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Did You Know? - America Begins to Rule the Seas — The Esek Hopkins Story · Voices Of Life

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  This is Voices of Life. Did you know? Episode.
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  A continuing journey through the stories that
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  shaped America's identity. And the people whose
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  courage carried this nation forward. In our last
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  episode, we explored how America began to rule
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  the seas. A look at the early naval spirit that
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  rose long before the United States Navy was formally
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  born today. We continue that story because behind
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  that first spark of American sea power stood
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  one man at the center of it all. A commander
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  both celebrated and criticized, a sailor forged
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  by decades on the ocean, a leader chosen to guide
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  a navy that barely existed. His name was Essek
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  Hopkins, the first commander -in -chief of the
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  Continental Navy. And his legacy is as bold as
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  it is complicated. To guide us through this chapter
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  of America's earliest naval history, your host
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  returns. A voice of clarity, conviction, and
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  faith -anchored perspective. Pastor David. Thank
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  you for joining us on Voices of Life, a ministry
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  of the Church for Life. I'm Pastor David. America
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  begins to rule the seas. The Essex Hopkins story.
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  America's rise on the seas did not begin with
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  mighty warships, global bases, or seasoned admirals.
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  It began with eight converted merchant vessels,
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  a handful of marines, and one controversial commander
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  named Essex Hopkins. He was bold, he was experienced,
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  he was politically connected. And he was chosen
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  to lead a navy that barely existed. He was the
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  only commander -in -chief of the Continental
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  Navy. Hopkins was born in Situate, Rhode Island
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  in 1718. He went to sea at 20 and spent decades
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  as a merchant captain. He was an international
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  trader, privateer, and militia commander. By
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  the time Congress needed a navy, Hopkins had
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  sailed to nearly every corner of the world. His
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  experience made him one of the most qualified
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  seamen available, and his family connections
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  made him one of the most politically supported.
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  His younger brother, Stephen Hopkins, was a governor
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  of Rhode Island and a member of the Marine Committee
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  overseeing the naval affairs. Many believed Stephen's
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  influence helped secure Esick's appointment.
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  On December 22, 1775, Congress appointed Hopkins
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  Commander -in -Chief of the Continental Navy.
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  He was placed in command of eight ships. The
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  ships were the Alfred, Columbus, Andrew Doria,
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  Cabot, Providence, Hornet, Fly, and Wasp. I know
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  some of those names sound very familiar to some
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  of the U .S. Navy warships in World War II. This
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  was America's first naval fleet, a squadron built
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  from merchant vessels and manned by inexperienced
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  crews. Hopkins was tasked with turning this fragile
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  force into a weapon capable of challenging the
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  greatest navy on earth. Congress instructed Hopkins
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  to attack British forces along the southern coast,
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  protect American commerce, and intercept supply
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  ships. But they also gave him broad discretionary
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  authority if circumstances required a change
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  in mission. Hopkins used that discretion boldly
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  and controversially. Instead of sailing south,
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  he turned toward Nassau in the Bahamas, where
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  intelligence suggested the British stored gunpowder
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  and cannon. Washington's army desperately needed
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  both. In March 1776, Hopkins led America's first
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  naval expedition. Continental Marines landed
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  in Nassau, captured force, seized military supplies,
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  and returned home with valuable cannon and ammunition.
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  This operation became America's first naval expedition.
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  It also was America's first amphibious assault
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  and America's first overseas military operation.
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  Even though much of the gunpowder had been moved
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  before the Americans arrived, the captured equipment
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  proved vital to the revolutionary cause. On the
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  return voyage, Hopkins encountered the British
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  warship HMS Glasgow. Despite being outnumbered,
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  the Glasgow inflicted heavy damage and escaped.
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  Members of Congress were furious. They criticized
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  Hopkins for poor coordination. unnecessary casualties,
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  and failing to capture the enemy ship. This battle
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  became one of the major complaints against his
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  leadership. Congress began investigating Hopkins
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  for disobeying orders, inactivity after the NASA
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  raid, favoritism, disciplinary issues, and strategic
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  disagreements. He was censured in August 1776.
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  suspended in March 1777 and dismissed on January
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  2nd, 1778. America's first naval commanders serving
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  barely two years before being removed from office.
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  Modern historians also examine Hopkins' involvement
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  in the Atlantic slave trade. In 1764, he commanded
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  the slave ship Sally, a voyage in which more
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  than half of the enslaved Africans died. This
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  tragedy has become a significant part of his
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  modern legacy, leading to renaming of institutions
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  that once bore his name. This is where, today,
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  many people apply today's values to something
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  that happened several hundred years ago. You
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  cannot even pretend to know what life was back
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  then or what the standards of life for everybody
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  was. And while we believe that slavery is a sin
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  and it never should have happened, it was a fact
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  of life that had been going on for over a thousand
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  years. But Hopkins is remembered as both a pioneer
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  and paradox. His achievements were first commander
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  -in -chief of the Continental Navy, led America's
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  first naval expedition, conducted America's first
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  amphibious assault, and captured critical military
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  supplies. His failures? disobeyed congressional
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  directives demonstrated leaders shortcoming and
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  he lost political support so he failed to be
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  able to develop the navy into an effective fighting
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  force historians often describe him as an excellent
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  sailor and privateer but an imperfect fleet commander
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  facing impossible circumstances have to remember
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  as he was the first naval commander -in -chief
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  There was nobody to compare him to except the
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  very experienced British officers that were in
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  the Admiralty and in the British service. Not
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  quite a fair matchup, if you ask me. But before
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  the U .S. Navy, patriots had found an empire,
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  and from their courage, America began to rule
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  the seas. Isaac Hopkins is one of the most important
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  and controversial figures. in early American
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  naval history. And his contributions definitely
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  led to the United States becoming a nation of
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  power, a nation of will, and a nation of providence.
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  Thank you for listening to this special Did You
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  Know? Voices of Life episode. I'm Pastor David.
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  We'll see you next time. This concludes our companion
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  episode on Essex Hopkins. The first commander,
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  in chief of the Continental Navy. A man whose
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  legacy helped shape the earliest identity of
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  American sea power. In our previous episode,
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  we explored how America begins to rule the seas.
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  A story of courage, ambition, and the first sparks
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  of naval tradition. Today. We stepped deeper,
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  into the life of the commander who led that first
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  fleet and the triumphs and controversies that
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  followed him across the waves. Hopkins' story
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  reminds us that the birth of American naval strength
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  was not simple, not perfect, and not without
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  struggle. But it was real, and it was bold, and
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  it helped set the course for a nation learning
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  to stand on its own. Thank you. for joining us
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  on this journey through early American history.
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  Your host, Pastor David, will return with more
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  stories that illuminate the courage, the conviction,
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  and the faith that shaped the American spirit.
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  This has been Voices of Life. And as always,
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  we honor the past. We learn from its truth. And
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  we carry its lessons forward.