Line could spare 150 soldiers. The 1^st and 2^nd regiments supplied one company each, the 4^th gave half a company, and a platoon from the 5^th. Selected to board the Randolph was Captain Joseph Ioor leading one company from the 1^st S. Carolina Regiment with Lt. George Gray his second.

The fleet was to sail by mid-January; however, the marines were delayed in assembling; however, of importance, Charleston was consumed by a major fire on January 15^th that destroyed 252 buildings and a large portion of stores and ammunition that was to be loaded aboard ships. Subsequently, the departure was delayed until mid-February. On February 12^th, forty-eight Continental soldiers, designated marines, boarded the Randolph while the rest of the land troops were divided among the other four vessels. With all everything a go to sail, they had to but wait for a favorable wind.

Battle of Barbados

On the morning of February 14, 1778,^[33] the wind veered around from the east and the fleet set sail; one by one around 750 warriors slipped over the bar and clearing the channel by 8 AM. Eighteen merchantmen saw their chance to escape and followed the blockade out into open water. The fleet was amazed to find no British war ships; they were several leagues away, having captured so many ships that most of the blockade was scattered retrieving prize crews and delivering additional captives. The second day out, the fleet came across a prized, off-loaded cargo, pressed the crew, and burned the ship, not worthy of a prize. Biddle and the fleet decided to carry on to the West Indies and seek prizes. Ten days later they were passing north of Barbados.

On March 4^th, the Polly had taken a merchantman, a schooner from New York bound for Granada. Biddle decided to man her as a tender and ordered ten men from the Randolph as a prize crew. Midshipman Simeon Fanning, brother of 3^rd Lt. Joshua Fanning commanded the tender. Joshua wished his brother luck as the midshipman went over the side. This left 305 officers and crew aboard the Randolph. Three days later, on March 7, the fleet, sailing on wind, stood sixty degrees east of Barbados about a hundred and fifty miles. Late afternoon, around 5 PM, came the call from aloft that drew all to the gunnels, “Sail Ho!”[34] Biddle at once decided to investigate. Flags flew, signaling the fleet to haul their wind[35] and stand after the flagship, adding sail. The General Moultrie, second in armament, took position off to Randolph’s leeward[36] with the rest of the brigs and newly acquired tender spread astern.

For two hours the gap closed between the opposing ships, the larger ship benefitting from the weather gage.[37] As the large ship approached, Biddle noticed his prey was putting on more sail. Thinking his enemy was a 20- or 28-pound schooner or perhaps a frigate,[38] he was ready for a fight and decided to let his enemy come on. As the sun was setting, around 7 PM, Biddle heaved to and awaited his opponent.^[39] But what approached was no frigate, but the HMS Yarmouth, a 64-gun ship-of-the-line.[40]  The Randolph was constructed before the famed American ‘Iron-side’ frigates of live oak that British cannon grazed off in a later war. But this was different. The Randolph, with the small fleet of converted privateers under her skirts, had stumbled upon a two-decker brute. In one broadside, the towering third rate ship’s cannon had more weight of metal than the entire American fleet combined.

The two heaviest armed American ships could only throw twelve pounders at their enemy, barely able to penetrate the stiff hull of the British war ship. Whereas Yarmouth’s 32 pounders, and she had 26 of them – 13 to a side, at pistol shot, could hurl shot to cut through the American hulls like a bullet through butter. In fact, whereas the Randolph and fleet carried 12, 6, and 4-pounders, every cannon aboard the Yarmouth was larger; besides the 32-pounders, she boasted 26 eighteen pounders and 12 nine pounders. For each broadside of 186-pound weight of metal the Randolph could best, the Yarmouth answered with 704 pounds; nearly four times the punch! Even with the General Moultrie’s added weight, the contest verged on near suicide, with a draw and escape by the Americans at best. Yet as the mammoth ship approached in the dying light, Biddle held his ground and waited.

“At half past 5 discovered Six Sail to the SW. Soon perceived them to [be]on a Wind Standing to the Southward, two Ships, three Briggs and a Schooner, we wore and bore down on them Steering for the headmost and largest Ship-about 9 PM came with[in] hail of her as our Colours were then hoisted, we bid him hoist his.”^[41]  Wrote Captain Nicholas Vincent of the HMS Yarmouth in his journal on March 7, 1778. Capt. Vincent skippered a powerful cruiser; the biggest guy on the block. Throwing caution to the wind, he went straight in. Captain Hull on the Notre Dame wrote, “The enemy passed by the General Moultrie, and proceeded towards the Randolph. Captain Biddle hove out no signal for drawing up in line of battle, but laid his mizentopsail to the mast and got ready to engage. In other words, the enemy ignored the smaller ships and shot for the Randolph.

