The first shot of the Revolution on the water was fired by Captain
Abraham Whipple when he chased a tender belonging to the British
cruiser Rose, and captured her. This was, however, not the first
shot the hardy Captain had fired against the British. For in 1772,
before the "Boston Tea Party," even, had taken place, he had seized
and burned the British revenue schooner, Gasp?, in Narragansett
Bay.
The commander of the Gasp? had been trying to put down smuggling
on the coast of Rhode Island. He stopped all vessels, and examined
even market boats, to see if they had any smuggled goods. This
made the Rhode Island people very angry. They had smuggled as they
liked for a hundred years; the British laws against it seemed to
them mere tyranny; and they looked upon the commander of the Gasp?
as little better than a pirate, who was interfering with their lawful
trade. So when one day the people learned that the Gasp? had gone
aground a few miles from Providence, and could not be got off before
three o'clock in the morning, they determined to attack her.
Abraham Whipple was chosen as captain for the expedition. He and
his men boarded the Gasp?, wounded the captain, overpowered the
crew, and burned the schooner to the water's edge.
When the British commander-in-chief heard of it he was furious,
and he wrote to Whipple.
"Sir," he said, "you, Abraham Whipple, on the 10th of June, 1772,
burned his Majesty's ship the Gasp?, and I will hang you at the
yardarm.
Pages:
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484