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59-561: Cypress Tree Island was a tidewater marsh which the arriving Dutch in 1630 called Roode Hoek , from the red clay nearby. Dutch expertise in filling swampy ground served the peninsula well, solid ground was needed for the heavy cannons and the 40–50 feet of elevation gave the colonials advantage. Fort Defiance is unmarked with the exception of a small historical sign at the end of the Coffey Street pier, about 2 blocks away from its true location at Van Dyke street and Conover street. The fort

118-502: A receiving ship , flying the flag of Lord Gardner from some point in 1810 until she was broken up at Sheerness Dockyard in July 1811. Troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper ) is a ship used to carry soldiers , either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable to land troops directly on shore, typically loading and unloading at

177-442: A seaport or onto smaller vessels, either tenders or barges . Attack transports , a variant of ocean-going troopship adapted to transporting invasion forces ashore, carry their own fleet of landing craft. Landing ships beach themselves and bring their troops directly ashore. Ships to transport troops were used in antiquity. Ancient Rome used the navis lusoria , a small vessel powered by rowers and sail, to move soldiers on

236-578: A Dutch 10-gun privateer, just off Barbados. More captures followed in February 1798; a brig William and a schooner Betsey were captured on 8 February but both were later condemned by a prize court. While cruising off Martinique on 19 February, Roebuck fell in with and captured a French 10-gun privateer, Parfait . Arriving in Deptford in November 1798, Roebuck was refitted as a troopship , at

295-657: A cost of £10,044. She was recommissioned in July 1799. Roebuck was part of the fleet, under the command of Vice-Admiral Sir Andrew Mitchell , that took part in the Anglo-Russian Invasion of Holland and to which the Dutch surrendered in the Vlieter roadstead on 30 August 1799. Two days previous, the fleet had captured four Dutch ships and two hulks in Hollands Diep . Believing Dutch public opinion

354-461: A degree of armament; their speed, originally intended to minimize passage time for civilian user, proved valuable for outrunning submarines and enemy cruisers in war. HMT  Olympic even rammed and sank a U-boat during one of its wartime crossings. Individual liners capable of exceptionally high speed transited without escorts; smaller or older liners with poorer performance were protected by operating in convoys . Most major naval powers in

413-591: A large polacca and two armed brigs were to oppose the British fleet at Fort Moultrie but instead retired to the Cooper River where some were scuttled. This action later denied the British control of the river; on 7 May, they instead landed seamen and marines near Mount Pleasant , where they captured a battery and went on to force the surrender of Fort Moultrie. Some of Roebuck ' s crew were used in these land operations. The town capitulated on 11 May and

472-466: A large earthworks and gun battery protected a channel, blocked with a submerged cheval de frise . This impediment was constructed of large wooden frames, filled with stones and fronting iron-tipped spears. Stationed along the river were floating batteries and gunboats , and 3 miles (4.8 km) further upstream, another set of obstacles had been sunk between Fort Mifflin and Fort Mercer . The British captured Philadelphia on 26 September but control of

531-645: A passage up the Hudson River in October. On 25 August 1777, Roebuck escorted troopships to Turkey Point , Maryland, where an army was landed for an assault on Philadelphia . She was again called upon to accompany troopships in December 1779, this time for an attack on Charleston. When the ships-of-the-line , which were too large to enter the harbour , were sent back to New York, Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot made Roebuck his flagship . She was, therefore, at

590-652: A single passage in late July 1943, transporting a staggering 765,429 military personnel during the war. Large numbers of troopships were employed during World War II, including 220 "Limited Capacity" Liberty ship conversions, 30 Type C4 ship -based General G. O. Squier -class , a class of 84 Victory ship conversions, and a small number of Type- C3-S-A2 ship-based dedicated transports, and 15 classes of attack transports , of which some 400 alone were built. The designation HMT (Her/His Majesty's Transport) would normally replace RMS (Royal Mail Ship), MV (Motor Vessel) or SS (Steamship) for ships converted to troopship duty with

649-513: A sloop and a galley to sail through. After unsuccessful attempts to take the forts Mifflin and Mercer, the six British vessels were subjected to heavy fire when they engaged the American flotilla at the Battle of Red Bank . Augusta ran aground and caught fire, and the sloop, Merlin , blew up; Roebuck and the remaining force broke off the attack and returned to Billingsport. Still requiring

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708-551: A supply route to Philadelphia but unable to open up the Delaware while Fort Mifflin was occupied, Howe took possession of Province Island in November and began erecting gun batteries. Following a six-day bombardment, the Americans abandoned the fort. Two days later Fort Mercer also fell, leaving the British free to work their way upriver in pursuit of the enemy fleet which was later scuttled at Gloucester . By 18 May 1778, Roebuck