Perhaps Biddle forgot to signal line of battle. Maybe his focus was trained on the massive ship heading right at him. More likely, he knew the six and four pounders on his converted privateers were pea shooters compared to what was coming; in effect they would be little help. Biddle “laid his mizentopsail to the mast,”[42] meaning by hoisting sail on the mast nearest the stern to the top, it caught the wind and drove the Randolph forward. Biddle, undeterred by what he faced, beat to quarters and accepted the challenge, as they say, come hell or high water.

Captain Hull of the Norte Dame continued: The General Moultrie being to windward of me, I could not get up to the Randolph’s wake, therefore laid my topsail to the mast, to allow the General Moultrie to shoot ahead, both of us being then with our starboard tacks [wind coming from the right side of the boat] on board. By this time the enemy’s ship got so near to the Randolph as to hail her…”[43]  Hull explains he could not catch up to the Randolph because the General Moultrie was windward of him. Meaning Hull’s ship was downwind of the Moultrie that formed an obstacle, leaving Hull with less wind called ‘dirty air.’ Hull compensated by laying in topsail to the mast, in other words he heaved to and put on the brakes by backwinding the sail against the mast that created a powerful drag. This allowed, as Hull wrote, the Moultrie to shoot ahead and the Notre Dame got her wind to tail after him. With both on starboard tack, the wind coming in off the right side of their ships, they tried to join the Randolph. By then, the Yarmouth had come up to the American frigate, with Hull and Capt. Sullivan of the General Moultrie about a 100 yards distant.

A quarter moon was low on the western horizon as the shadowy Yarmouth approached. Accounts vary as to whom she hailed and who fired the first shots. Captain Vincent of the Yarmouth stated he headed straight for the large schooner (Randolph) which was the only ship he hailed and at that point threatened to fire a shot,“ …got close on the Weather Quarter[44]of the largest and headmost Ship, [Randolph] They had no Colours hoisted and as Ours were then up, I hailed her to hoist hers, or I would fire into her…”[45] Captain Hull of the Notre Dame; however, differed, writing that[46] “…she [Yarmouth]fired a gun, & then hailed the General Moultrie, who answered her.”[47] Capt. Vincent made no mention of this.

Hull did not record what, if anything, Captain Sullivan of the William Moultrie answered as to Captain Vincent’s hail.  Captain Hull added that after hailing the Moultrie, the Yarmouth then hailed the Randolph, “By this time the enemy’s ship got so near to the Randolph as to hail her…”^[48]  One primary account surfaced twenty-three years after the battle by John Davis of the Notre Dame. He claimed that the Yarmouth called to them as it passed, and that Capt. Sullivan falsely said they were the Polly from Charleston. Davis also questionably stated that the Yarmouth was first spotted at 1PM, that the enemy was a 74-gun ship, and that the Notre Dame lowered its flag and did not make sail; the Randolph was then obliged to engage the Yarmouth or sacrifice the Notre Dame.[49]

When Biddle hoisted the American ensign, he was about two ship lengths from the Yarmouth. No sooner than the ensign was unfurled, the Randolph erupted in a thunderous roar, pouring a broadside into the Yarmouth. …”^[50] Captain Vincent wrote that the first shots fired were approximately 9 PM. Captain Hull of the Notre Dame recorded in a letter to the South Carolina Navy Commission that it was around 7 PM.^[51] Vincent penned a letter to Vice Admiral James Young dated March 17, 1778: “on which she hoisted American and immediately gave us her broad Side, which We returned.”[52] Yarmouth belched her massive 32 and 18 pounders, but were far slower than Randolph’s 12 pounders. Vincent noted in his journal, “He kept up his firing very smart for about a Quarter of an hour…[53]” Marines along the gunnels and in the rigging kept a constant fire upon decks, causing havoc and casualties. The Notre Dame opened with her four pounders towards the enemy’s stern, nearly striking the Randolph. The General Moultrie also fired a broadside with her 6 and four pounders. Both ships were of no concern to the British. At a 100 yards from their enemy, their fire was inaccurate and ineffectual.[54]  The real pounding came from the Randolph as the two main ships were locked in a death grip.

