Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet
29 JUNE 1776
BATTLE OF TURTLE GUT INLET
The six-gun civilian brig Nancy headed north from St. Thomas and St. Croix. Her Master, Hugh Montgomery, had shipped a cargo that would bring a handsome profit in his homeport of Philadelphia. Nancy carried 386 barrels of gunpowder, sorely needed in anticipation of the declaration of American independence, 50 fire-locks, 101 hogsheads of rum and 62 hogsheads of sugar. But as Nancy approached the mouth of the Delaware River on Friday evening June 28th, the British warships, HMS ORPHEUS, 32, LIVERPOOL, 28, and KINGFISHER, 16, gave chase.
American lookouts at Cape May watched the chase unfold, Nancy being forced toward a small bay north of Cape May, Turtle Gut. Word was sent to CAPT John Barry in the Continental Navy brig LEXINGTON, 14, who was standing by to assist vessels attempting to bring run past the British into Philadelphia. He, along with CAPT Lambert Wickes in REPRISAL, 18, and CAPT John Bauldwin in WASP, 8, hurriedly met at nightfall to assess the situation. Meanwhile, near the inlet to Turtle Gut, Nancy ran aground in the pitch-black night, unseen by the British. LT Richard Wickes, REPRISAL’s 3rd LT and brother of skipper Lambert Wickes, insisted upon commanding a longboat for Nancy’s aid. But he could not find the subject brig in the darkness that night. Not until dawn did LT Wickes reach Nancy, about the same time the shallow-drafted sloop HMS KINGFISHER anchored within 300 yards. Just as Barry and more American longboats arrived, the British launched their own boat party!
LT Wickes quickly set his men to two tasks, one lightering Nancy’s cargo and the other to serve Nancy’s guns. KINGFISHER opened fire while American patriots fought off the British boarding party. KINGFISHER’s longboat was beaten back, and in response the sloop quickened her fire. KINGFISHER pummeled Nancy for half an hour, cutting her alow and aloft. Then five more boats were launched from KINGFISHER, this time intent on boarding at all costs.
By now Wickes’ men had off-loaded the muskets, much of the dry goods, and 265 barrels of gunpowder. The enemy bombardment took its toll; it was soon clear the merchant brig could not be saved. Barry now staged an ingenious booby-trap, wrapping the remaining barrels of gunpowder in a sail which he ignited as a sort of fuse. The last man off Nancy climbed the rigging to lower our flag, and at that very moment, LT Wickes was sliced through the arm and chest with an enemy shot. The approaching British interpreted the flag lowering as surrender, and just as they clamored aboard, the gunpowder exploded in a blast felt miles away. Seven Royal Navy tars died, and several of their longboats were destroyed.
Watch for more “Today in Naval History” 6 JUL 24
CAPT James Bloom, Ret.
Captain Lambert Wickes to Samuel Wickes, dtd. 2 July 1776. IN: Morgan, William James, (ed.), Department of the Navy, Naval History Division. Naval Documents of the American Revolution Vol 5 1776. Washington, DC: GPO, 1970, pp. 882-84.
Department of the Navy, Naval History Division. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol 4 “L-M”. Washington, DC: GPO, 1969, p. 100.
Department of the Navy, Naval History Division. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol 6 “R-S”. Washington, DC: GPO, 1976, p. 78.
Department of the Navy, Naval History Division. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol 8 “W-Z”. Washington, DC: GPO, 1981, p. 293.
“Journal of the H.M. Sloop Kingfisher, Captain Alexander Graeme.” IN: Morgan, William James, (ed.), Department of the Navy, Naval History Division. Naval Documents of the American Revolution Vol 5 1776. Washington, DC: GPO, 1970, pp. 817-18.
“Journal of the H.M.S. Orpheus, Captain Charles Hudson.” IN: Morgan, William James, (ed.), Department of the Navy, Naval History Division. Naval Documents of the American Revolution Vol 5 1776. Washington, DC: GPO, 1970, p. 818.
Site visit. Sunset Lake Park, Cape May, New Jersey, 23 May 2001.
ADDITIONAL NOTES: This engagement transpired only a week before our independence was declared and is taken by historians as the first government-sponsored naval battle of our Revolutionary War. Regardless, it has largely been forgotten. This may be due in part to the fact that Turtle Gut has since been backfilled by Cape May County authorities. A park now occupies the site bearing a marker commemorating the battle that took place this day.
CAPT Lambert Wickes is remembered today with the lead ship in a class of WWI destroyers, WICKES (DD-73), and with the Fletcher-class WWII destroyer DD-578.
