ANNAPOLIS, May 8, 2014 — On February 22, 1797, John Barry
received commission number one in the United States Navy from
George Washington, backdated to 1794, recognizing his
outstanding contributions to the formation of this nation. He
was granted the rank of commodore, providing him the distinction
of being the first flag officer in the US Navy. And on May 10,
2014, Commodore John Barry will be honored at the U.S. Naval
Academy in Annapolis with a brand new memorial.
Born in County Wexford, Ireland, Barry and his family were forced to
leave the Emerald Isle to flee the oppressive rule of the British.
It was no wonder then, when the Colonists rose up against King
George III that the Irish sailor wanted in on the fight.
John Barry commanded many successful actions, secured many British
prizes, and ferried precious supplies to troops. His actions saw him
decorated and given repeated commands, including the position of
chief officer of the Navy until his death in 1803.
While the Commodore’s accomplishments speak for themselves, his
heroism and bravery unapproachable, the effort to secure his legacy
in US History, and more importantly Naval History was a daunting
task unto itself.
Several years ago, two members of the Washington, D.C. Ancient Order
of Hibernians set out to memorialize the memory of John Barry.
Veteran monument builders and feather rufflers, they sought to have
the memorial erected on the very grounds of the US Naval Academy. A
task which many said, and insisted, could not be done, and should
not be done.
It cannot be done, they said.
To John McInerney (left), and Jack O’Brien (right), “cannot be done”
was never the right answer.
With Irish tenacity, the two men set out to secure the Commodore’s
place in history once and for all. Along with the Ancient Order of
Hibernians, the largest Irish Catholic fraternal organization in the
US, and their chapters in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia, McInerney
and O’Brien took on this project with a resounding and unflinching
determination and resilience. No obstacle was insurmountable, no
odds were too long, and no goal unachievable.
Through a network of politicians, retired and active admirals and
captains, businessmen, and finally retirees with plenty of time to
make calls, McInerney and O’Brien made progress. Despite all of the
obstacles in their way, despite all of the roadblocks placed in
front of them by those who did not wish to see this project through,
they marched on, without being deterred, without being discouraged.
And there was much to be discouraged about.
Not only was the Navy originally, and somewhat along the way,
intransigent on the matter of a new memorial, there was the
financial aspect.
The AOH needed to raise $250,000, the price tag the Navy and the
engineers quoted, in order to even consider building the memorial.
So McInerney and O’Brien went to the AOH, and the AOH went to the
Emerald Society, Friends of Ireland, and every other Irish group in
the area, and around the country, to raise money for this project.
They passed out fliers at the Maryland Irish Festival, they set up
informational booths at fairs, they took out advertising, and they
created awareness.
Over the last several years, there was not an Irish bar in the D.C.
Metro area that did not see a fundraiser for the Barry memorial
project. Of course there were large donations, but the funding for
this project for the most part came through small gatherings, with
music, pints, dancing, auctions, and fun. They ranged from family
events in Crofton, to late night bagpipe sessions in DC. Countless
raffles, baskets of cheer, contests, and t-shirts all went into that
final total.
And of course there is always shameless promotion. McInerney and
O’Brien carried fliers about the project with them wherever they
went, they were there at the festivals talking to total strangers,
having conversations, and creating awareness. All the while at their
side, the AOH provided the connections and the drive to help see
this project through. Members spent countless man hours being where
McInerney and O’Brien could not, helping to spread the word,
volunteering at community service events to raise awareness.
The money was raised, through numerous small donations, bar and ball
room contributions alike, through tireless and unwavering drive and
effort, the money was raised.
Without the leadership of McInerney and O’Brien, and their energy,
and the energy they inspired in others, this project would not have
left port.
Saturday, their project is unveiled to the public, but sadly one of
them will not be there to witness it. On the night of Tuesday, May 6
John McInerney quietly passed away in the company of his friends and
family. His efforts and his endeavors in cementing the legacy of the
Irish in American history is but a small portion of his legacy. His
titanic spirit and his gentle soul are what will be remembered by
his friends and his family, the projects he completed a testament to
his will and drive.
But never fear, John was able to behold his project in its
completion. He and Jack O’Brien stood proudly beside it after the
construction was completed, gleaming and beaming with pride as the
sum of so many years of effort lay before them, completed.
While John will not be there, Jack O’Brien, whose spirit and heart
matches that of his departed friend, will be in attendance, and he
is well deserved of praise. With an easy smile, and a hand shake,
Jack O’Brien would have you collecting money for the Barry Memorial
out of your hat, or passing out informational fliers to strangers at
bars. Quick with a story, and with a tremendous heart, Jack O’Brien
is a man that anyone would be lucky to call a friend.