Like prize fighters, one lean and the other beefy, the smaller jabbed his opponent with a flurry of shots while the other unlimbered a crushing blow from time to time. The Randolph stood firm against her enemy, firing up to four times as fast as the Yarmouth;[55] in a perfect blaze since the time the firing first began.[56] The ships were so close, grenades were thrown onto each other’s deck as marines took lethal aim.[57]  As the battle unfolded, this started to have its effect; the Randolph was beginning to get the better of her foe. According to Captain Hull, Biddle and his men heavily damaged the Yarmouth in the first twelve to fifteen minutes. The British third-rate sails were riddled with holes and rigging shot away. Their bowsprit and part of the foremast were in tatters. Five British sailors lay dead with twelve wounded. We will never know how many casualties the Randolph suffered during this slug fest. From Captain Hall’s vantage he reported the frigate was mostly unharmed. Then a blinding flash and stupendous thunder and the Randolph was gone.

Some sources state the battle raged for 12 minutes when the Randolph exploded. Others give fifteen with some noting it was around twenty minutes. In combat, minutes can feel like an eternity so like the fog of war, there will be different perspectives. We get a glint of the Randolph’s last moments before all but four crewmen were lost. Charles Biddle, Capt. Nicholas Biddle’s brother wrote in his autobiography that while sailing from Baltimore, he spoke with one of the survivors, failing to name which one. “He told me he was stationed at one of the quarterdeck guns near Capt. Biddle, who early in the action was wounded in the thigh. [Some sources state he was wounded from friendly fire from General Moultrie] He fell, but immediately sitting up again, and encouraging his crew, told them it was only a slight touch he had received. He ordered a chair, and one of the surgeon’s mates was dressing him at the time of the explosion. None of the men saved could tell by what means the accident happened.”[58]

It is assumed that somehow a spark detonated the magazine, either by mistake or a shot from the Yarmouth. Of the four survivors, none could say. Twenty-eight-year-old Captain Biddle, considered the finest officer in the budding American Navy was gone, along with three hundred of his crew.

Aftermath

Being windward, the Yarmouth escaped serious harm from the resulting debris, but she was still struck by a great deal of burning wreckage, including a six feet piece of timber that struck her poop, and another piece that temporarily became enmeshed in the fore-topgallant sail before tumbling on to the cap. The suggestion that ‘providence’ alone had spared the Yarmouth was enhanced with the arrival on the forecastle of a rolled-up unblemished American ensign that had somehow survived the blast without so much as being burned.[59]  Witnessing the Randolph’s demise, the rebel squadron scattered in all directions. According to seaman Davis of the General Moultrie, its skipper Captain Sullivan hauled down the colors to surrender. “…but for Captain Blake who commanded marines…He insisted upon our making sail, and such was the confusion on board the Yarmouth, or she was so much injured during the engagement, that they took note of us.”[60]

After the initial shock, the Yarmouth turned to the American fleet and pursued the General Moultrie. But the British sails and rigging had been so damaged, she was unable to close and in the night, gave up the chase. Five days later, while tailing a prize, the lookout spotted movement on a piece of wreckage. Captain Vincent ordered the Yarmouth to haul her wind and a boat was lowered. Four men were rescued, survivors of the Randolph; Alexander Robinson, Hans (Hanz) Workman, John Carew (Kerry), Bartholomew Bourdeau.[61] Capt. Vincent reported they were young and in good shape for having been adrift. They said they were members of the same gun crew, blown out of the quarterdeck cabin relatively unhurt. Good swimmers, they latched a makeshift raft out of spars and severed lines. They could survive without food, but not water. Fortunately, they found a large blanket that absorbed rainwater which they survived by sucking the cloth.

