Description:

(CONTINENTAL NAVY) ELISHA HINMAN
(1734-1807) Continental Navy captain. Rare and interesting war-date manuscript D.S. "E. Hinman", 1p. 8 1/4" x 3 1/2", Portsmouth, Aug. 13, 1777, a receipt for fifty pounds from Continental Navy agent JOHN LANGDON (1741-1819): "... on a/c [account] of the Ship Alfred". Docketed on the verso, ragged edges, else very good. Elisha Hinman was initially appointed a Lieutenant in January 1776 aboard the 14-gun brig USS CABOT, one of four vessels to comprise the first Continental Navy squadron of the American Revolution. Having served with distinction during the fleet''s invasion of British-held New Providence (Nassau) and subsequently incurring a severe wound during an engagement with the 20-gun British ship HMS GLASGOW in April, Hinman was commissioned as captain in the Continental Navy on August 20, 1776. Hinman succeeded John Paul Jones in command of the ship USS ALFRED in January 1777 . A merchantman named Black Prince under the command of JOHN BARRY (1745-1803) before the war, the 30-gun ALFRED was acquired by the Continental Congress in November 1775. The ALFRED was taken by British warships HMS ARIADNE and HMS CERES near Barbados on March 9, 1778. Captain Hinman was carried to Gosport, England where he was examined before a Scotch magistrate who inquired: "How dare you fight His Majesty''s ships, you rebel of His Majesty''s Colonies." Hinman retorted: "I dare fight His Majesty himself, if I meet him on the high seas." Confined at Forton prison, Captain Hinman escaped with others by digging under the wall of the prison and finding sanctuary with an American sympathizer who arranged for a Londoner to spirit the captain off to safety in France. It probably helped that Hinman bribed the prison sentry with ten guineas along with ten more for the guard''s officers. Eventually returning to New London, Hinman was honorably acquitted in February 1779 by a court-martial investigating charges surrounding the loss of the Alfred, and briefly placed in charge of the Continental Navy frigate TRUMBULL in May, 1779. Hinman commanded the privateer sloop HANCOCK in 1779 and the 30-gun Connecticut and Massachusetts privateer DEANE between 1780 and June 1781. He then commanded the 20-gun brig MARQUIS LAFAYETTE on which he was at sea when in September 1781, British forces under Benedict Arnold burnt New London to the ground including Captain Hinman''s home. President John Adams offered Hinman naval command of the USS CONSTITUTION in 1794, but he declined citing his advanced age. However, four years later Hinman solicited from Adams command of New London''s revenue cutter ARGUS due to his family''s financial need of "a better support then what I am now able to give them." Hinman served as captain of the ARGUS until 1803, just four years before his death. Documents pertaining to the Continental Navy are far scarcer than those related to the Army.

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December 10, 2016 11:00 AM EST
Wilmington, DE, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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