767-753: A troopship in July 1799, during the War of the Second Coalition , Roebuck joined the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland and was part of the fleet, under the command of Vice-Admiral Sir Andrew Mitchell , to which the Dutch surrendered in the Vlieter Incident . Following the Treaty of Amiens in March 1802, Roebuck was paid off and laid up in ordinary at Woolwich Dockyard . When the War of

826-497: The 46th (South Devon) Foot Regiment . They returned to England with HMS  Trusty on 24 March, having carried the 54th Regiment from Ireland to Portsmouth. Roebuck left there on 9 April with a convoy for the Downs . Between March and September 1801, Roebuck was involved in operations against Egypt . Because Roebuck served in the navy's Egyptian campaign (8 March to 2 September 1801), her officers and crew qualified for

885-548: The Elk River with the object of securing Philadelphia . Because of Hamond's familiarity with the local waters, Roebuck , which had hitherto been involved in operations on the Delaware River , was withdrawn to mark out a channel through Chesapeake Bay for Howe's 267-strong flotilla. Roebuck , with the 32-gun Apollo and four smaller vessels, escorted the troopships up the river on 25 August and provided cover while

944-511: The War of the First Coalition , served in this capacity at the capture of Martinique in March 1794. On 2 February a British fleet under Vice-admiral Sir John Jervis and 6,100 troops under Lieutenant-general Sir Charles Grey left Barbados . The troops were landed on Martinique on 5 February and by 16 March had gained control of the whole island, save the town of Fort Royal and the forts Bourbon and Louis. Seaman and marines from

1003-543: The forecastle but the quarterdeck was devoid of armament. When fully manned, Roebuck had a complement of 280 officers and enlisted men. This was increased to 300 in 1783. First commissioned by Captain Andrew Snape Hamond in July 1775, Roebuck left for North America in September, joining Lord Howe's squadron and taking part in operations against New York the following year. On 25 March 1776, she

1062-530: The minuteman , and the army paused to bury the Major and the trooper next to Red Hook lane. They continued the advance on General George Washington 's position in Brooklyn Heights, leaving the American where he fell. Later, sympathizers buried the minuteman in the same place. The Americans were buoyed by the name, which was sewn in the headgear, mistakenly thinking that much reviled Major-General Grant ,

1121-466: The weather gage , were curtailed by a violent gale which scattered the fleets. The storm abated on 13 August, leaving Roebuck , Apollo , Centurion , Ardent , Richmond , Vigilant , and Phoenix within sight of each other. Apollo , then serving as Howe's flagship, had lost two masts during the previous night and Roebuck , also with a mast missing, was ordered to escort her to Sandy Hook. Howe moved his flag to Phoenix and, after searching for

1180-545: The 44-gun Romulus , four sixth-rate frigates and two 20-gun sloops, she accompanied transports, carrying 7,550 troops for an attack on Charleston . Under the command of Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot , the ships left New York on 26 December and in January 1780, in need of repairs, called in at Savannah , captured by the British the previous month. From there, the convoy proceeded to the North Edisto River where

1239-526: The Diep were taken. Mitchell's squadron entered the Vlieter on the morning of 30 August. The Dutch fleet within surrendered without a shot being fired on either side. On 12 November 1799 Roebuck arrived in the Downs with 500 men of the 20th Regiment of Foot after a 12-day passage from Holland in bad weather. Roebuck and HMS  Dictator left Plymouth for Cork , Ireland , on 31 January 1800 with

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1298-465: The French fleet, followed a few days later. Roebuck captured an American privateer in February 1779, before setting sail for Woolwich where she underwent a refit and had her hull sheathed in copper. This took until April. Roebuck returned to American waters by 5 December 1779, when she captured the American privateer, Lady Washington . Then, with five ships-of-the-line, the 50-gun Renown ,

1357-499: The French in Newport and were still repairing their weather-beaten ships on 8 February, when Arbuthnot received information that a French 64-gun ship and two frigates had left Rhode Island for Virginia . He immediately dispatched HMS Charlestown (the captured and renamed USS Boston ) to find Roebuck , Chatham and Romulus , which he knew to be somewhere off Carolina with some frigates, and ordered them to intercept. The message

1416-523: The French privateer Providence on 24 February 1782. Afterwards, she was sent to the North Sea station where she finished her war service, paying off in April 1783. After a survey in October 1783, Roebuck underwent repairs at Sheerness which took until February 1785 and cost £11,038.0.10d. In June 1790, Roebuck was recommissioned as a hospital ship and, following renewed hostilities with France in