The men’s names were entered in the ship’s muster as supernumerary prisoners and crewmen. On March 17^th, at Barbados, three men (Robinson, Workman, and Carew) gave a deposition that described their ordeal.[62]  Later musters of the Yarmouth recorded three survivors as crewmen of the Yarmouth, minus Bartholomew Bourdeau, listed in April 1778 as sick in hospital at Barbados. Carew was an able seaman until May 1780 when he deserted. Robinson rose in rank to quarter-gunner and remained in the Royal Navy until February, 1781 when discharged in Plymouth, England. Of Hans Workman, the only record of his extended service with the British navy was in 1781; a note that his wages were paid to a trustee.[63]

The first to bear news of the tragedy was Midshipman Simeon Fanning, whose brother, 1^st Lt. Joshua Fanning, had died on the Randolph. Formerly with the Randolph, as captain of the prize tender, he was the first to arrive, March 29^th. He carried several letters from Captain Hall of the Notre Dame. Fanning reported that the Notre Dame and Polly (Captains Hall and Anthony[64]) had continued cruising as privateers. Of General Moultrie and Fair American, he knew nothing of their location. On April 18^th, the General Moultrie and Fair American arrived. They could add nothing to Hall’s report. As to why the Randolph exploded, they could only shake their heads. Eventually Hall returned with his Notre Dame,[65] having chalked eleven prizes to his credit. Privateers The Fair American and Polly returned to their owners after fulfilling their six months service to the state navy. When Charleston fell to British General Henry Clinton in May, 1780, the Notre Dame and General Moultrie, along with the Polly, were scuttled rather than falling into British hands.

Much of the nation was saddened and in grief to hear of the Randolph’s demise. Especially Captain Biddle who was thought of highly throughout the military and among friends and family in Philadelphia. Two poems were written about Biddle and the valiant Randolph. William Scull published his tribute in the New Jersey Gazette on December 13, 1780. Phillip Freneau of Philadelphia penned his in a pamphlet in 1781. The war moved on and other heroes were found, especially a young and flamboyant ship’s captain, similar in many ways to Biddle, John Paul Jones.

A Twist of Fate

On October 24, 1777, the Marine Committee finally drafted orders for Captain Biddle and the Randolph.^[67] Upon receiving orders, Biddle was to sail the Randolph from Charleston to France where he was to meet with the American diplomats to receive orders. Benjamin Franklin, who had earlier that year sailed to France, was orchestrating plans to raid British shipping along England’s coastal waters. By then, Biddle had already agreed to command the South Carolina fleet out of Charleston to break the British blockade of merchant shipping from leaving the port.

When Captain Biddle and his ship did not arrived, Benjamin Franklin looked to other sea captains to effect his plans, that included John Paul Jones who had arrived in December of 1777 with dispatches. When ordered to France, Biddle skippered the strongest American ship in the navy and was considered the finest naval commander. Had the Randolph survived the battle with the HMS Yarmouth, one could speculate what role he would have played in France. By attacking a much more powerful ship and besting her before a spark ignited the Randolph’s powder, Biddle had proved his meddle. With Biddle’s death and loss of the Randolph, Franklin turned to John Paul Jones as the leader to disrupt British shipping. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Maine and Pearl Harbor

The explosion of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898, killed 266 crew members, with 253 dying immediately or shortly after from injuries sustained during the explosion. Another seven died later, leading to over 260 lives lost. The cause of the explosion was never known. President Teddy Roosivelt, itching to intervene in the Cuban War of Independence and salivating to gain Spanish territory, jumped to conclusions and declared war on Spain on April 25, 1898.

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese staged a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Around 2,008 sailors died at the Naval port at Pearl Harbor, part of the total 2,404 American casualties (including soldiers, Marines, and civilians).  The largest loss occurred on the USS Arizona (1,177 died) after the ship exploded. Also, the USS Oklahoma (429 died), after multiple torpedo attacks, she rolled over onto its side after only 12 minutes.

If you would like to read more about the Naval War during the American Revolution, we recommend the following books:

Of Similar Interest on Revolutionary War Journal

Gaspee Affair: Major Link in the Chain to Revolution

Battle of Cape Henry

Battle of Machias: First Naval Battle of the American Revolution

Battle of the Chesapeake Bay: Gateway to Yorktown

Navigation Acts: England’s First Attempt to Keep the Lid on American Independence

African American James Forten: Privateer, Businessman, Inventor, and Leading Abolitionist

The Turtle: Infernal Vessel Became the First Submarine Used in War

Eighteenth Century Bomb Ketch

Reference

Biddle, Charles. Autobiography of Charles Biddle, Vice-President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania. 1745-1821. 1883: E. Claxton and Company, Philadelphia, PA.

 Biddle, Edward.  “Captain Nicholas Biddle (Continental Navy).” 1919: US Naval Institute Proceedings, Vol 43/9/175.

Clark, William Bell.  Captain Dauntless the Story of Nicholas Biddle of the Continental Navy. 1949: Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, LA.

