AH-WR-1132

HM galley Alarm

Galley · Great Britain · Lost 1778 · Narragansett Bay & the Rhode Island Coast

A Royal Navy galley run ashore and burned in the Sakonnet Passage by her own lieutenant as French warships closed in during the 1778 Battle of Rhode Island.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Originally the merchant vessel Mountfield, Alarm was purchased by the Royal Navy in 1777 and commissioned as an armed galley under Lieutenant Philippe d'Auvergne at Rhode Island. She took part in raids along the Sakonnet shore during the British occupation of Newport. When a French fleet allied with the Americans entered Narragansett Bay in late July 1778, d'Auvergne ran Alarm ashore in the Sakonnet Passage and set her afire on 30 July 1778 rather than risk her capture, anchored near HMS Kingfisher and HM galley Spitfire. A subsequent court martial acquitted d'Auvergne of the loss.

Vessel

Built: 1776
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail and oars
Owners: Royal Navy

Loss

Date: July 30, 1778
Cause: Intentional sinking
Location: Sakonnet Passage, near Tiverton/Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Water: Sakonnet River
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Lieutenant Philippe d'Auvergne

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Tiverton/Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Region: Narragansett Bay & the Rhode Island Coast

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (65/100)

A specific wreck position, depth, and present condition are not established in the sources reviewed.

Wikipedia, citing Hepper's 'British Warship Losses' and London Gazette dispatches
Vessel origin, commander, service history, date and circumstances of scuttling, court martial.
portsmouthhistorynotes.com, citing London Gazette dispatch of Major General Pigot, 31 August 1778
Confirmation of the order to burn Alarm alongside Kingfisher and Spitfire, and approximate location.