On April 21, 1775, Governor Dunmore, who had unsuccessfully tried to prevent the Richmond convention from taking place in order that delegates could not be elected to attend the Second Continental Congress, became very much aroused over the bitter feeling of the colonists toward Great Britain. He decided that he could break down some of the colonial assuredness and resistance against the King and against his personal orders if he could remove from the powder magazine at Williamsburg the munition powder which belonged to the colony. Therefore, he ordered twenty sailors from a British ship anchored at Williamsburg to obtain this powder. They hid in the Governor's Palace; during the night, they visited the magazine, removed all the powder which they could fit into the Governor's wagon and took it to their armed ship, the "Fowey," in the harbor for safekeeping. When the colonists learned the next morning of this activity, a company of Hanover volunteers, led by Patrick Henry, marched upon Williamsburg and forced the King's sailors to compensate by giving bills for the value of the powder taken from the magazine. Governor Dunmore was then beseeched to pay for the cost of the powder, at least in sterling. He finally paid this amount because of the persistence of Patrick Henry. Only strenuous efforts on the part of Patrick Henry's personal friends kept him and the local militia from imprisoning the Governor himself for such action. Patrick Henry was declared an outlaw by Governor Dunmore. Anti-British feeling rapidly increased on the part of the colonists after this incident. Approximately a week after this unpleasant incident, John Paul Jones, a Scottish-Virginian who was a resident of Fredericksburg, recommended that the colonies should have an official navy. He was a former British seaman, and he offered his services to the colonies at this time in an attempt to raise a naval force. The Second Continental Congress later appointed a Naval Committee whose chief duty was to organize a naval force. At its invitation, John Paul Jones explained to the Committee the great strength of the British Navy and the futility of the colonists to try to compete with it. He stated, however, that, if the colonists had fifteen ships armed with guns, these could be successfully utilized to annoy British ships. His suggestion was accepted, and thirteen frigates plus two brigs made up the first American Navy. John Paul Jones received the first naval commission at Independence Hall on December 22, 1775. Therefore, he is often referred to as "The Father of the American Navy."