Clark, Thomas.  The Naval history of the United States, from the Commencement of the Revolutionary War to the Present Time, Second Edition.  January 3, 1814: Published at Philadelphia for the Author.

Crawford, Michael J. editor.  Naval Documents of the American Revolution. Volume 11, Jan. 1778 – March 31, 1778. 1964: Editor William Bell Clark; 2005: Naval Historical Center Department of the Navy, Washington, DC.

Dorney, Douglas.  “The Deadliest Seconds of the War.” All Things Liberty. Dec. 16, 2025.

Hiscocks, Richard.  “Yarmouth v Randolph – 7 March 1778.” Feb. 1, 2016: More Than Nelson the Royal Navy 1776-1815  – A Biological History and Chronicle.

James, William.  A Full and Correct Account of the Chief Naval Occurrences of the Late War Between Great Britain and the United States of America, Vol. I. 1817: T. Egerton, Printed for the author, Whitehall, London, England.

Lowndes, Rawlins.  “Account of the Loss of the Randolph as Given in a Letter from Rawlins Lowndes to Henry Laurens. The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine. Vol. 10, No. 3 (July 1903) pp. 171-173.

Schomberg, Captain Isaac.  Naval Chronology; or, an Historical Summary of Naval and Maritime Events from the Time of the Romans, to the Treaty of Peace in 1802.  1802: Published for author, London, England. Reprint 2015 Internet Archives.

Endnotes

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[1] Most accounts state that 315 were aboard the Randolph when it blew up, killing all but four, putting the loss of life at 311.  This is incorrect. That figure does not account for the ten Randolph crewmen that left the ship to man a prize ship taken three days before the battle. This left 305 on board. Four survivors were found floating five days later; a deposition by three of the four survivors dated March 17, 1778, stated that 305 men were aboard the Radolph when it blew up. Therefore, minus the four survivors, this would put the death toll of the explosion at 301.

[2] The frigate USS Washington was launched nearly a month after the USS Randolph, August 2, 1776.

[3] Peyton Randolph (1721 – 1775 d. age 54) was born into one of Virginia’s wealthiest and most powerful family. He became the colony’s Attorney General in 1748 and the same year, at age 27, Speaker of Virginia’s House of Burgesses; as his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather had done. He would retain the head of the Burgesses for most of his life.

Randolph was selected in 1774 as one of Virginia’s delegates to the First Continental Congress (Sept. 5 – Oct. 26, 1774) and soon after arriving Philadelphia, was elected as the body’s president. He was unanimously elected as President of the Second Continental Congress for nearly two weeks, (May 10 – May 24, 1775), but resigned to return to Virginia and once more preside over the House of Burgesses. He was succeeded by John Hancock. Randolph later returned to Congress in Philadelphia as a delegate for Virginia, but on October 22, 1775, after dining with Thomas Jefferson, died of a stroke.

[4] Randolph only served as president of the Second Congress from May 10 – may 24, 1775. He left for Virginia to lead the House of Burgesses. Later returning to Congress as a delegate whereupon he died in Philadelphia on Oct. 22^nd.

[5] Early historians on Naval actions during the American Revolution gave Randolph’s armament at 32 guns: 1814 – Thomas Clark, and 1827 – William James who cited Clark.  But later texts listed the USS Randolph as a 36-gun frigate; Commissioners for Building Philadelphia Frigates…Jan 9, 1776; Papers of the Continental Congress, Vol. 78, XXIV, and 32 gun; William James 1827 – Thomas Clark 1814; and several listings in Naval Documents, edited by Michael Crawford, that also included one of the Randolph’s survivor’s accounts that give 36 guns, Volume 11, pg. 1177. Originally built as a 32 -gun frigate, Captain Biddle added four more cannon bringing the total to 36 guns.

[6] Some sources give this date prior to launching as June 12, 1776.

[7] Nephew of General Alexander McDougall.

[8] All three lieutenants were aboard the Randolph when she exploded and died. Clark, pg. 156.

[9] Quarterdeck: Ship’s upper deck near the stern. Additional armament were often placed there on frigates, brigs, and smaller war vessels. Officers on duty traditionally led ship’s activities from this higher position.

[10] Forecastle: forward or bow section of the ship below the deck; usually reserved for crew quarters.

[11] Clark, pg. 156.

[12] Some sources state he was thirteen while others fifteen. He had acquired an acceptable education and was scheduled to attend Master Dove’s academy, where young Philadelphians were schooled to become gentlemen.

