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Mark
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for reference — another must read
Might I propose a third? Benedict Arnold [Valcour Island].
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Most of the US effort on sea during the Revolutionary War was by privateers. When the Continental Navy had 5 ships, there were over 1000 privateers, creating great damage to British shipping. They also suffered very significant casualties. Many of the survivors, and their financiers did very well, notably the Brown family of Rhode Island.
John Barry (March 25, 1745 – September 13, 1803) was an officer in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War and later in the United States Navy. He is often credited as "The Father of the American Navy". Barry was born in Tacumshane, County Wexford, Ireland and appointed a Captain in the Continental Navy on December 7, 1775.
On October 31, 1768, Barry married Mary Cleary, who died in 1774. On July 7, 1777, he married Sarah Austin, daughter of Samuel Austin and Sarah Keen of New Jersey. Barry had no children, but he helped raise Patrick and Michael Hayes, children of his sister, Eleanor, and her husband, Thomas Hayes, who both died in the 1780s.
Barry died at Strawberry Hill, in present-day Philadelphia on September 13, 1803, and was buried in the graveyard of Old St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Center City, Philadelphia.
On the first list of Rank, Barry was not on it. Fortunately the Navy found more ships and posted a new list in which Barry was 7th out of 24. He commanded the Lexington, Raleigh, and Alliance. He and his crew of the Alliance fought and won the final naval battle of the American Revolution off the coast of Cape Canaveral on March 10, 1783. He was seriously wounded on May 29, 1781, while in command of Alliance during her capture of HMS Atalanta and Trepassey. Barry was successful in suppressing three mutinies during his career as an officer in the Continental Navy.
Captain Barry was given command of Lexington, of 14 guns, on December 7, 1775. The Lexington sailed March 31, 1776. On April 7, 1776, off the Capes of Virginia, he fell in with the Edward, tender to the British man-of-war HMS Liverpool (1758), and after a desperate fight of one hour and twenty minutes captured her and brought her into Philadelphia. Barry continued in command of Lexington until October 18, 1776, and captured several private armed vessels during that time.
John Barry was once offered $100,000 British pounds and command of any Frigate in the entire British navy if he would desert the American Navy. Outraged at the offer, Captain Barry responded that not all the money in the British treasury or command of its entire fleet could tempt him to desert his adopted country.[1]
He was still in command of the Alliance when it participated in the last battle of the Revolutionary War.[2]
Appointed senior captain upon the establishment of the U.S. Navy, he commanded the frigate United States in the Quasi-War with France. Barry authored a Signal Book published in 1780 to improve communications at sea among vessels traveling in formation.[3]
On February 22, 1797, he was issued Commission Number 1 by President George Washington, backdated to June 4, 1794. His title was thereafter "Commodore." He is recognized as not only the first American commissioned naval officer but also as its first flag officer.[4]
Barry's last day of active duty was March 6, 1801, when he brought the USS United States into port, but he remained head of the Navy until his death on September 12, 1803, from asthma.
Commemorations:
Statues:
Barry and John Paul Jones on a U.S. postage stamp
There is also a historical marker and cannon monument at the Port Authority Admin building at Port Canaveral, commemorating the Last Naval Battle of the American Revolution. Then Capt. John Barry sailed the Continental Navy ship Alliance to victory, saving the transport ship that Barry was escorting to Philadelphia with specie for the empty Treasury coffers (some things never change). The battle occurred 3/4 mile offshore of Canaveral on March 10, 1783. An annual re-dedication ceremony is held on the first Saturday in March at the Port, 10 AM.
has there ever been a naval ship named after this guy or john paul jones?
There’s another guy made to look older than he could’ve been in the war.
"John Barry" Author: Tim McGrath Westholme Publishing, 904 Edgewood Road, Yardley, PA 19067
The man regarded as “the Father of the American Navy” returns to the quarterdeck in John Barry: An American Hero in the Age of Sail, the first comprehensive biography of this legendary officer in generations. Son of a hardscrabble Irish farmer from County Wexford, Barry was sent to sea as a child, arriving in Philadelphia during the restless decade before the American Revolution. Brave and ambitious, he ascended the ratlines to become a successful merchant captain at a young age, commanding the most prestigious ship in the colonies and recording the fastest known day of sail in the century.
Volunteering to fight for the Continental cause, Barry saw his star rise during the War for Independence. As captain of the Lexington, Raleigh, and Alliance, Barry faced down broadsides, mutinies, and even a fleet of icebergs. He captured the first enemy warship taken by a Continental vessel and fought the last battle of the American Revolution. His hard-won victory over two British warships simultaneously garnered him international notoriety, while his skill as a seafarer and cool temper established Barry as a worthy foe among British captains. Without a ship during the winter of 1776-77, the ever resourceful Barry lead a battery of naval artillery at the battle of Princeton. With peace came a historic voyage to China, where Barry helped open trade with that reclusive empire. In 1794, President Washington named Barry as the first commissioned officer in the new United States Navy. Given the title of commodore, Barry ended his career during America’s naval war with France, teaching the ropes to a new generation of officers, most notably Stephen Decatur.
Tim McGrath is an executive who lives outside of Philadelphia. An avid sailor, he has been published in Naval History magazine.
