When the Revolutionary War began, it was evident that the so-called “people’s war” was underfunded and had few of the supplies necessary to carry out a war. Guns and ammunition had been restricted as imports from England in the years leading up to the war. Now the shortage was critical, and their lack was a serious detriment to the revolutionary cause. Elbridge Gerry of Marblehead realized the vital importance and need for these supplies. He urged George Washington to stockpile them and suggested that armed privateers be used to capture British vessels and steal their ammunition.
John Glover was authorized to find vessels, arm them, and send them out as legal privateering ships. The first vessel was one of Glover’s own ships, the Hannah, a seaworthy fishing schooner. Marbleheader Nicholson Broughton became her captain, and the crew was mostly from Marblehead as well. The ship was outfitted as a vessel of war at Beverly, being provided with cannons for attack and defense. She went to sea as the first ship of the Navy, also known as “Washington’s Fleet,” in September of 1775.
The Hannah’s naval career was short, and not very successful, but that hasn’t deterred an ongoing fascination with her. On her first voyage the Hannah was chased by the Royal Naval vessel the Lively, which harassed the Marblehead coast for years. On her second voyage, the Hannah was attacked by the Nautilus, a British ship that had orders to burn her. Most accounts state that the Hannah was destroyed or at least damaged beyond repair. There is, however, another version, in which the Hannah was secretly rebuilt and renamed the Lynch. In this undocumented version she went back to fight in 1776 and redeemed her reputation.
There are no actual contemporary paintings or drawings of the Hannah, though many representations exist. The right to claim the first ship in the American Navy is an ongoing feud. Both Marblehead and Beverly call themselves the “Birthplace of the American Navy.” And they are not the only ones. Several other locations also claim the title, including Philadelphia, Machias, Maine; Providence, Rhode Island; and Whitehall, New York. Each claimant has its own reason and story.
The Hannah of Marblehead, though once a real ship, has taken on mythical proportions as the first ship of the American Navy. For Marbleheaders, there will always be only one right answer to the question of where the first ship in the Navy came from.
Pam M. Peterson is the Marblehead Historical Commission’s chair and the former executive director of Marblehead Museum.
