From: The Maryland Beachcomber, 8/24/79
Found in the vertical file at Worcester County
Library; no other info is available.
The following column,
copyrighted in 1977 and revised in 1979, was written
by Capt. Donald F. Stewart, director of the Five
Fathom Lightship Museum in West Ocean City. It is
replete with references to Ocean City area
topographical features which no longer exist.
Assowoman Inlet, for instance, was located in the area
from 99th Street north to the Maryland-Delaware line;
it has disappeared and reappeared many times in the
last 300 years. It was last visible about 1900, after
reopening following a storm in the 1880's. The Inlet,
the modern spelling of which is Assawoman, has
reopened at approximately 100-year intervals since the
1680's. Sinepuxent Inlet stretched for about 2 miles
beginning at a point just below North Beach on
Assateague Island (in the federal section) less than
ten miles south of Ocean City. Sinepuxent Town was a
once thriving community on the mainland about a half
mile north of the bridge to Assateague Island. It was
wiped out in the 1818 hurricane which closed the old
Sinepuxent Inlet.
By DONALD F. STEWART
At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, the
residents of the Delmarva Peninsula were equally divided
in their loyalties. Those remaining loyal to the British
Crown, known as Tories, had communicated with elements of
the British fleet that were blockading the coast, while
patrolling the Chesapeake from Cape Charles to the head
of the Elk River.
The sloop of war "Otter" had rendezvoused with Tory
leaders in the Pocomoke River, sending in Brown Bess
muskets, power, ball and instructions to all residents
loyal to King George III.
One of those instructions was: "loyal subjects of His
Majesty shall paint a black line, wide enough to be
observed, around their chimneys. British troops will
distinguish these from the unpainted chimneys of the
rebels and all bearing the mark will be treated to great
respect and civility to their household and
properties."
WITHIN TWO WEEKS after the instructions were received,
the rumors spread quickly and by the end of the summer,
of 1776, it is said, "every home, shoppe and tavern in
old Somersett and Worcester was marked with the band
around their chimneys." Because of the closing of
Chesapeake ports and the British occupation of Tangier
Island, the Maryland Committee of safety selected
Chincoteague as the major port of entry along the coast,
with the more shallow port at Sinepuxent Towne as the
secondary port for the importation of goods and arms;
Sinepuxent Towne has long since vanished and was located
on the bay behind Assateague Island. In 1776, it had a
church, burying ground, a livery, smith, the warehouses
and chandler of John Fassett and 27 houses. Of these,
only Fassett House, which was on the north end of the
town, still stands in 1979 as a residence. The town had
two docks capable of berthing ships of nine foot draft;
deep draft vessels were anchored off South Point, just
north of old Sinepuxent Inlet, which was open to larger
sailing ships until 1818, when it was sealed by a
hurricane. Both Chincoteague and Sinepuxent were
relatively free from surprise attack and both had small
batteries of cannon, manned by the local militia, on both
the north and south ends of towns. During this period of
history, the ships unloading in Chincoteague and
Sinepuxent Bays had five escape routes, as inlets existed
at Assowoman, Sinepuxent, Spanish Point (now Pope's
Island), Middlemoor and Chincoteague.
MERCHANT SHIPS AND PRIVATEERS ran into the inlets on a
regular basis by midsummer of 1776. The French brig "Le
Comtesse Denery" brought in weapons, spirits and powder
to Fassett & Co., from Bordeaux. The Perdeaux
Brothers of old Worcester were responsible for the ship
being issued a Letter of Marque, authorizing her to seize
British ships, in 1778. Many British ships were sent into
the anchorage off South Point; their cargoes were hauled
overland to Philadelphia and or Baltimore. The more
wealthy Worcester County farmers and merchants were aware
of the rich cargoes brought in by privateers. Eight ships
were registered out of Worcester as privateers during the
conflict; the first was the 60-foot "Swallow" of four
guns, owned by William Hammond. Her license was issued by
the Continental Congress, Marine Committee on March 17,
1777; and by June of the same year, she had taken two
rich prizes not 40 miles offshore.
In the spring of 1778, the British blockading squadron
was very much aware of the activities at both
Chincoteague and Sinepuxent. Two ships were selected to
"tame the nest of pyrates." Captain Timothy Hall, R.N.,
of the 28-gun frigate H.M.S. "Mermaid," was instructed to
sail in company with a shoal draft sailing galley, named
"Firefly," to destroy Sinepuxent, then south to destroy
Chincoteague from the north. The captain of "Mermaid"
sent the following message before sailing from Hampton
Roads: "I will carry out your orders; my ships will move
on the pyrate's nests and I will destroy Sinepuxon and
Chincoteague, to their foundations."
