On this day 250 years ago, the 14-gun sloop HMS Otter anchored in the Hampton River to bombard the town while the HMS Hawke and three other tenders, shallow draft vessels, carried landing parties with orders to burn the Town of Hampton. Fifty members of the Culpeper Minute Battalion, led by Col. William Woodford and Capt. Abraham Buford rode in from Williamsburg early in the morning to reinforce the companies of the 2nd Virginia Regiment, Gloucester Minute Battalion and Hampton Militia defending the town. The Virginians prevented the tenders from entering the harbor, capturing the Hawke, killing three or more crewmen of the British ships, wounding the Lieutenant commanding the Hawke and others, and capturing six. This attack resulted in the first British or Loyalist combat casualties in Virginia.
Sources: https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/the-battle-of-hampton-october-26-27-1775/;
Also on this day in London, Lord North’s Cabinet expanded on King George III’s proclamation at the opening of Parliament that the rebellion was being fomented by a “desperate conspiracy” to create an “independent empire”. The speech indicated that King George intended to deal with the crisis with armed force and was considering “friendly offers of foreign assistance” to suppress the rebellion.
On This Day In The Revolution 