In December of 1777, USS Raleigh was resupplied at L'Orient, France (along with Alfred) and continued down the African coast in search of more British prey. They captured an enemy vessel off the coast of Senegal before crossing the Atlantic to reach Caribbean waters and the Lesser Antilles. It was here that Alfred was taken as a prize by the British - Raleigh could do little but run and returned to American northeast shores for April 1778.
With new captain John Barry at the helm and refitted for additional service in the ongoing war, USS Raleigh was placed back into sailing action in September. The ship then engaged a pair of British warships sighted along the horizon after leaving for Portsmouth, Virginia. The British turn the tables and gave chase to Raleigh to which a short-ranged gun battle lasting hours erupted - nightfall forced the ships to break off the engagement for the interim. The enemy then resumed the battle which led to Raleigh's purposeful grounding along the shoreline. A majority of its crew fled into the woods to avoid capture while an attempt to burn the ship failed under intense enemy fire.
Following her abandonment, the British took control of Raleigh and awaited high tide in an effort to float her. This came on September 28th which allowed her to be repaired and reconstituted for service into the Royal Navy as HBMS Raleigh. She continued under this new guise throughout the remainder of the American Revolution and participated in the surrender of Charleston, South Carolina following a siege lasting from March 29th to May 12th, 1780. She then sailed for England where she was decommissioned on June 10th, 1781 at Portsmouth where her remnants were sold off during July of 1781 - bringing a formal end to her tenure on the seas.
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