The Battle of Chatham Harbor

Chatham’s only active hostilities during the Revolutionary War occurred in Chatham Harbor on 20 June 1782, when at sunrise crew members from a British privateer were discovered in East Harbor attempting to sail away three unmanned vessels as prizes of war. An alarm cannon on Watch Hill alerted the town militia, who assembled quickly and opened fire on the British from the shore. When the largest of the three vessels went aground, the intruders took to small boats and headed back to their ship anchored offshore. Militiamen also in small boats pursued them hotly; although the British privateersmen escaped, the Chatham vessels were recovered, and the determined, long-suffering townspeople secured the victory. Since 1776, British seapower had stifled their livelihood from the sea, yet they continued to give loyal support to the nation’s war for independence.

Chatham, Massachusetts · United States