[13] Bomb ships or catches were designed to carry large mortars, used to lob explosives against coastal defenses. They needed to withstand the mortars’ heavy weight therefore strong hulls were required, perfect for a northern exploration among pack ice. Also, bomb catches were not required during peacetime.

[14] Coxswains were assigned steering the ship and navigation, often the more experienced crewmembers were selected.

[15] Some sources give 81 degrees and 39 minutes north.

[16] Edward Biddle.

[17] Some accounts incorrectly name the brig Andrew Doria the Andrea Doria. It was named after the 16^th century Genoese admiral Andrea Doria. Though Andrew is masculine in English, in Italian Andrea is masculine. Therefore the brig was named for masculine Andrew.

[18] Sources differ between 112 to 130 officers and crew.

[19] Those captured among the two transports were of the 71^st Regiment of Foot, Fraser’s Highlanders. Their commander, Colonel Archibald Campbell was on a separate transport. Though the rest of his regiment safely arrived at Halifax Canada, Campbell sailed into Boston harbor, not having realized the British had already abandoned the City for Halifax. He was taken prisoner. Campbell was exchanged for blowhard Ethan Allen whose’ botched attempt to take Montreal ended in capture. England got the better deal for Campbell went on to mastermind the capture of Savannah Georgia in 1779 and invasion of the colony. Allen when on to self-promotion, returning to Vermont where he spent the war boasting in taverns of his great feats as a hero – a paper hero, thoroughly drunk no doubt.

(Footnote – Their commander would, aboard another ship – arrive in Boston not knowing the British had abandoned, where he and ship were chaptered – look this up) 

[20] After Supreme Commander of British forces Gen. William Howe, captured Philadelphia in the fall of 1777, his fleet sailed up the Delaware in Sept. 1777. The American fleet stationed to defend the city included the Andrew Doria. After the evacuation of Fort Mercer at Red Bank, Nov. 20, 1777, orders were issued to scuttle the fleet. The next day, the fleet, Doria included, were burned to avoid capture.

[21] Committees of Safety were the military arm of Committees of Correspondence that prior to war and shortly after, acted as state and local governments that communicated with other rebellious colonies. Committees of Safety were selected to purchase military supplies and appoint leaders to lead organized units. As the war progressed and governments became more organized, those responsibilities fell more upon state legislatures. 

[22] Edward Biddle.

[23] The exact quote by Commander Ernest E. Evans was “This is going to be a fighting ship. I intend to go in harm’s way, and anyone who doesn’t want to go along had better get off right now,” The quote is from a speech me made during the commissioning of the American destroyer USS Johnston, DD-557, on October 27, 1943. During the Battle of Samar, Oct. 25, 1945, Evans commanding the Johnston broke formation and repeatedly interposed his battered destroyer between Japanese superior forces and the ships he was protecting, fighting his ship to the very end. Commander Evans of Native American descent was post humorously awarded the Medal of Honor. Of the crew, 141 of the 327 men survived.

[24] The Royal Navy was notorious for pressing men for service; kidnapping men from port towns and forcing them to serve on British men-of-war. As captain of the Dorie, one of his officers failed to press some prisoners who had obtained arms then barricaded themselves and refused to be taken. Biddle went to the prison and ordered the barricade removed. Armed with two pistols, he confronted a prisoner Green who brandished a musket saying “Now, Green, if you do not take good aim you are a dead man!” Green surrendered his weapon and Biddle took him and others on board.”

[25] These former British prisoners proved later to be a problem, forcing Biddle to use force to subdue insubordination and revolt while cruising.

[26] The ships were: True Briton, 20-gun privateer, Severn, N. Carolina merchantman; the brig Charming Peggy, a French privateer; and the brig L’Assomption, French merchantman.

[27] Some sources list 20 guns (12 twelve pounders and 6 four pounders).

[28] The after the resignation of Capt. Johnston of the William Moultrie, the command was offered to Charles Biddle, Nicholas’ older brother who had recently arrived Charleston with dispatches from Congress. Charles turned down the captaincy, instead requesting to serve under his brother on the Randolph. Charles would not be able to sail with the fleet, there by not perishing alongside his brother, dying in 1821 at age 76.

[29] Some sources list the Notre Dame was a schooner. She had 18 four pounders plus swivel guns.

[30] Armed with six and four pounders.