If you have not guessed, I am one of those who McInerney and O’Brien
managed to trick into plying money from unwitting bar patrons, or
completely witting fair-goers. I had the pleasure of working with
both of these men, and the AOH, in their efforts to see the Barry
Memorial project come to fruition. Apologies if at times I sound
biased, it is because I am. I wanted to make sure that the
historical community, and the Irish-American community understand
the efforts that these men, and all those involved, exerted in
making sure this project was successful. And if that means I have to
take a day off of writing about 2nd Amendment rights, then I would
gladly do so.
While John McInerney has passed, and we will remember him, Jack is
to be equally commended and celebrated for his contributions and his
efforts to this project. He and John were the kings of this
endeavor, a point that I have knowingly repeated, but cannot stress
enough.
There are of course many I am failing to mention whom this project
could not have done without. But for now, I would like to honor the
men in the picture above, who provided the wind that filled the
sails, and the spirit to see the journey through.
The
event is on Saturday in Annapolis, and though I believe tickets are
sold out, if you stick around long enough I am certain you can find
us in nearest Irish bar to the Naval Academy. Please drop by, have a
pint, and pick Jack’s brain about Commodore John Barry, he would
love to talk to you
Commodore
John Barry:
First Flag Officer
of the United States Navy
Public Law 109-142
By
Joint Resolution of the United States Congress, and
signed by the President of the United States, Public
Law 109-142 recognizes and honors Commodore John
Barry as the “first flag officer of the United
States Navy.” This action makes explicit in the
public law of the United States what was already
implicit in the historical record.
The Commodore John Barry Joint Resolution was sent to
the White House on December 19th, and Signed
by the President of the United States on December 22nd.
In signing this Joint Resolution of the United States
Congress, President George W. Bush has eclipsed even the
good works of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W.
Bush, both of whom Proclaimed "Commodore John Barry Day"
pursuant to Resolutions of Congress.
Numerous
times Members of Congress had proposed that Commodore
John Barry Day be a national observance. The Honorable
Clare Gerald Fenerty of Pennsylvania, who was also a
naval officer and John Barry orator, proposed this in
the 1st Session of the 74th Congress. More
recently, Congressmen Ben Gilman, Tom Manton, and Peter
King of New York led a movement to properly honor
Commodore John Barry. It was
after the change in House rules which accompanied the
"Gingrich Revolution" of 1994/95 (eliminating new
special "days" by resolution of Congress), that it
became necessary to re-think the way in which Commodore
John Barry's contribution to our freedom might best be
enshrined in the public law of the United States,
whence the resolution recognizing Commodore John Barry
as the first flag officer of the United States Navy.
[Commodore John Barry Day, September 13th,
remains a legal holiday in the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, and a legal observance in the State of New
York.]
The
language of what would become Public Law 109-142 in 2005
was crafted with great care and much negotiation with
the Naval Historical Center, in order that it might pass
the strictest muster of historical accuracy. Liam
Murphy (Irish Brigade Association), and Dr. Michael J.
Crawford, Ph.D., Head of the Early History Branch of the
Naval Historical Center in Washington, D.C., worked out
the final language in 2002. This was an essential step
in that Congress would not act on language that did not
have the prior approval of the Navy.
In
the 109th Congress the Honorable Peter King of New
York introduced House Joint Resolution 38 on
Saint Patrick's Day, the 17th of March 2005; which
passed the House of Representatives on December 14th.
While identical resolutions, also introduced by Mr. King
had passed the House of Representatives on previous
occasions, they never received proper consideration in
the United States Senate until the personal intervention
of William Reynolds, Chief of Staff to Senator Arlen
Specter of Pennsylvania, who bird-dogged his boss’s
identical Joint Resolution (S.J. Res. 21 – introduced in
the Senate on July 26th), through the United
States Senate (with six co-sponsors, and follow-on
action on November 22nd), and then backstage-managed the
acceptance and passage of the House Joint Resolution on
December 16th. H.J. Res. 38 was then presented to the
President on December 19th.
The
Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Irish Brigade
Association, generally, and Mike and Bridget Kearney
(Queens County, New York AOH & LAOH) in particular, can
share the honors with Congressman Peter King (Chairman
of the House Committee on Homeland Security) and Adam
Paulson of his staff and with 46 Co-Sponsors for the
victories in the US House of Representatives. On the
Senate side the honors shared with Senator Arlen Specter
and his 6 Co-Sponsors go to three Templar Knights, Liam
Murphy (a retired naval officer, also AOH), Rear Admiral
James Carey (a Hibernian and a former national President
of the Naval Reserve Association) and most especially to
Senator Specter's Chief of Staff, Bill Reynolds
(Lieutenant Colonel, USMCR – recently returned from a
combat tour of duty in Iraq with the Marines).
