Fragile Freedom

Monfort Browne, Lieutenant Governor of the Bahamas, was still dressed in his nightshirt when he rushed from Government House to order the alarm sound. The cannons would ring in the air, alerting the militia of the imminent attack.  The American fleet had been spotted off of the coast of Nassau and it was only a matter of time now before the raid commenced. The sound in the distance would be a disappointment to Commodore Esek Hopkins. He had ignored orders. Told by the Continental Congress to patrol the shores of Virginia, and North and South Carolina, conducting raids on British forces spotted off their coasts, he chose instead to set sail for Nassau. It was no secret that John Murray, Lord Dunmore, the Colonial Governor of Virginia, had ordered the removal of British stockpiles of weapons and gunpowder, sending them to New Providence in the Bahamas to keep these stores from being captured by Colonial Rebels. Now Dunmore was using those weapons to launch his own assaults, particularly off the coast of Virgini