1475-747: The French the following year, but in May 1796, Roebuck returned, part of a force that repossessed it. The French intervention in the Dutch Republic and subsequent exile of William V, Prince of Orange in January 1795 led to the formation of the French-allied Batavian Republic , upon which Britain immediately declared war. Roebuck was serving in support of the war in the Leeward Islands , under Rear Admiral Henry Harvey , when on 6 July 1797, she captured Batave ,

1534-493: The Rhine and Danube. The modern troopship has as long a history as passenger ships do, as most maritime nations enlisted their support in military operations (either by leasing the vessels or by impressing them into service) when their normal naval forces were deemed insufficient for the task. In the 19th century, navies frequently chartered civilian ocean liners , and from the start of the 20th century painted them gray and added

1593-471: The Third Coalition broke out in May 1803, she was brought back into service as a guardship at Leith , flying the flags of Vice-Admiral Richard Rodney Bligh and then Rear-Admiral James Vashon under whom she later transferred to Great Yarmouth . In March 1806, she became a receiving ship and in 1810 the flagship of Lord Gardner . Roebuck was broken up at Sheerness in July 1811. Roebuck

1652-629: The United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The United States used two designations: WSA for troopships operated by the War Shipping Administration using Merchant Marine crews, and USS (United States Ship) for vessels accepted into and operated by the United States Navy. Initially, troopships adapted as attack transports were designated AP; starting in 1942 keel-up attack transports received the designation APA. "HMT"

1711-490: The Upper New York Bay from incursion by the British navy. Prior to the battle a thousand men worked under General Israel Putnam 's direction to prepare for the invasion of New York, building the fort during one night in April. General George Washington inspected the fort in May, finding it 'exceedingly strong'. The complex consisted of three redoubts on the small island connected by trenches, with an earthwork on

1770-528: The afternoon, her tender narrowly avoided capture by the American 10-gun sloop Hornet . On hearing of the encounter, Roebuck set off in pursuit of the American vessel but was unable to locate her. Roebuck took part in the Battle of Long Island on 27 August 1776, attacking the American gun batteries at Red Hook . On 9 October she was in action on the Hudson River , with HMS Phoenix and HMS  Tartar , where she destroyed two armed galleys and forced her way upstream, whilst engaging, on either side,

1829-405: The army disembarked about six miles (9.7 km) from Turkey Point . Following the defeat of an American force at the Battle of Brandywine and its subsequent retreat to Philadelphia in September, Howe led Roebuck and a squadron of small vessels up the Delaware where the Americans had erected redoubts overlooking the river and sunk obstructions to prevent its navigation. At Billingsport ,

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1888-422: The army disembarked on 10 February. The troops marched the 30 miles (48 km) overland and occupied James Island , while the ships sailed to the entrance and effected a blockade of Charleston harbour. Some of Roebuck ' s company were among the 450 seamen and marines later sent to lay siege to the town. The 64-gun and 74-gun ships-of-the-line, being too large to be of any use in the shallow waters around

1947-660: The clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal , which the Admiralty issued in 1847 to all surviving claimants. On 21 March 1802 Roebuck , armed en flute , came into Portsmouth from the Mediterranean and immediately went into quarantine. She was carrying the Queen's German Regiment ( 96th Regiment of Foot ). The Treaty of Amiens was ratified in March 1802 and two months later Roebuck

2006-424: The colonial history of Roode Hoek, found maps dating to 1766 showing an earlier fort on the island from the 1600s and was convinced that the oddly shaped building at Columbia and Nelson streets is the location of the burial ground. The building, built in 1932, had a corner cut off and left undeveloped, neighborhood folklore has that this was the revolutionary war arresick (Dutch. burial ground ) of Lt. Colonel Grant and

2065-417: The fleet then joined the troops in laying siege to the town and the forts. The whole of Martinique had surrendered by 22 March. Leaving a contingent to hold the island, the British left for St Lucia on 31 March, capturing it on 4 April. Jervis then took his fleet to Guadeloupe, forcing the capitulation of Grande-Terre and Basse-Terre on 12 and 20 April respectively. The British were ousted from St Lucia by

2124-640: The front of the attack, leading the British squadron across the shoal to engage Fort Moultrie and the American ships beyond. After the American Revolutionary War ended in October 1783, Roebuck underwent repairs at Sheerness and was refitted as a hospital ship . She served in this capacity during the French Revolutionary war and was with the British fleet under Vice-Admiral Sir John Jervis that captured Martinique , Guadeloupe and St Lucia in 1794. Recommissioned as

