On this day 250 years ago in Charles Town, the South Carolina Council of Safety armed the sloop Commerce as the first ship of the South Carolina Navy and commissioned Clement Lempriere as its captain. His initial orders were “to procure Gunpowder for the Public of this Colony” and included “sealed . . . Orders not to be opened, until he shall be arrived in Sight of the Island of New Providence” in the Bahamas.

Source: https://navydocs.org/node/1781