Important Day for the Fledgeling Continental Navy....

Although yesterday marked the 234th anniversary of one of the most important land battles of the American Revolution; known as the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse, today marks the first great victory at sea for the Americans during the Revolution. On this date in 1776 , the American privateer vessels Nancy, Lexington, Reprisal, and Wasp had used every bit of their cunning to deal a significant blow to the British Navy; in particular, the gunships HMS Liverpool, HMS Orpheus, and the HMS Kingfisher. The British had established a blockade of the Delaware Bay, so therefore the three privateers had been protecting the American privateering brigantine Nancy as she was transfering gunpowder and supplies from the Caribbean to Philadelphia to stock the stores for the Continental war effort.
As the Delaware Bay was successfully blockaded by the British ships, the Nancy changed its course to Turtle Gut Inlet (in the modern day vacinity of Cape May, N.J.). As the Nancy had been traveling in fog, and shallow waters, she hit ground and was stuck near the inlet. The bigger British vessels awaited for her within sight in the deeper waters off shore.
The British ships began to bombard the Nancy as she lay aground in the inlet. As she was suffering the cannon fire, the other American vessels fired back at the British ships to keep them at bey while longboats unloaded the gunpowder and supplies from the Nancy onto the nearby beaches (an into the waiting hands of local patriots). Eventually, the Americans could no longer keep the British from their boarding attempts, so it was decided to evacuate the men aboard the Nancy onto the three remaining American ships.
However, just before completely abandoning the ship, the crew of the Nancy wrapped the remaining gunpowder aboard the ship in the mainsail of the vessel (forming a fuse), and lit it ablaise. Eventually the British boarded the vessel, but unfortunately for them, the fuse had reached the gunpowder, and blew up in a massive explosion; killing a great amount of the boarding British parties.
Although this action was viewed as a victory for the Americans against the mighty British Navy, this engagement also produced the first American casualty of the war in New Jersey. Lieutenant Richard Wickes was killed by cannon fire during the melee.