Reference Entry
CONTINENTAL MARINES SEIZE NEW PROVIDENCE
Early in the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress desperately needed gunpowder, cannon, and naval stores to keep its rebellion alive. On March 3rd, 1776, a small American squadron under Esek Hopkins appeared off New Providence in the Bahamas, then a British-held island rich in military supplies. Continental Marines and sailors went ashore, captured the local forts, and hauled away barrels of powder and ordnance that would feed the young war effort.
Dated Historical Context
A RECORDED MOMENT IN HISTORY
Continental Marines seize New Providence
Early in the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress desperately needed gunpowder, cannon, and naval stores to keep its rebellion alive. On March 3rd, 1776, a small American squadron under Esek Hopkins appeared off New Providence in the Bahamas, then a British-held island rich in military supplies. Continental Marines and sailors went ashore, captured the local forts, and hauled away barrels of powder and ordnance that would feed the young war effort. The raid on New Providence is often remembered as the first major amphibious operation in American history, pairing sea control with a deliberate landing to seize a defended shore objective. It also gave the Marines an origin story built around expeditionary service, showing that even a fledgling force could plan and execute a complex operation far from home waters. In later generations, American planners would look back on this modest but daring strike as an early model of the naval and Marine Corps partnership that became central to United States power projection.
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