John Barry (naval officer)

John Barry (March 25, 1745 – September 13, 1803) was an Irish-born American naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War and in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War. He has been credited by some as "The Father of the American Navy", sharing that moniker with John Paul Jones and John Adams, and was appointed as a captain in the Continental Navy on December 7, 1775.[1][2] Barry was the first captain placed in command of an American warship commissioned for service under the Continental flag.[3] After the Revolutionary War, he became the first commissioned American naval officer, at the rank of commodore, receiving his commission from President George Washington in 1797.

John Barry
A 1972 repaint by V. Zveg of an 1801 portrait by Gilbert Stuart
Born(1745-03-25)March 25, 1745
Tacumshane, County Wexford, Ireland
DiedSeptember 13, 1803(1803-09-13) (aged 58)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Buried
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branch
Years of service1775–1783, 1797–1803
RankCommodore
Battles/warsAmerican Revolutionary War

Early life and education

Barry was born on March 25, 1745, in Ballysampson,[4][5] Tacumshane, County Wexford, Ireland to a Catholic family.[6] When Barry's family was evicted from their home by their Anglo-Irish landlord, they moved to Rosslare on the coast, where his uncle worked a fishing skiff. As a young man, Barry determined upon a life as a seaman, and he started out as a cabin boy.[7] Being raised in the Barony Forth, his first language was Yola, as that was the only language used for daily communication at that time in the area.[8]

Career

Barry received his first captain's commission in the Continental Navy on March 14, 1776, signed by John Hancock, president of the Second Continental Congress. Barry was a religious man and began each day at sea with a reading from the Bible. He had great regard for his crew and their well-being and always made sure they were properly provisioned while at sea.[9]

During his naval career Barry commanded the U.S. warships Delaware, Lexington, Raleigh, Alliance and United States.

Command of Lexington

Captain Barry was given command of USS Lexington, of 14 guns, on December 7, 1775. It was the first commission issued by the Continental Congress.[10] 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, and after a desperate fight of one hour and twenty minutes captured her and brought her into Philadelphia.[11]

On June 28, Pennsylvania's brig Nancy arrived in the area with 386 barrels of powder in her hold and ran aground while attempting to elude British blockader Kingfisher. Barry ordered the precious powder rowed ashore during the night, leaving only 100 barrels in Nancy at dawn. A delayed action fuse was left inside the brig, which exploded the powder just as a boatload of British seamen boarded Nancy.[12] This engagement became known as the Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet.[13]

Barry retained command of Lexington until October 18, 1776, and captured several private armed vessels during that time.[14]

Command of Delaware

In 1777, Barry commanded the ship USS Delaware, a brig sailing under a letter of marque and capturing British vessels in the Delaware River.[15]

Command of Raleigh

In 1778, Barry assumed command of USS Raleigh, capturing three prizes before being run aground in action on September 27, 1778. Her crew scuttled her, but she was raised by the British, who refloated her for further use in the Royal Navy.[16]

Barry authored a signal book published in 1780 to improve communications at sea among vessels traveling in formation.[17]

Command of Alliance

He was seriously wounded on May 29, 1781, while in command of Alliance during her capture of HMS Atalanta and Trepassey.[18]

He and his crew of the USS Alliance fought and won the final naval battle of the American Revolution 140 miles (230 km) south of Cape Canaveral on March 10, 1783.[19]

Barry was successful in suppressing three mutinies during his career as an officer in the Continental Navy.[20]

Commodore commission
Barry receiving commodore commission from Washington

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.[21]

Command of United States

Appointed senior captain upon the establishment of the U.S. Navy, he commanded the frigate United States in the Quasi-War with France. This ship transported commissioners William Richardson Davie and Oliver Ellsworth to France to negotiate a new Franco-American alliance.[22]

Barry's last day of active duty was March 6, 1801, when he brought USS United States into port, but he remained head of the Navy until his death on September 13, 1803, from asthma. Barry died childless.[23]

Later life and death
Coat of Arms of John Barry

Barry died at Strawberry Hill, in present-day Philadelphia on September 13, 1803, and was buried in the graveyard of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church.

The executors of his estate were his wife Sarah, his nephew Patrick Hayes and his friend John Leamy.[24]

Personal life

On October 24, 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.[25] 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.