AT FIRST LIGHT on the morning of August 3, 1778, the
"Mermaid" waited off shore, while the "Firefly" moved
north and entered Assowoman Inlet. The attack was planned
simultaneously for noon, with the frigate attacking from
the south and the "Firefly" from the north.
At South Point, anchored in 22 feet of water, was the
Privateer Schooner "Adventure" of Captain Thomas
Robinson; anchored next to her was the ship "Elizabeth"
of Plymouth, which had been taken, in the Gulf Stream,
and brought in the prior afternoon, as a prize of war.
The sloop "Dolphin" was off-loading the large English
ship and transporting her cargo to the dock at Sinepuxent
Town.
Just before noon, the topmasts of the "Mermaid" were
sighted entering the inlet, to the south. Captain Joseph
Dashiell and John Cathell were on the deck of the English
prize supervising the unloading, when an alarm cannon
boomed from the mainland. On orders from the master of
the "Adventure," John Cathell ran below to warn the crews
of the impending attack.
Before jumping aboard the sloop to escape, Captain
Dashiell ordered live coals taken from the galley
fireplace on the privateer and dumped down the cargo
holds of both ships. As an alarm bell sounded, the men
boarded the small sloop, hoisted sail and made for the
town. Militiamen and townspeople raced wagons to the
small magazine and whipped the horses toward the shore
batteries, carrying powder, ball and bar shot. Before the
frigate cleared the inlet and entered the bay, the
batteries were manned at Fassett and Green Points. The
frigate had been slowed by being forced to lower boats to
tow the frigate through the inlet, due to a breeze from
the northwest.
TOWARD THE NORTH the little "Firefly" heard the sound
of firing and believing that the "Mermaid" had started
the attack, opened fire at the closest target, Fassett
House. They soon became the target, as the shore battery
of two long 12s opened on them with bar shot, hitting
nothing; but landing close enough for the master to order
a rapid retreat.
As the "Mermaid" sailed into the bay, smoke was rising
from the privateer and the English prize. Whether in
anger at losing two prize ships, or in an effort to close
the channel to future navigation, the British captain
ordered his ship toward the a two burning ships and fired
in a broadside at point-blank range. At that same instant
the maintop reported to Captain Hall that he had sighted
the flash of bayonetts in front of a large estate on the
point and he believed that a battery was secluded, near
shore.
On hearing this, Capt. Hall turned his ship, deciding
against a run on the town, tacked his ship around and
delivered a full broadside in the direction of "Genezer,"
the Purnell home, on South Point. He did not tarry and
headed for the inlet, leaving the two ships sunk in the
main channel off South Point.
The "Firefly" returned to the squadron in Chesapeake
Bay, while the "Mermaid" stayed off Assateague hoping to
take a Yankee privateer or two. Several days later, the
Mermaid was off Fenwick when the top sighted two large
ships. Captain Hall ordered on more sail, hoisted his
colors, beat to quarters and cleared for action. The act
was brave enough, but rather foolish, for as he came
along side the larger ship, she hoisted French colors and
poured a 30-gun broadside into his small ship.
THE FRENCH ARCHIVES tell the final story of the
action: "the English 28-gun ship drew along side "Le
Fantastique" - 60 guns under the command of Pierre-Andre
de Suffren-St. Tropez, capitaine de vaisseau. The ship
called "Mermaid" was delivered a broadside from the large
guns and secondary battery. The "Le Sagittaire" of 50
guns, under the command of Count Francois-Hector d'Albert
de Rions, captaine de vaisseau, delivered another
broadside of 25 guns into the frigate as it attempted to
make for the Delaware. He was quickly cut off it by the
two larger frigates and possibly to save what was left of
his crew, he drove his ship hard upon the beach.
He was observed with his men launching boats to make
their escape, leaving his ship shattered upon a shoal
with the breakers of surf driving her deeper into the
bottom on beams end."
The story does not end there for under tons of sand
and gray mud just north of South Point are probably a
wealth to Revolutionary War artifacts, possibly
well-preserved in a time capsule state. It would be all
but impossible to salvage these wreck sites as the bottom
has shoaled from 22 feet in 1778 to its present depth of
less than six feet.
..