Personal Facts
- Born: John Barry was born in County Wexford, Ireland, on March 25, 1745.
- Parents: John Barry and Catherine Barry.
- Spouse: Mary Cleary (1767), Sarah Austin (1777).
- Died: September 13, 1803, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at Strawberry Mansion, at 58 years old.
- Buried: St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, Philadelphia.
Signfiicance
John Barry is important to American History because he is considered one of the “Founding Fathers of the U.S. Navy.” He contributed to American naval success during the Revolutionary War and helped establish the naval traditions of the new nation. He continued to serve through the Quasi-War. In 2005, Congress recognized him as the First Flag Officer of the Navy.
History
Early Life
- John Barry was born in County Wexford, Ireland, in 1745.
- He went to sea at a young age.
- Barry moved to Philadelphia around 1760.
- Barry was Roman Catholic and worked as a Captain on merchant vessels.
- He took command of his first ship, the Barbadoes, when he was 21. It was owned by merchant Edward Denny.
- In 1770, Barry and two partners bought a ship and called it Industry.
- Barry took over the Peggy in 1772, a ship owned by Reese Meredith, whose partner was George Clymer, a future Founding Father.
- Over the next decade, he became a successful shipmaster and merchant, trading in the West Indies.
Robert Morris
Barry had strong connections with merchant Robert Morris.
- In March 1774, merchant Robert Morris requested a meeting with Barry.
- Morris hired Barry to work for him as Captain of a ship, which was eventually called the Black Prince.
Barry commanded the Peggy on one more voyage, which took place after Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts. On June 1, Barry flew the Peggy’s flag at half-mast to show his support for Boston.
- AHC Note — June 1, 1774, was the day the Boston Port Act went into effect. Many cities, including Philadelphia, observed it with a “day of mourning.”
Continental Navy
The Second Continental Congress purchased a ship, Katy, from Rhode Island merchant John Brown on October 13, 1775. It was intended to be the first ship in the new Continental Navy, which was officially established on October 30. British Operations in Narragansett Bay during the Siege of Boston and along the East Coast pushed Congress to establish a Navy.
- Berry oversaw the outfitting of the Continental Navy’s first warships in November and December of 1775.
- In January 1776, he oversaw the construction of the Montgomery.
Command of the Lexington
On March 14, 1776, Congress gave Berry command of the 14-gun Lexington.
- On April 17, 1776, he captured the British sloop Edward and towed it to Philadelphia.
- This marked the first time an officer in the Continental Navy engaged the enemy and the first time a ship in the Continental Navy captured a British ship.
- Barry gained more victories in 1776, capturing two more British ships and repelling an attack off Cape May.
Command of the Effingham
Barry was given command of the Effingham, a new 32-gun ship, which launched on October 31, 1776. However, due to shortages of men and supplies, he was unable to take the ship out to sea.
When General George Washington and his army retreated across New Jersey in 1776, British forces followed, and there were fears they could attack Philadelphia. Barry found enough men for the Effingham, mounted guns, and moved into position to protect the city.
- AHC Note — After British forces captured Fort Lee on November 20, 1776, General Washington and his army were forced to retreat through New Jersey and take refuge in Pennsylvania. It was a low point for Washington and the Continental Army, but it set the stage for the incredible Crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas Night.
Battles of Trenton and Princeton
- Barry removed cannons from the Effingham so they could be used by artillery units for the Battle of Trenton (December 25, 1776) and the Battle of Princeton (January 3, 1777).
- He also showed his flexibility as a soldier by serving as an aide-de-camp to General John Cadwalader during the New Jersey Campaign. He participated in the American victory at Princeton.
British Occupation of Philadelphia
British forces captured Philadelphia during the Philadelphia Campaign (1777–1778). Barry led the American naval effort on the Delaware River to disrupt British supply ships.
- Barry anchored the Effingham off Bordentown, New Jersey, above Philadelphia.
- The British Navy, led by Admiral Richard Howe, kept Barry from escaping.
- He was forced to scuttle and burn the ship on November 2, 1777, to prevent its capture.
- Afterward, he organized a small naval force from barges that operated on the river, harassing British supply lines and transporting American soldiers in February and March 1778.