There
were many other Hibernians, from the National President
Ned McGinley of Pennsylvania on down, who played their
parts, and played them well, over the years in the
campaign coordinated by Mike and Bridget Kearney;
neither was the AOH alone in this decade-long effort to
see to it that Commodore John Barry was properly
recognized by the United States. The Irish Brigade
Association, the Naval Reserve Association, the Sons of
the Revolution, the Naval Militia Association and the
Commodore John Barry Club are among those who also
contributed. Of particular note are: Rear Admiral J.
Robert Lunney, past General President of the Sons of the
Revolution (and a former national President of the Naval
Reserve Association), who researched and wrote
extensively on Commodore John Barry, and noted that
Barry’s Commission No. 1 ranks from 4th June
1794; the late Sergeant Major Wally Doyle, Wexford Town
Historian (Commodore John Barry Branch, ONE); Hibernian
lobbyist Chris Litton; and Michael Stack of the Brehon
Law Society in Philadelphia, who saw to it early on that
the issue was brought to the attention of the
Pennsylvania General Assembly and of the Pennsylvania
Congressional delegation. [When John Barry emigrated
from Wexford (Ireland) to America he settled in
Philadelphia, where he offered his services first to
Congress and the Continental Navy during the American
Revolution/War for Independence, and then to the new US
Navy of President Washington under the Constitution of
the United States, and where he is buried in Saint
Mary’s Churchyard.]
The
USS BARRY (DD-933) is the centerpiece of the naval
museum at the Washington Navy Yard, and the new USS JOHN
BARRY (DDG-52) carries the name of Commodore John Barry
on the high seas today.
Dr.
Michael Crawford of the Naval Historical Center,
Hibernian Historian John Ridge of Brooklyn and Sergeant
Major Charlie Laverty (Irish Brigade Association),
President of the New York Irish History Roundtable, all
agree that the ultimate source of information regarding
Barry is Gallant John Barry, 1745-1803:
The Story of a Naval Hero of Two Wars by William
Bell Clark (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1938);
currently out of print, its reissue, with the addition
of a copy of Public Law 109-142, would be a public
service. [Macmillan in New York has been acquired by
Simon and Schuster.]
This is a matter of education and of justice.
Honor demands that justice be done to the memory of
Commodore John Barry, and, integrity demands that the
people be educated as to the major significance of the
role of such immigrants in the defense of American
Liberty. Public Law 109-142 is an important step in
that direction.
All of the many who worked on the Commodore John Barry
resolution can justly feel a sense of accomplishment.
All of the 6 Senate and 46 House co-sponsors, and the
President, are deserving of our thanks. Real credit for
the heavy lifting which finally bore fruit belongs with
Congressman Peter King and Adam Paulson of his
staff, with Mike and Bridget Kearney of the AOH and LAOH
(whose mighty efforts, consistently, over the years
provided the necessary staying power – Mike is the
Commodore John Barry Chairman of the New York State
Board, AOH), and with Senator Arlen Specter and
his Chief of Staff, Lieutenant Colonel of Marines,
William Reynolds.
Recognizing Commodore John Barry as the first
flag officer of the United States Navy. (Enrolled as
Agreed to or Passed by Both House and Senate)
--H.J.Res.38--
Whereas John Barry served
as the senior officer of the United States Navy, with
the title of `Commodore' (in official correspondence),
under Presidents Washington, John Adams, and Jefferson;
Whereas as commander of
the first United States naval squadron under the
Constitution of the United States, which included the
U.S.S. Constitution (`Old Ironsides'), John Barry was a
Commodore, with the right to fly a broad pendant, which
made him a flag officer; and
Whereas in this sense it
can be said that Commodore John Barry was the first flag
officer of the United States Navy: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate
and House of Representatives of the United States of
America in Congress assembled, That Commodore John
Barry is recognized, and is hereby honored, as the first
flag officer of the United States Navy.
Speaker of the House of
Representatives.
Vice President of the
United States and President of the Senate.
H.J. Res. 38/Public Law 109-142
Recognizing Commodore John Barry
as the first flag officer of the United States Navy.
(Dec. 22, 2005; 119 Stat. 2657; 2 pages)
H.J.RES.38
Title: Recognizing Commodore John Barry as the first
flag officer of the United States Navy.
