15 Facts About Esek Hopkins

Commodore Esek Hopkins was a Continental Navy officer and privateer.

Esek Hopkins was born in Scituate, in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, into one of the most prominent families of what is today's Rhode Island.

Esek Hopkins had no prior experience in operating a slave-trading vessel at the time, and the 15-month voyage would result in the death of 109 out of 196 slaves.

Esek Hopkins immediately began to strengthen Rhode Island's defenses with the help of his deputy, William West.

Esek Hopkins took command of eight small merchant ships that had been altered as men-of-war at Philadelphia.

Esek Hopkins felt that it would be much more advantageous to seize a prize for the Continental Army than take a chance of destroying the Continental Navy in its infancy.

Esek Hopkins knew that the British port in Nassau would be poorly guarded and had friends there who would help his cause.

Many sources say it would have been better if Esek Hopkins was relieved of his command after the censure, rather than resume his command with a disgraced reputation and a loss of respect from his officers.

Substantiating this, John Paul Jones, who had been a lieutenant directly under Esek Hopkins, gained great respect while continuing this same type of naval warfare against the much larger Royal Navy.

In spite of his Congressional dismissal, Esek Hopkins was highly respected in Rhode Island and continued to serve the Rhode Island General Assembly through 1786, then retired to his farm where he died February 26,1802.

Esek Hopkins adopted, and helped to popularize, the "Gadsden flag" that depicts a Timber rattlesnake with 13 rattles representing the 13 Colonies with the phrase "Don't Tread on Me" on a Yellow background.

Esek Hopkins adopted the banner as his personal flag and flew it from the mainmast of his flagship USS Alfred while he was aboard.

Esek Hopkins belonged to a prosperous family of Newport, thus increasing his influence in Rhode Island.

Esek Hopkins was the brother of Rhode Island governor Stephen Esek Hopkins, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and first Brown chancellor in conjunction with the tenure of president James Manning.

Esek Hopkins was buried in the North Burial Ground of Providence, Rhode Island.