access to drinking water was important, as water from many of the rivers was stagnant and not safe for drinking. theonly maybe dockyards in area were at halifax, nova scotia, 700 miles to the or, or the english harbor of antigua 400 miles to the south. before the outbreak of hostilities -- before the outbreak of hostilities, royal navies in the chesapeake could avail themselves of plentiful local sources of food and water. norfolk had a population of six and 6000 people and was home to -- 606,000 people. more than 3000 of those people signed loyalty oath to the british government. the local citizenry would deliver to the fleet at their peril. john shaw was attacked and nearly tarred and feathered by a rebel mob. the navy would get a few provisions from the region after that. the seven small ships the ploy by dunmore -- deployed by dunmore were the ships called for by colyer and his colleagues. they ranged inside from the little schooner hms magdalen to the 44 guns. the otter, also 14 guns, was one of the most active ships. her design called for a complement of 125 men, including ships crew and her marin