[31] All guns were four pounders.

[32] In a letter President Rutledge wrote to Congress dated Feb. 16, 1778. Crawford pg. 358.

[33] The fleet was scheduled to sail late January, but was delayed because a major fire on Jan. 15 destroying 252 Charleston homes, including additional supplies for the voyage, plus acquiring marines and additional supplies. Thinking the fleet was about to sale, on January 12, 1778, Captain Nicholas, faced with setting out with his fleet, made his last will and testament. One can only speculate whether he did so as a deadly premonition or more likely, he had come into a great deal of money from the sale of several prizes he’d recently captured. . 

[34] Captain William Hall of the Notre Dame recorded the sighting to be 5PM penned on March 9, 1778 in his letter to Edward Blake, South Carolina Navy Board of Commissioners; Crawford, pg. 576. Captain Vincent of the HMS Yarmouth wrote sails were sighted at 5:30 PM.

[35] To change direction, counterclockwise.

[36] Leeward: Side of the ship in which the wind is not blowing.

[37] The ship upwind has the weather gage – meaning they can maneuver better than their opponent.

[38] In a deposition dated Aug. 21, 1801 by John Davis of the General Moultrie, he stated Captain Biddle ordered the Moultrie hove to. That he told Captain Sullivan of the Moultrie that one of his ship’s crew had deserted from the ship approaching. That he identified her as the 74-gun HMS Moultrie. Crawford, pg. 1175.

[39] Heave to.  Creating a stable, slow, drifting position.

[40] The HMS Yarmouth was an old ship commissioned in 1745 and a veteran of five battles including three in the East Indies during the Seven Years’ War. Crewed by some four hundred and eighty men, her commander, Nicholas Vincent, was an experienced officer in his fifties with thirty years’ experience as a captain, who had enjoyed almost full employment throughout his career. She was a formidable foe even against a similar ship of her class.

[41] Crawford, pp. 543-544.

[42] Ibid., 576.

[43] Ibid.

[44] Weather quarter or weather gage. Ships that engage in combat prefer to gain the weather gage, meaning they position themselves upwind from their foe. This cuts off the enemy’s wind, allowing them to maneuver far better than their opponent.

[45] Ibid., pg. 544.

[46] Captain Hull of the Notre Dame wrote a letter that Rawlins Lowndes of South Carolina received by the prize crew of a merchantman captured by Biddle on Feb. 28, 1778. Midshipman Simeon Jennings, of the Randolph and brother of the ship’s third lieutenant, captained the converted tender and was present at the battle. Captain Hull gave Jennings the letter which he delivered as packet to Charleston.

[47] Ibid., pg. 576.

[48] Ibid.

[49] Ibid., pg. 1175. John Davis account was dated Aug. 21, 1801. There were many inaccuracies that did not concur with other primary accounts of ships’ logs and captains’ reports.

[50] Ibid, pg. 683.

[51] Ibid.

[52] Ibid.

[53] Ibid, pg. 544.

[54] The Notre Dame released one feeble broadside of four pounders towards the Yarmouth’s stern, barely hitting the Randolph. General Moultrie fired four broadsides in all, the last, some shot hit the Randolph. Speculation that Captain Biddle was wounded by one of the friendly fire shot from the General Moultrie.

[55] John Davis aboard the Moultrie. Ibid, pg. 1175.

[56] Charles Biddle autobiography, pg. 108.

[57] General William Moultrie in a letter to Major General Robert Howe (commander of the Southern Continental Army), April 18, 1778. Clark, pg. 240, Crawford, pg. 850.

[58] Charles Biddle, pp. 107-108.

[59] Hiscocks.

[60] Charles Biddle, pg. 109. John Davis’ deposition was made on August 21, 1801.

[61] According to the Yarmouth Muster Table, Crawford, pg. 853.

[62] Crawford, pg. 667.

[63] Dorney.

[64] Captain Anthony of the Polly was captured when Charleston fell in May 1780. He was paroled but broke his parole and fled to Philadelphia where captained another privateer. Last report he was still at sea in 1781.

[65] Hall was later accused of cowardice, failing to support Captain Pyne when his galley was under attack by a British ship. He resigned his commission. He remained in Charleston and was captured when the city fell to the British in May, 1780. He was paroled, but later in the year, sent to St. Augustine prison.

[66] Crawford, pp. 831-832.

[67] Clark, pg. 219.