Command of the Raleigh
In May 1778, Barry was ordered to go to Boston and take command of the 32-gun Raleigh, which ended in disaster. The ship sailed out of Boston Harbor on May 25, 1778.
- Barry was pursued by two British warships, which attacked the Raleigh.
- On May 28, he was forced to run the ship aground near Penobscot Bay, hoping to keep the British from seizing it.
- Barry and most of his men escaped, but the British were able to recover the Raleigh, which was refurbished and placed in service of the Royal Navy.
Furlough
Following the loss of the Raleigh, Barry was without a ship, and Congress had no ship to give him. Because of this, he went on furlough until January 1779.
- In October 1779, he briefly took command of the 74-gun America.
- The ship was still under construction at Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
- Barry was unhappy with the assignment and returned to furlough.
Command of the Alliance
Barry was recalled to active duty in July 1780 and given command of the 36-gun Alliance, which was recognized as one of the best ships in the Continental Navy. He commanded the Alliance for the remainder of the war.
- Barry captured many British ships while commanding the Alliance.
- He transported American diplomats to and from France, including the Marquis de Lafayette in 1781.
- Berry carried supplies and money from Europe back to America.
- He was forced to put down at least two mutinies by his men.
On May 28, 1781, Barry and the Alliance engaged two British ships, Atalanta and Trepassy. Barry was overmatched and seriously wounded during the battle but refused to retreat. The Alliance successfully captured both ships after a favorable wind helped Barry gain a tactical advantage.
Alliance-Sybil Engagement
Barry and the Alliance fought the last significant naval battle of the war on March 10, 1783, when they engaged the HMS Sybil.
- The Alliance was returning from a mission to France and docked in Havana, Cuba.
- The 20-gun Duc de Lauzun joined the Alliance for the trip back to the United States.
- The Duc de Lauzun was carrying specie (hard money), which was heavy and slowed it down.
- The ships were off the coast of Florida when three British ships approached them.
- Barry signaled for the Duc de Lauzun to throw its guns overboard to lighten its load. However, the British ships remained in pursuit.
- When a French warship arrived, two of the British ships ended their pursuit, while the third, the Sybil, continued.
- Barry moved the Alliance into position to defend the Duc de Lauzun and opened fire on the Sybil.
- After 45 minutes, the Sybil had suffered heavy damage and broke off the attack.
With this victory, Barry earned the distinction of fighting in the Continental Navy’s first and last battle of the American Revolutionary War.
- Barry arrived at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on March 20, where he learned about the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1783).
- Congress sold the Alliance at an auction in August 1785.
Post-War Service
- Barry was an advocate for seamen’s rights after the American Revolution.
- He returned to his business as a merchant and completed a voyage to China in 1789.
Return to the U.S. Navy
- In 1794, Barry volunteered to serve in the reestablished U.S. Navy.
- President George Washington appointed him as the first Captain of the Navy in 1797.
- On February 2, 1797, President Washington gave Barry “Commission Number One,” which was backdated to June 7, 1794.
- Barry oversaw the construction of ships to be used against the Barbary Pirates.
Quasi-War with France
During the Quasi-War (1798–1800), Barry was promoted to the rank of Commodore and commanded the 44-gun United States. He captured the Privateer L’Amour de La Patrie near Martinique and oversaw naval operations in the West Indies until 1801.
- Barry was overshadowed by Thomas Truxton, who earned significant victories over French ships during the war.
- Barry was criticized for his lack of success, which contributed to his retirement.
Death and Legacy
- Barry died in Philadelphia on September 13, 1803.
- Many scholars consider him, along with John Paul Jones, one of the most significant figures in the development of the U.S. Navy.
Biography
AHC Note — This biography of John Barry is from the Dictionary of American Biography, Vol. I, edited by Allen Johnson and published by the American Council of Learned Societies in 1945. Minor text corrections have been made.
BARRY, JOHN (1745–Sept. 13. 1803), naval officer, was born at Tacumshane, County Wexford, Ireland, the son of Catherine Barry and John Barry, a clerk in a malt-house. He went to sea in early youth and about the year 1760 settled at Philadelphia, where he became a well-to-do shipmaster and owner.
