Rev War Tales Foundering Off Newfoundland 1 October 1777, Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The Continental Navy ship Reprisal, commanded by Captain Lambert Wickes, founders in a storm, with the loss of nearly the entire crew. On or about 1 October 1777, the Continental brig Reprisal, under the command of Captain Lambert Wickes, was lost off the Banks of Newfoundland. The vessel had sailed from France on 14 September after a highly successful cruise against British shipping in European waters, during which Wickes’s squadron captured or destroyed nearly twenty prizes. Bound for home, Reprisal encountered a severe storm on the Grand Banks and foundered. Of all those aboard, only the ship’s cook survived. Wickes, one of the Continental Navy’s most capable early captains and the officer who had carried Benjamin Franklin to France the previous year, perished with his ship. The loss deprived the young American navy of both a proven commander and a valuable warship. #RevWar #History #AmRev #RevWarTales