2183-494: The harbour, left for New York in March 1780, leaving Renown , Romulus , Blonde , Raleigh , Perseus , Camilla , and Roebuck , to which Arbuthnot moved his flag. These ships were lightened while they awaited a high enough tide and favourable conditions to carry them over the sandbank which lay across the entrance to the harbour. On 9 April Roebuck led the squadron across the bar. An exchange of heavy fire while passing Fort Moultrie resulted in considerable damage to

2242-399: The island's south side to defend against a landing. A British officer, Lt. Colonel James Grant was in the vanguard of troops attempting a flanking maneuver on the right side of the American line, following the retreat at Battle Hill . The Colonel pursued through the marshland and over Gowanus Creek when a Pennsylvanian rifleman, perched in a tree, shot him and an aide. The return fire dropped

2301-579: The largest 36-gun ship in the Royal Navy. The following month, Roebuck was with HMS  Medea when they captured the 28-gun Protector near Sandy Hook. Douglas received another commission in July and was replaced by Captain John Orde . In the summer of 1781, Roebuck set sail for Europe with Arbuthnot, who was to be redeployed, and dispatches from Sir Henry Clinton and Lord Rawdon . She briefly returned to American waters where she captured

2360-463: The late 19th and early 20th centuries provided their domestic shipping lines with subsidies to build fast ocean liners capable of conversions to auxiliary cruisers during wartime. The British government, for example, aided both Cunard and the White Star Line in constructing the liners RMS  Mauretania , RMS  Aquitania , RMS  Olympic and RMS Britannic . However, when

2419-529: The leader of the left-wing of the Gravesend assault had been killed. The rifleman was interred in a hollow tree trunk, taken from a tree struck by lightning. Almost the entire New York metropolitan area was under British military occupation from the end of 1776 until November 23, 1783, when they evacuated the city. John Burkard, a historian who grew up in Red Hook and spent most of his retirement researching

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2478-475: The masts and rigging of the British ships and the loss of 27 lives. The expedition continued to James Island and anchored, whereupon it came under attack from the batteries at Charleston. Some of the shot passed right through Roebuck but she did not return fire. Consequently, she was thought to be out of range and the bombardment soon stopped. An American naval force which included the frigates Providence , Boston and Queen of France , Bricole of 44 guns,

2537-519: The next day they began raiding British positions on Conanicut and Goat Island . On 8 August, 4,000 French soldiers and sailors were landed to reinforce the 10,000 American troops who had just crossed from the mainland to attack the British garrison on Rhode Island . Howe's fleet arrived off Point Judith on 9 August and, fearing the British might soon be reinforced, d'Estaing sailed out the next morning while he still had superior numbers and guns. Several days of manoeuvring, in which both parties sought

2596-422: The remaining American ships were subsequently captured. The crew of Roebuck were awarded a share of the prize money for the frigates Boston and Providence . Hamond was ordered to England with dispatches on 15 May 1780, and was succeeded in command of Roebuck by his nephew, Andrew Snape Douglas . Roebuck was absent from the fleet during a violent storm on 23 January 1781. The British had been blockading

2655-401: The river was crucial to keeping their forces there supplied. Hamond offered to force a channel at Billing's Point, if Howe could muster sufficient men to put the fort there out of action. Two regiments from Chester, Pennsylvania , crossed the river and chased off the American garrison while the men of Roebuck breached a seven-foot (2.1 m) opening for Roebuck , Augusta , two frigates,

2714-540: The stern, giving the illusion of an extra deck, but behind them was a single-level cabin. The design was eventually phased out for Roebuck -class ships completed after HMS  Dolphin . Most of the remaining ships of the class had a traditional frigate -style stern. On her lower gun deck, Roebuck carried twenty 18-pounder (8.2 kg) guns. Her upper deck originally had twenty-two 9-pounder (4.1 kg) guns but these were later upgraded to 12-pounder (5.4 kg) guns. There were two 6-pounder (2.7 kg) guns on

2773-404: The two forts of Washington and Lee . Between 10 March and 21 December 1776, Howe's squadron captured or destroyed 166 vessels, of which Roebuck claimed partial responsibility for at least twenty-three. In April 1777, she took two warships, the 14-gun Carolina State Navy Defence and the 10-gun USS  Sachem . In August 1777, the British were planning to land an army at the head of

