Pennsylvania Navy

Their names were: Bulldog, Burke, Camden, Congress, Dickinson, Effingham I, Experiment, Franklin, Hancock, Ranger, and Warren.

In April 1776 the state acquired the Montgomery, which Read served as captain of until he received a Continental Navy commission in October 1776.

When British operations began to threaten Philadelphia in September 1777, the council dismissed Seymour and gave overall fleet command to Hazelwood.

The fleet was also active in keeping British troops away from the river's eastern shore when General George Washington retreated across New Jersey following the loss of New York City.

This forced their commander, Carl von Donop, to quarter his troops much more widely, and may have contributed to Washington's victory at the battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776.

At first the combined Pennsylvania and Continental fleet was successful, repulsing one attempt by the Royal Navy to pass the defenses of Fort Mercer and Fort Mifflin on October 22 and 23, which resulted the destruction of two British warships, HMS Augusta and HMS Merlin, which were under the command of Admiral Francis Reynolds.

The fleet also bombarded von Donop's forces as they attacked Fort Mercer in the Battle of Red Bank, in which the Hessians suffered one of their worst defeats of the war.

[7] In November, the two forts were captured by British troops, and Commodore John Hazelwood's fleet was then forced to withdraw upriver.

Unfavorable winds slowed their progress, and four ships (Montgomery, Delaware, Arnold, and Putnam) were burned to prevent their capture.

However, news that the British were going to withdraw from Philadelphia led to its resurrection, and in July Captain Hazelwood reported that the brig Convention was ready for action.

Under her captain, James Montgomery, she cruised between New York and the Chesapeake Bay, often in conjunction with Continental Navy ships or privateers, and sent a number of prizes to Philadelphia.

As late as October 1776, Captain William Richards was still writing to the Committee of Safety to request the design that he could use to order flags for the fleet.

[12] It is worded as follows: An order on William Webb to Elizabeth Ross for fourteen pounds twelve shillings and two pence for Making Ships Colours [etc.]