American Revolutionary War: Ships of the Continental Navy fail in their attempt to capture a Royal Navy dispatch boat.

The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which American Patriot forces organized as the Continental Army and commanded by George Washington defeated the British Army. The conflict was fought in North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean. The war's outcome seemed uncertain for most of the war. But Washington and the Continental Army's decisive victory in the Siege of Yorktown in 1781 led King George III and the Kingdom of Great Britain to negotiate an end to the war in the Treaty of Paris two years later, in 1783, in which the British monarchy acknowledged the independence of the Thirteen Colonies, leading to the establishment of the United States as an independent and sovereign nation.

The Continental Navy was the navy of the United Colonies and United States from 1775 to 1785. It was founded on October 13, 1775 by the Continental Congress to fight against British forces and their allies as part of the American Revolutionary War. Due to the efforts of several prominent patrons such as John Adams, the Continental Navy eventually developed into a substantial force, though it never replicated the successes of the Continental Army. In 1776, Commodore Esek Hopkins was appointed by Congress to command the navy.

The Battle of Block Island was a naval skirmish which took place in the waters off Rhode Island during the American Revolutionary War. The Continental Navy under the command of Commodore Esek Hopkins was returning from a successful raid on Nassau when it encountered HMS Glasgow, a Royal Navy dispatch boat.

The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the English Navy of the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service.