Commemorations
The Commodore John Barry statue by John Boyle has been exhibited in Washington, D.C.'s Franklin Square since 1914
  • The U.S. Revenue Cutter Commodore Barry, captured off Maine in the War of 1812
  • Commodore Barry Park in Brooklyn, New York. It is the oldest park in the borough. It was renamed for Commodore Barry in 1951, due to its location next to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, which Barry helped found.
  • A large statue of Barry stands directly in front of the formal entrance to Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  • Four U.S. Navy ships
  • In World War II, the United States liberty ship SS John Barry was named in his honor.
  • There is a large portrait of Commodore Barry at the Rhode Island State House in Providence; and Title 16 of the Rhode Island Statutes (§ 16-20-3 – Days of special observance) requires observing September 13 as Commodore John Barry Day.
  • A statue of Barry overlooks the Crescent Quay in Wexford town in Ireland. It was a gift to the town from the United States and was delivered by a United States Navy destroyer, USS John R. Pierce (DD-753). The statue was unveiled in 1956, and each year a parade and wreath-laying ceremony takes place at the statue to celebrate "Barry Day", commemorated by the Irish Naval Service and the Minister for Defence.
  • A statue of Barry by Eugene Kormendi is placed in the west court of Dillon Hall at the University of Notre Dame.[26]
  • Commodore Barry Bridge, which crosses the Delaware River from Chester, Pennsylvania to Bridgeport, New Jersey.
  • John Barry Hall at Villanova University, hosting University ROTC programs
  • Commodore Barry Club (Philadelphia Irish Center) Emlen Street and Carpenter Lane, Mount Airy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Barry Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania
  • Commodore John Barry Elementary School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Commodore John Barry Elementary School in Chicago, Illinois
  • Commodore John Barry Division of Ancient Order of Hibernians, Annapolis, Maryland
  • Commodore John Barry Division of Ancient Order of Hibernians, National Park, New Jersey
  • Commodore John Barry Division of Ancient Order of Hibernians, Syracuse, New York
  • John Barry Bar, Grand Hyatt Muscat, Muscat, Oman
  • September 13, Commodore John Barry Day in New Jersey public schools
  • Commodore John Barry Memorial Plaque at Staten Island Borough Hall
  • A new plaque with a cannon was dedicated on March 10, 2007, in Port Canaveral.
  • A plaque stands in the city of Boston on Boston Common.
  • A plaque commemorating Barry and his crew of the Alliance for the final naval battle of the American Revolution is located at Jetty Park in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
  • A stone plaque commemorating his grave site is located at Old St. Mary's Church in Philadelphia, PA.
  • A six-foot bronze statue of Commodore John Barry stands in Franklin Square (between I and K streets on 14th St. N.W.) in Washington, D.C.
  • Barry Hall is one of six military barracks facilities at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in commemoration of him.
  • The visitor entrance to the United States Naval Academy, from Downtown Annapolis to the Visitor's Center, commemorates Commodore John Barry. Inside the entrance is a monument to Commodore Barry with a plaque with an image of his commission, Number 1 in the United States Navy. Both the gate and the monument were erected by the Ancient Order of Hibernians [27][28]
  • Commodore Barry
    Plaque and Bust of Commodore Barry at Rickover Hall, USNA
    There is a plaque and bust commemorating Commodore Barry on the main floor in the Rickover Hall classroom building at the United States Naval Academy.

See also

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from Captain John Barry. Naval History and Heritage Command.

Footnotes
  1. "John Adams I (Frigate) 1799–1867". USA.gov. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  2. Williams, 2008 p. 5
  3. Meany 1911, p. 1.
  4. FUSIO. "BALLYSAMPSON, County Wexford". Buildings of Ireland. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  5. Congress, United States (1967). Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  6. Blessing, Patrick J. (1980). "Irish". In Thernstrom, Stephan (ed.). Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. p. 527. ISBN 978-0674375123.
  7. Fredriksen, John C. (2006). Revolutionary War Almanac. Infobase Publishing. p. 268. ISBN 9780816074686.
  8. Griffin, Martin I. J. (Martin Ignatius Joseph) (1902). Commodore John Barry, "the father of the American navy"; the record of his services for our country . Harvard University. Philadelphia, The author.
  9. Williams, 2008 p. 73
  10. Williams, 2008 p. 72
  11. Meany 1911, pp. 10–11.
  12. "Lexington". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command.
  13. "The Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet". Wildwood Crest Historical Society. Archived from the original on March 21, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  14. Ignatius, Griffin, 1897 p. 16
  15. Meany 1911, p. 22.
  16. Ignatius, Griffin, 1897 pp. 42–44
  17. Woods, D. & Sterling, C. Signaling and communicating at sea. Arno Press, 1980. p. 195
  18. Ignatius, Griffin, 1903 pp. 137–141
  19. Brotemarkle, Ben (November 15, 2017). "Revising Cape Canaveral history mean giving up some lore". Florida Today. Melbourne, Florida. pp. 14A.
  20. "Alliance". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command.
  21. Specifically issued by a Joint Congressional Resolution and proclaimed by President George W. Bush on December 22, 2006.
  22. Joseph, 1933 pp. 274–275
  23. Meany 1911, pp. 56–57.
  24. "Will of Commodore John Barry". American Catholic Historical Researches. 12 (2): 157–158. October 1895. JSTOR 44373894.
  25. Ignatius, Griffin, 1897 pp. 6, 40
  26. Archives, Notre Dame (June 17, 2011). "Campus Statue Project". Notre Dame Archives News & Notes. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  27. Carswell, Simon. "Reputation of Wexford-born founding father of US navy buoyed". The Irish Times. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  28. "High time to meet at the Barry Gate". Irish Echo. July 7, 2011. Retrieved November 30, 2019.

Bibliography

Further reading
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