US Marines Launch First Amphibious Assault at Nassau

Context

Gunpowder shortages plagued the Continental Army from the earliest fighting in 1775. British authorities had relocated substantial stores from Virginia to the lightly defended port of Nassau on New Providence in the Bahamas, prompting the Second Continental Congress to authorize a naval expedition under Commodore Esek Hopkins. Official orders directed Hopkins to patrol the southern coasts and attack British shipping, though additional guidance may have encouraged a strike on the Bahamas to replenish Patriot supplies.

The fleet of eight vessels, including the Alfred, Columbus, and Andrew Doria, assembled at Philadelphia and departed Cape Henlopen, Delaware, on February 17, 1776, after weather delays. Roughly two hundred Continental Marines under Captain Samuel Nicholas accompanied the ships, along with sailors who would augment the landing force. Hopkins reached Great Abaco Island on March 1 and captured local sloops whose crews provided pilots familiar with Bahamian waters.

What Happened

The Americans planned a dawn landing on March 3 to surprise Nassau, but the approaching vessels were spotted in the harbor light. Governor Montfort Browne alerted the militia, and the initial assault was aborted. After a council of war, Hopkins shifted the landing site east of Fort Montagu. Between noon and 2 p.m., the Marines and about fifty sailors went ashore unopposed near the fort.

A small British detachment withdrew after a flag-of-truce exchange, allowing the Americans to occupy Fort Montagu. Browne reinforced briefly then pulled back to Nassau. That night he loaded 162 of roughly 200 barrels of gunpowder onto fast ships that slipped out to St. Augustine. The next morning the Marines marched into Nassau, where town leaders surrendered the keys and Fort Nassau fell without resistance. Over the following two weeks the expedition loaded remaining cannons, mortars, shot, and supplies before preparing to depart.

Aftermath

The fleet sailed from Nassau on March 17 with Governor Browne and other officials as prisoners. It returned to New England waters by early April, delivering dozens of cannon and ordnance to the Patriot cause. Hopkins later faced congressional scrutiny for failing to block the powder ships and for interpreting his orders broadly, though the raid itself provided immediate material relief.

Casualties remained minimal on both sides, with no major engagements beyond the parleys at the forts. The operation demonstrated the logistical challenges of long-distance expeditions and the value of combined naval-infantry tactics.

Legacy

The Raid of Nassau established the Continental Marines as an amphibious force and marked their first combat operation, setting a precedent for expeditionary landings that later defined Marine Corps doctrine. It illustrated the Continental Navy’s reach beyond North American waters and supplied artillery that supported subsequent campaigns.

Modern commemorations include the naming of U.S. Navy vessels after the battle and its leaders. Historians view the raid as a modest but symbolically important success that boosted early Patriot morale while highlighting the difficulties of coordinating distant operations with limited intelligence.