The ship was originally owned by John Hancock. In 1768, British authorities were informed that Bostonians had locked a Bostons customs official in the
Libertys cabin while the cargo of
Madeira wine was unloaded in an effort to evade the
Townshend Acts. In response, the authorities confiscated
Liberty, and she was towed away by
HMS Halifax. Charges against Hancock were eventually dropped, but
Liberty remained confiscated. The ship was refitted in Rhode Island to serve as a Royal Navy ship named HMS
Liberty and then used to patrol off
Rhode Island for customs violations. On 19 July 1769, the crew of
Liberty under Captain William Reid accosted Joseph Packwood, a New London captain, and seized and towed two
Connecticut ships into Newport. In retribution, Packwood and a mob of Rhode Islanders confronted Reid, then boarded, scuttled, and later burned the ship on the north end of
Goat Island in Newport harbor as one of the first overt American acts of defiance against
the Crown. ==See also==