In Ship and Prison by William P. Chipman — Read

I come now to an incident about which I love to write. It was the Christmas present given Captain Tucker the following December (1777). This was the brand new frigate _Boston_. She was presented to him in Boston, and named for that town. She carried twenty-four guns and one hundred and seventy-five men, beside her company of marines, and in her equipment surpassed any other vessel in commission at that time.

But not only was the vessel given the Captain; he was also given the privilege of selecting all of his commissioned officers. It took him a month to complete the list. Our three lieutenants were Henry Phips, Hezekiah Welch and Benjamin Bates, ranking in the order they are named. We had five midshipmen, of whom I held the senior rank. The second was Thomas Blinn, who had been with us on the _Franklin_ and who was appointed to the new frigate at my request. The other three were new men to us, but gallant fellows who had given a good account of themselves on other vessels. They were William Day, Edward Eades, and Thomas LeMoyne.