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Washington Commissions First Naval Officer
General George Washington commissioned Nicholson Broughton as captain of the colony's army. He was given the task of leading the Hannah, which would be the first ship of Washington's Navy. -
3:00 A.M.
Under a nearly full moon, the British ship, the Nautilus, took brief control of a ship off the coast of Lynn coming from Boston to Nova Scotia. The Royal Navy decided the papers were legitimate and allowed the ship to continue on. -
3:15 P.M.
To avoid being cut off at the harbor entrance by the Nautilus, Captain Broughton made the decision to run the Hannah aground at a beach along the Beverly shore. Broughton knew that the Hannah's armament could be easily removed and set up on land once they came ashore. As the ship came ashore it sustained much damage to the hull and to several of its wooden ribs. -
4:00 P.M.
The Hannah was left stranded ashore as the tide receded, the Nautilus bombarded the ship, further damaging it. -
4:15 P.M.
Americans learned how to attack the Nautilus from both sides to effectively attack the ship, with prisoners on deck. -
5:30 P.M.
Captain Collins used another strategy to attempt to move the ship which failed. -
6:45 P.M.
The Nautilus could not be moved and the crew chose to wait and take cover until the tide returned. -
7:30 P.M.
The Nautilus was able to float free at this time, leaving Beverly Harbor by 8:00 P.M.. There were only two casualities. -
3:30 P.M.
As the Hannah began removing their cannons and ammunition, militia from Beverly and Manchester arrived on the shore. Captain Collins had no intention of leaving the Hannah alone and charged towards the ship, dropping an anchor. The Nautilus stopped half a mile from the shore. The crew was unaware that they'd anchored beside a mussel bed that would prevent them from moving in low tide. -
3:40 P.M.
The Nautilus opened fire on the shore, first firing cannons at the town's church in an attempt to confuse them of their intent. This resulted in many Beverly citizens evacuating their homes. Despite their tactics, no one on the beach was fooled and began to return fire from the beach. In response, Captain Collins decided to direct fire onto the Hannah itself. -
4:50 P.M.
The Nautilus had to weigh anchor to escape the attack, but the wind and low tide had pushed the ship over the nearby shallows. The captain and crew attempted to turn the ship around to no use, and they were stuck aground. -
12:00 P.M.
At this time, the Hannah sailed out from Beverly towards the sea through Salem Harbor. At the same time, the Nautilus was offshore outside Salem Bay. The two ships were only 8 miles apart, hidden from each other by islands and the coast. -
1:00 P.M.
The Nautilus crew spotted the Hannah coming out of Beverly. Captain Collins of the Nautilus steered directly across Salem Bay towards the Hannah. Knowing his shipped was less armed, Broughton turned the Hannah around towards Beverly Harbor. The Hannah was much slower than the Nautilus and quickly lost ground despite a significant lead. The ships crossed in front of Salem at 2:00 P.M., quickly alerting residents of nearby towns.