American Revolutionary War: Ships of the Continental Navy unsuccessfully attempted to capture HMS Glasgow near Block Island.

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.

HMS Glasgow was a 20-gun sixth-rate post ship of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1757 and took part in the American Revolutionary War. While under command of Capt. William Maltby she ran onto rocks at Cohasset, Massachusetts on 10 December 1774. Refloated and arrived in Boston on the 15th for repairs. Capt. Maltby was relieved of command at a Court Martial and replaced by Tyringham Howe some time between 8–15 January 1775. She is most famous for her encounter with the maiden voyage of the Continental Navy off Block Island on 6 April 1776. In that action, Glasgow engaged a squadron of 6 ships of the Continental Navy, managing to escape intact. Under the command of Tho. Pasley, she captured sloop Juliana on 1 April 1777. She captured sloop Unity on 2 April 1777. She captured the sloop Betsy & Ann on 4 April. She captured sloop Volante on 5 April. She captured the brig Aurora on 10 April. She captured sloop Sally on 16 April. She captured American privateer sloop Henry on 19 April. She captured schooner Providence on 2 May. She captured schooner Nancy, probably in early May. She captured schooner Betsy 27 June. She captured brig Dolphin on unknown date. She captured sloop Rover on 24 July. She captured sloop Antonio on 21 July. She captured sloop Tryall on 25 July. She captured an unknown schooner on an unknown date. She captured schooner Gen. Thompson on an unknown date. She captured sloop Industry at an unknown date. She captured schooner Betsy & Ann on 4 November. She captured brig Sally on 8 December. She captured sloop Defiance and schooner Success on 9 December. She captured brig Minerva on 19 December. She captured schooner Happy Return on 22 December 1777. On 28 February 1778, she captured sloop Abigale 5 leagues east northeast of the Tiburon Peninsula. On 9 March 1778, she captured schooner Nancy 6 leagues off Mayaguana, Bahamas. She captured sloop Lucy on 12 March off the south east end of Mayaguana. She captured a prize in April 1778, but it sprang a leak and sank.