Washington's General by Terry Golway Read Free Book Online Page B

devising and carrying into execution measures for the recovery of my Property and punishing the offender.”
    Those measures would include a lawsuit against Lieutenant Dudingston himself, demanding that he compensate the Greenes for their losses. The case of
Greene v. Dudingston
became a legal sensation in Rhode Island, a notable act of defiance, and indicated that Nathanael Greene was emerging from his forge and his library to take an active role in his times. The suit forced Dudingston to spend months evading Rhode Island officials, who were authorized to arrest him as part of the Greene family’s complaint.
    Even as Nathanael Greene prepared his case, the
Gaspee
became the terror of Narragansett Bay through the spring and summer of 1772. Dudingston and his crew not only harassed all manner of vessels but regularly raided farms and businesses. Dependent on seaborne trade, Rhode Island’s economy suffered as Dudingston’s aggressive searchesand willingness to open fire on uncooperative vessels made the very act of entering Narragansett Bay a dangerous proposition. One prominent Rhode Islander and a future member of the Continental Congress, Henry Marchant, described Dudingston as a “very dirty low fellow” who ordered his crew “to commit many Outrages upon the Possessions and Property of the Inhabitants on Shore.”
    Rhode Island’s governor, Joseph Wanton, dispatched a letter of protest to Dudingston’s immediate superior, Admiral John Montagu, who was based in Boston. The admiral defended Dudingston and then issued a blunt warning to Wanton: “I am ... informed the people of Newport talk of fitting out an armed vessel to rescue any vessel the King’s schooner may take carrying on an illicit trade,” Montagu wrote. “Let them be cautious [about] what they [do] for as sure as they attempt it and any of them are taken I will hang them as pirates.”
    Wanton’s written reply was simple and utterly in keeping with Rhode Island tradition: “I do not receive instructions for the administration of my government from the King’s Admiral stationed in America.”
    Lieutenant Dudingston’s aggression continued into late spring. On June 9, 1772, the
Gaspee
fired a shot across the bow of the merchant ship
Hannah
in Narragansett Bay. The
Hannah’s
captain, Benjamin Lindsay, chose defiance rather than surly compliance. He decided to try to outrun the
Gaspee.
Dudingston immediately gave chase, but this time his zeal betrayed him. Lindsay moved into shallow waters off Namquit Point, and the
Gaspee
ran aground. Lindsay and the
Hannah
got away and sailed for Providence. When the
Hannah
arrived in port, Lindsay spread the news: the hated Dudingston and his despised ship were stuck and vulnerable in shallow water about six miles away.
    The city’s leading citizens and merchants convened that night in a tavern to plan Rhode Island’s revenge on the
Gaspee.
They dispatched a man with a drum to parade up and down the town’s streets to spread word of the
Gaspee’s
misfortune and recruit volunteers for an attack. Sixty-four citizens turned out at the wharf and set out in longboats before midnight, headed toward the stricken warship. They were spottedas they approached the
Gaspee,
and soon Lieutenant Dudingston appeared on deck, armed with a pistol. He asked the intruders in the longboats to identify themselves.
    A voice replied: “I am the sheriff of the county of Kent, God damn you! I have got a warrant to apprehend you, God damn you!” The sheriff, Abraham Whipple, had been trying to serve Dudingston with papers since Nathanael Greene and his brothers filed their lawsuit, naming the lieutenant as a defendant.
    The sheriff demanded that Dudingston surrender. Dudingston declined. A shot rang out, hitting Dudingston in the groin. The Providence men quickly boarded the
Gaspee
and overpowered its crew. One of the raiders asked the wounded