Enthusiastically espousing the cause of the Colonies at the outbreak of the Revolution, he offered his services to the Continental Congress, and was placed in command, independently of Commodore Hopkins’s squadron, of the brig Lexington, in which, on Apr. 17, 1770, he took the British tender Edward, which was the first capture in actual battle of a British war-ship by a regularly commissioned American cruiser.
By a resolution passed by the Congress on Oct. 10, 1776, Barry was placed seventh on the list of captains, and was soon after given command of the Effingham, 32 guns; but the occupation of Philadelphia by the British in 1777 and the presence of an overwhelming enemy force in the Delaware prevented this vessel from going to sea.
This, however, did not condemn the enterprising commander to idleness, and during this year, he performed a handsome exploit in the lower Delaware. With four small boats, he cut out an armed British schooner without the loss of a man, at the same time capturing a number of transports and a large quantity of supplies destined for the British army, receiving the personal congratulations of Washington on his “gallantry and address.”.
He then volunteered for service with the American army and took part in the Trenton campaign with distinction.
In 1778, his vessel, the Effingham, against his will, was burnt to prevent her falling into the enemy’s hands. He then obtained command of the Raleigh, 32 guns, and in her fought a gallant and obstinate battle against superior forces, finally being obliged to beach his ship, but saving most of his crew from capture.
In 1781, in command of the Alliance, 32 guns, having taken many valuable prizes, he attacked and captured after an obstinate fight the British vessels Atalanta and Trepassy, being severely wounded in the action.
Later in the same year, he carried to France the Marquis de Lafayette and the Count de Noailles, and in 1782, while continuing his series of captures of enemy ships, he fought, in the Alliance, his last important battle, which he was obliged to break off on the appearance of powerful enemy reinforcements.
In 1794, when the depredations of the Algerine pirates had become insupportable, and Congress ordered the construction of six frigates, Barry was named senior captain and placed in command of the United Stales, 44 guns, being, as historian James Fenimore Cooper says “of all the naval captains that remained…the one who possessed the greatest reputation for experience, conduct, and skill.”
During the hostilities with France, after a somewhat unsatisfactory cruise to the West Indies (1798), Barry was placed in command of all the naval forces in those waters, remaining there until the beginning of May 1799.
In December of that year, he escorted to France the American envoys appointed to treat with the French Republic, and upon his return, took command of the Guadaloupe station in the West Indies, a position he retained until 1801.
He died two years later at the head of the navy. Cooper, an excellent judge, when mentioning “the naval names that have descended to us, from this war [the Revolution], with the greatest reputation,” places Barry second only to John Paul Jones, and says, “Commodore Barry, as an officer and a man, ranked very high.”
Accomplishments and Milestones
- 1745, March 25 — John Barry was born in County Wexford, Ireland.
- 1760 — He moved to Philadelphia.
- 1775, November–December — Barry supported American independence and supervised the construction of ships for the Continental Navy.
- 1776, March — He was given command of the Lexington.
- 1776, April 17 — Barry commanded the Lexington and captured the HMS Edward. This is considered the first battle fought by the Continental Navy during the war.
- 1776, October 31 — He was given command of the Effingham.
- 1777, January 3 — Barry participated in the Battle of Princeton while serving as an aide-de-camp to General John Cadwalader.
- 1777–1778 — Barry commanded a squadron tasked with disrupting the delivery of supplies to the British during the Occupation of Philadelphia.
- 1778, May — He was given command of the Raleigh.
- 1780, July — Barry was given command of the Alliance.
- 1781 — Barry transported the Marquis de Lafayette to France.
- 1781, May 28 — The Alliance defeated two British ships.
- 1783, March 10 — Alliance fought the Sybil, in the Continental Navy’s last battle of the war.
- 1794 — Barry volunteered for the reestablished U.S. Navy.
- 1797, February 2 — He received “Commission Number One” from President George Washington.
- 1798–1800 — Barry served as Commodore during the Quasi-War with France.
- 1801 — He retired from the Navy.
- 1803, September 13 — Barry died at the age of 58.
