52 A. E. Verrill — Relations between Bermuda and the 



1 1. Seizure of the Gxinpowder in 1775. 



That the American army was at first in desperate need of gunpow- 

 der and other munitions of war, is well known. General Washington, 

 from the very first, used the most strenuous efi^orts to increase the sup- 

 ply and economize what he had. The manufacture of saltpeter and 

 the gathering of sulphur were encouraged by special acts of Congress 

 in th€ summer of 1775. It is well known that in August, 1775, the 

 gunpowder stored in a public ))owder magazine in Bermuda was 

 secretly seized by an American expedition and brought to the Colonies 

 to supply the armies in the field, who were then sorely in need of it. 

 The affair caused great excitement in Bermuda at the time, but none 

 of the inhabitants* were proved guilty of aiding in the enterprise, 

 although the governor and other officials made great efforts to do so. 

 The transaction has to tliis day remained very much of a mystery. 

 The lives of those engaged in it were at stake, both in tliis country and 

 Bermuda, for the result of the impending war was then very uncer- 

 tain. Various more or less I'oraantic and fictitious incidents have 

 been connected with the affair in Bermuda, but they seem to rest on 

 no basis whatever. The powder was certainly taken away in the 

 night, with no apparent disturbance. At that time Bermuda was 

 very poorly fortified and weakly garrisoned. It is said in Bermuda 

 that the barrels of powder were rolled through the governor's garden. 

 Even now, though several have written on the subject, the amount 

 of gunpowder taken, its destination, the persons concerned, and the 

 name of the vessel or vessels that took it away are not positive!}' 

 known. No direct mention of the act is found, to my knowledge, 

 in any American official record. 



In the following pages I have reviewed all the official American 

 records known to me that have been supposed to refer to the affair, 

 and have collected all the other evidence available. Very likely 

 careful researches in the official records of that period in Bermuda 

 and London might bring out some additional evidence, but the secrets 

 of the persons concerned seem to have been well kept. 



As many of the warlike undertakings of the Continental Congress 

 were at that time delegated to the " Secret Committee of Marine 

 and Commerce," very little is to be learned from the official records 

 in regard to this transaction. It was probably undertaken, like the 

 later expedition of Capt. Whipple, in accordance with the urgent 

 desire of General Washington, who, in his letters, refers to a Mr, 



