Name of Vessel:

Yankee

Master of Vessel:

Commander Henry Johnson

Rig of Vessel:

Sloop

Date of Capture:

3 July 1776

Place of Capture:

36°40´N, 65°00´W

Captor:

British prisoners

Home Port:

From What Port:

To What Port:

Cargo:

Tonnage:

75, 80

Battery:

9x4-pounder

Crew:

25 [total]

Owners:

Paul Dudley Sargent & Co., of Boston, Massachusetts

Prize master:

Prize crew:

Ordered Into:

Dover, England

Into What Port:

Dover, England

Date Arrived:

31 July 1776

Date Tried:

4 September 1776

Date Sold:

12 November 1776

Action:

No

Recaptured:

No

Comments: Massachusetts Privateer Sloop Yankee (Commander Henry Johnson) was at sea in the summer of 1776, and had made two large prizes. With the crews of the two captured ships aboard the Yankee, and his own crew depleted by the two prize crews, the ratio of prisoners to crew aboard Johnson's sloop was considerably lowered. All told there were fourteen prisoners aboard, and only twenty-five Americans. Only two officers were on the Yankee, Johnson and Surgeon Eliphalet Downer, and only two warrant officers. In addition, Johnson allowed the British officers the run of the sloop. Scarcely had the prizes parted company than the prisoners began to plot an uprising.

On 3 July 1776, at 36°40´N, 65°00´W, the British prisoners moved. Johnson, Hodge and Ross were sitting in the cabin, when Johnson laid down his cutlass. One British captain tackled Johnson from behind while the other snatched up the cutlass. Meanwhile the guard on the quarterdeck went forward, thoughtfully laying his cutlass down as he went. A British sailor rescued it and began yelling for help. One of the British captains ran up the ladder, secured the arms chest, and watched as the crew tumbled on deck from below. When one American sailor grabbed a mop handle and advanced, he was told he would have his head lopped off if he took another step. After a few moments of tense negotiation the Americans surrendered, being promised good treatment and to be landed in America. The British prisoners gained command of the vessel without bloodshed. The American crew was then secured below decks, some being put in irons. As soon as the capture was complete, two sloops were seen in chase of the Yankee, and the British made haste to escape. On 31 July the Yankee was off Dover, England, where the British sent word to the Admiralty of their arrival. The two captains noted that Yankee had nine 4-pounders, sixteen swivels, and twenty-five men aboard. Another report notes (19 August 1776) that she carried two cohorns as well.

The American crew was mistreated, contrary to the promise of the British merchant captains. They were confined below decks, in a small hold, with only a two inch square grating for ventilation. The heat and smell were stifling and sickness threatened the men. Only two or three were allowed on deck at a time. There was no relief from the heat on deck. Johnson was subjected to rude insults and threats. When the sloop arrived in the Thames River, numerous people were allowed aboard to look at the crew, as if they were strange zoo specimens from another land. Johnson and Downer were allowed to room in a small cabin. The conditions were so bad that the crew (allegedly) petitioned the Admiralty for employment.

On 4 August 1776 the crew was removed from the Yankee into the transport ship Justitia, which took them to Dover Castle. They were then placed on HMS Ardent, and then, on 15 August, ten were ordered to Spithead, to serve aboard or be kept aboard HMS Barfleur. The remainder were ordered to be kept aboard HMS Mars. On 16 August, those of the crew who wished to serve in the Royal Navy were allowed to enlist, but only for service in the East Indies or the Mediterranean. The four officers were to be confined. There were not four prisoners for long, however: in the night of 30/31 August Johnson escaped from HMS Mars. By 24 September 1776 he had been at Dunkerque, France, and proceeded on his way from there. Meanwhile the crewmen who entered the Royal Navy were sent aboard HMS Rippon, bound for the East Indies, on 30 September. Johnson worked his way back to America, arriving at Baltimore on 30 January 1777, and eventually becoming a captain in the Continental Navy.

Surgeon Downer had become very ill while confined on ship. After repeated requests for transfer ashore were denied, Downer was finally sent to Haslar Hospital. From there he escaped and was a Paris by 30 March 1777. The boatswain, John Cockran, wound up at Forton Prison, where he and three other prisoners tried to escape on 30 July 1777. One got away, but Cockran and the other two were recaptured and confined on a starvation diet for forty days. At least one of the other prisoners took service in a British vessel, and returned to America when it was captured by the Massachusetts Privateer Brigantine Washington.

As for the Yankee, she was ordered sold on 15 August 1776, with the money going to the captors. She was tried and condemned on 4 September 1776. The Yankee was put up for sale at Old Lloyd's Coffeehouse three times before she was finally sold, on 12 November 1776, for £330. She was subsequently offered for sale to the Royal Navy, for use as a tender, but a survey proved her to be unserviceable.

[NDAR, VI, 516-517, 517-518, 529-531, 532-533, 538-539, 546, 546-547, 547, 554, 581, 597, 611, 619; VII, 740, 1024-1025, 1044, 1242-1243; VIII, 723; IX, 539-540]

Posted 10 August 2009