Lord George Germain and the Protection of Military Storeships 1775-1778

Abstract

In 1775, there were three independent agencies sending supplies to the army in America; the Treasury were responsible for provisions, the Board of Ordnance for munitions and the Navy Board for clothing and tents. Their lightly armed ships were captured by American commerce raiders. The solution was to arm store-ships with guns and soldiers under a Navy officer’s command, and to use convoys. In 1776 Lord George Germain began co-ordinating these agencies. He introduced the above measures and chartered in armed East Indiamen, employed warships as store-ships, and only used armed Treasury victuallers. With these initiatives, the predation diminished.

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Filed under: Atlantic | American Revolution
Subjects include: Administration | Logistics | Navies | Pirates, Corsairs & Privateers