Hopkins, Esek (1718-1802), an American sea captain, commanded the tiny continental Navy from 1775 to 1778. In 1776, his fleet captured the British fort at New Providence in the Bahamas, and took several British warships at Block Island. But Hopkins found it impossible to equip his ships properly. The Continental Congress condemned him for his failures and dismissed him from the naval service in 1778. Hopkins was born in Scituate, Rhode Island.
