engaging
Admiral Duff by
William Nowland Van Powell in Boston Williams was commissioned a captain in the
Massachusetts State Navy and received command of the
brig Hazard late in 1777. In the following year, he took her to sea in a fruitless search for British West Indiamen; but he and his ship eventually achieved success in 1779. While cruising in the
West Indies,
Hazard fell in with the
privateer brigantine
Active on 16 March. At the end of a "smart action" of 35-minutes' duration, "yard arm to yard arm,"
Active struck her colors and became ''Hazard's
prize, after having suffered 13 killed and 20 wounded out of her 95-man crew. Hazard'' sent the captured brigantine back to
Massachusetts under a prize crew and subsequently returned home in April, after taking several other prizes. In May,
Hazard returned to sea, this time in company with the
brig Tyrannicide. At 0830 on 15 June, the two ships fell in with two British ships and—after a short, sharp engagement—forced both vessels to strike their colors. Later that summer,
Hazard—like the rest of the Massachusetts Navy—took part in the ill-fated
Penobscot expedition, an operation which eventually cost the state's navy all of its commissioned vessels. Williams received command of the new 28-gun
frigate Protector in the spring of 1780 and took her to sea in June. In accordance with instructions from the
Board of War, the new warship cruised in the vicinity of the
Newfoundland Banks, on the lookout for British merchantmen. Her vigilance was rewarded early in June. At 0700 on 9 June 1780,
Protector spotted a strange ship bearing down on her, flying British colors. At 1100, the Continental
frigate, also flying British colors, hailed the stranger and found her to be the 32-gun
privateer Admiral Duff, bound for
London from
St. Kitts. When the enemy's identity had been ascertained,
Protector hauled down British colors and ran up the Continental flag—opening fire almost simultaneously. The action ensued for the next hour and one-half, until
Admiral Duff caught fire and exploded, leaving 55 survivors for Protector to rescue soon thereafter. Under the enabling legislation that authorized the Revenue-Marine, a
"System of Cutters", consisting of ten ships, were initially ordered and constructed. John Foster Williams was commissioned as a Revenue-Marine officer by President
George Washington 21 March 1791 and given oversight of construction of the cutter
Massachusetts which he later commanded. After
Massachusetts was determined to be too slow for her assigned tasks she was decommissioned and
Massachusetts II was constructed and commissioned in 1793; Williams was chosen as master. ==Later life and death==