Nicholson Broughton | |
|---|---|
 Captain Nicholson Broughton's Home, 6 Lee Street, Marblehead. Massachusetts[1] | |
| Born | 1724 |
| Died | 1798 (aged 73–74) |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service/ |  Continental Navy United States Navy |
| Commands held | first commodore of the United States Navy |
| Battles/wars | American Revolutionary War |
| Signature | _Signature.png){kind=small} |
Captain Nicholson Broughton (1724–1798) of Marblehead, Massachusetts was the first commodore of the American Navy and, as part of the Marblehead Regiment, commanded George Washington’s first naval vessel USS Hannah.[2] Broughton set sail from Beverly, Massachusetts on 5 September 1775 in Hannah. He also led the first American expedition of the war, which went to interrupt shipping British armaments off Nova Scotia.[3][4][page needed] On the expedition, Broughton participated in the Raid on Charlottetown. As a result of Broughton's expedition to Nova Scotia, the Governor of Nova Scotia Francis Legge declared martial law throughout the colony.[5]
- ^ Roads, Samuel, the younger. A Guide to Marblehead. 6. ed. Marblehead, Mass.: M.H. Graves, 1881, p.38
- ^ Marblehead Sea Captains and their Ships. 1915.
- ^ Gardner, Frank Augustine [from old catalog (February 12, 1908). "Glover's Marblehead regiment in the war of the revolution ." Salem, Mass., Salem press co – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Askew & Askew 1975.
- ^ "American Archives: Containing a Documentary History of the English Colonies in North America, from the King's Message to Parliament of March 7, 1774, to the Declaration of Independence by the United States. Fourth series". February 12, 1843 – via Google Books.