2832-627: The two troopers. He advocated for a heritage trail through Red Hook from the Arresick to Fort Defiance. In 2007 street signs were added to Coffey street, Conover St, Walcott Street, Dwight St, and Columbia street marking the Red Hook Lane heritage trail , which begins opposite the burial ground and follows the path back to Fort Defiance . Arresick , in the List of New Netherland placename etymologies HMS Roebuck (1774) HMS Roebuck

2891-407: The vulnerability of these ships to return fire was realized during World War I most were used instead as troopships or hospital ships . RMS  Queen Mary and RMS  Queen Elizabeth were two of the most famous converted liners of World War II . When they were fully converted, each could carry well over 10,000 troops per trip. Queen Mary holds the all-time record, with 15,740 troops on

2950-547: Was paid off and laid up in ordinary at Woolwich Dockyard. The peace was short-lived; hostilities resumed in May 1803, and in July Roebuck was recommissioned as a guardship at Leith . She served in this capacity as the flagship of Vice-Admiral Richard Rodney Bligh between November and the following February. Between April and October 1805, she flew the flag of Rear-Admiral James Vashon , first at Leith, then from September at Great Yarmouth . In March 1806, she became

3009-428: Was 140 feet (42.7 m) long at the gundeck, with a beam of 37 feet 9 + 1 ⁄ 2  inches (11.5 m) and a depth in the hold of 16 feet 4 inches (5 m). She measured 879 26 ⁄ 94 tons burthen . Launched on 24 April 1774 and completed by 4 August 1775, Roebuck cost £ 18,911.0.6d plus a further £1,749.5.5d for fitting. Roebuck was built with two rows of windows in

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3068-605: Was a fifth-rate ship of the Royal Navy which served in the American and French Revolutionary Wars . Designed in 1769 by Sir Thomas Slade to operate in the shallower waters of North America , she joined Lord Howe's squadron towards the end of 1775 and took part in operations against New York the following year. She engaged the American gun batteries at Red Hook during the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, and forced

3127-408: Was against the republic and in favour of restoring the monarchy, the British government began preparing an invasion force as early as June. Comprising 27,000 men and 250 vessels, the force arrived off the Dutch coast under a flag of truce on 21 August. Terms were not agreed however and British troops were landed on 27 August. The fortifications at Den Helder were captured the next day and the ships in

3186-703: Was also used, for a while, to designate "Hired Military Transport." In the era of the Cold War , the United States designed the United States ship so that she could easily be converted from a liner to a troopship, in case of war. More recently, Queen Elizabeth 2 and Canberra were requisitioned by the Royal Navy to carry British soldiers to the Falklands War . By the end of the twentieth century, nearly all long-distance personnel transfer

3245-573: Was cruising alone off Cape Henlopen when she ran aground . She suffered no damage, enabling her crew to get her off and into deep water where she was anchored. The following day, a sail was sighted in the bay and Hamond sent two of the ship's boats to investigate. The craft turned out to be a small American schooner , which the crew abandoned on seeing the British boats approaching. The newly acquired prize and Roebuck ' s tender then pursued and caught two sloops . On 28 March, Roebuck ' s boats were again in action, taking another sloop. In

3304-506: Was destroyed by bombardment from the H.M.S. Roebuck during the battle. The only access was an Indian trail called Red Hook Lane which led to brooklyn heights, that road's last remnant was un-mapped in 2020. On August 27, 1776, during the Battle of Long Island , five cannons, a series of earthworks and a defensive wall was manned by colonials on an island in New York Bay. It was the westernmost of forts along Brooklyn heights defending

3363-621: Was in Philadelphia where she took part in celebrations, held in honour of Howe and his brother William who was Commander-in-Chief of the British land forces . In July 1778, Roebuck was at Sandy Hook , near New York Bay , and in August she took part in an action against a French fleet. France had entered the war on the American side in February that year. On 29 July, the French fleet from Toulon , commanded by Charles Hector, comte d'Estaing , arrived in Narragansett Bay , and

3422-614: Was received too late, however, and Romulus was thus alone and unaware, when she was captured by the French squadron returning from its aborted mission. While Roebuck was cruising with HMS  Orpheus off the coast of Delaware on 14 April 1781, they captured the 36-gun frigate, USS  Confederacy . She had been on her way from the West Indies to Washington with supplies for the Continental Army . Taken into service as HMS Confederate , she became, at that time,

3481-561: Was the prototype of the Roebuck -class ships, two-deck, fifth-rate ships built to operate in the shallower waters of North America . She was designed by renowned naval architect Sir Thomas Slade in 1769 as an improvement on his Phoenix model , and ordered by the Admiralty on 30 November. Her keel of 115 feet 9 inches (35.3 m) was laid down in October the following year at Chatham Dockyard . As built, Roebuck

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