It was at this point that a branch of the American naval personnel, of which too little notice has been taken by historians, first made a record for gallantry. Captain Nichols was the first captain of marines in the American naval service, the organization of the marine corps having been ordered by the Congress on November 10, 1775. Under cover of the guns of the _Providence_ and the _Wasp_, Captain Nichols and his marines landed on the beach, and then “behaved with a spirit and steadiness that have distinguished the corps from that hour down to the present moment.” They carried the forts by assault. “A hundred cannon and a large quantity of stores fell into the hands of the Americans,” but because the Governor had been apprised of the coming of the Americans, he succeeded in sending away in a small coaster 150 barrels of powder. It is worth noting that Commodore Hopkins not only loaded his vessels with these stores, but that the stores made a heavy cargo for them, and they were deep in the water when they turned toward home. It should be further noted that the Governor of the island “and several of the more prominent inhabitants” were carried away for use as hostages to compel the British authorities to modify the harsh treatment American prisoners were receiving. [Illustration: Commodore Esek Hopkins. _From a very rare English engraving._] New Providence was taken in the middle of March, 1776. Elated by the success of his expedition, Commodore Hopkins set sail for the north on the 17th of that month. How much more elated he and his crews would have felt could they have known that at four o’clock on that morning the British were hurriedly, and in great confusion, leaving Boston through fear of an assault by the troops of Washington, may be easily imagined. Two weeks later the American fleet had arrived off the east end of Long Island, where, on April 4th, the tender _Hawke_, of six guns, and the bomb-brig _Bolton_, of twelve guns, were captured. And then followed a conflict that well-nigh ruined the reputation of the first American fleet commander. It began soon after midnight on the morning of April 6th. With a gentle breeze, the fleet, well scattered out--too well, in fact--was washing along over the smooth sea between Block Island and the Rhode Island shore. Only those who have floated and dreamed in the soft light of a warm night on these waters can fully appreciate the influences of sea and air over a sailor on such an occasion, but it was, last of all, a night for thoughts of bloodshed. Suddenly a large strange ship appeared in the midst of the fleet. From the way the narrative reads one is forced to the conclusion that the lookouts were all at least half asleep. The stranger was heading for the flagship _Alfred_, but before she could close in, the crew of the little brig _Cabot_, Capt. John Burrows Hopkins, woke up, and, ranging alongside, they hailed her.