| John Barry | |
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Portrait by Gilbert Stuart |
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| Born | March 25, 1745 Tacumshane, County Wexford, Ireland |
| Died | September 13, 1803 (aged 58) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Buried at | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | Continental Navy |
| Years of service | 1775–1803 |
| Rank | Commodore |
| Battles/wars | American Revolutionary War *Lexington vs HMS Edward *Alliance vs HMS Atalanta and Trepassey *Alliance vs Sybil |
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.
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On October 34, 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.
Barry's name does not appear on the first list of Rank. 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.
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A Compendium of Irish Biography article John Barry |