Sponsor: Rep King, Peter T. [NY-3] (introduced
3/17/2005) Cosponsors (46)
Rep Abercrombie, Neil [HI-1] - 9/20/2005
Rep Ackerman, Gary L. [NY-5] - 3/17/2005
Rep Allen, Thomas H. [ME-1] - 11/17/2005
Rep Andrews, Robert E. [NJ-1] - 9/27/2005
Rep Bishop, Timothy H. [NY-1] - 3/17/2005
Rep Brady, Robert A. [PA-1] - 3/17/2005
Rep Crowley, Joseph [NY-7] - 3/17/2005
Rep Delahunt, William D. [MA-10] - 3/17/2005
Rep Doyle, Michael F. [PA-14] - 10/17/2005
Rep Engel, Eliot L. [NY-17] - 3/17/2005
Rep Evans, Lane [IL-17] - 3/17/2005
Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] - 9/20/2005
Rep Fitzpatrick, Michael G. [PA-8] - 6/7/2005
Rep Fossella, Vito [NY-13] - 3/17/2005
Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. [NY-22] - 5/25/2005
Rep Holden, Tim [PA-17] - 3/17/2005
Rep Holt, Rush D. [NJ-12] - 9/27/2005
Rep Israel, Steve [NY-2] - 3/17/2005
Rep Kelly, Sue W. [NY-19] - 9/28/2005
Rep Kennedy, Patrick J. [RI-1] - 10/7/2005
Rep Lowey, Nita M. [NY-18] - 5/12/2005
Rep Maloney, Carolyn B. [NY-14] - 3/17/2005
Rep Markey, Edward J. [MA-7] - 9/20/2005
Rep McCarthy, Carolyn [NY-4] - 3/17/2005
Rep McDermott, Jim [WA-7] - 5/23/2005
Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-3] - 9/20/2005
Rep McHugh, John M. [NY-23] - 3/17/2005
Rep McNulty, Michael R. [NY-21] - 4/28/2005
Rep Meehan, Martin T. [MA-5] - 3/17/2005
Rep Menendez, Robert [NJ-13] - 10/18/2005
Rep Michaud, Michael H. [ME-2] - 11/15/2005
Rep Moran, James P. [VA-8] - 10/7/2005
Rep Neal, Richard E. [MA-2] - 3/17/2005
Rep Pallone, Frank, Jr. [NJ-6] - 7/21/2005
Rep Pascrell, Bill, Jr. [NJ-8] - 9/21/2005
Rep Payne, Donald M. [NJ-10] - 3/17/2005
Rep Rothman, Steven R. [NJ-9] - 9/27/2005
Rep Ryan, Tim [OH-17] - 11/7/2005
Rep Simmons, Rob [CT-2] - 4/26/2005
Rep Smith, Christopher H. [NJ-4] - 5/3/2005
Rep Souder, Mark E. [IN-3] - 3/17/2005
Rep Sweeney, John E. [NY-20] - 11/3/2005
Rep Walsh, James T. [NY-25] - 10/18/2005
Rep Weiner, Anthony D. [NY-9] - 5/16/2005
Rep Wilson, Joe [SC-2] - 3/17/2005
Rep Young, C. W. Bill [FL-10] - 4/28/2005
S.J.RES.21
Title: A joint resolution recognizing Commodore John
Barry as the first flag officer of the United States
Navy.
Sponsor: Sen Specter, Arlen [PA] (introduced
7/26/2005) Cosponsors (6)
Sen Collins, Susan M. [ME] - 7/27/2005
Sen Corzine, Jon S. [NJ] - 7/26/2005
Sen Lautenberg, Frank R. [NJ] - 7/26/2005
Sen Lieberman, Joseph I. [CT] - 7/27/2005
Sen Schumer, Charles E. [NY] - 7/26/2005
Sen Snowe, Olympia J. [ME] - 7/26/2005
Questions: contact
Liam Murphy (914) 760-4525
MurphVMI65@aol.com; or,
Mike or Bridget Kearney (718) 746-3837
MBKearny@aol.com.
+Commodore John Barry+
"Not the value and command of the whole British fleet can
lure me from the cause of my country."
“This is the Continental
frigate ALLIANCE, in the service of the American Congress, John
Barry commanding.”
The 36-gun frigate ALLIANCE is generally considered to
have been the finest warship built in America during the War for
Independence. She was constructed at Salisbury, Massachusetts
in 1777-78, and commissioned for service in early 1779. John
Barry commanded the
ALLIANCE through most of
the war. ALLIANCE fired the last shot of the war in an
engagement with two Royal Navy warships in March 1783. She was
also the last ship of the Continental Navy to be decommissioned,
in August 1785. During the war, ALLIANCE flew an ensign with
seven white stripes, six red stripes, and thirteen eight-pointed
stars.
SEEKING VICTORY AT SEA
Jeremiah O’Brien in Maine,
and Wexford-born John Barry of Philadelphia, were among the
first to strike blows for freedom at sea.
Both Barry and the somewhat less well-known O’Brien were
merchant mariners in 1775. Jeremiah O’Brien, whose father
Morris had emigrated from Cork (settling in Kittery, Maine,
where his sons were born), led the seizure of the first British
warship to be lost to the Americans.
Captain Jeremiah
O’Brien (1744–1818) was in command of the sloop UNITY when she
captured
HMS
MARGARETTA in the first naval battle of the
American Revolution,
12 June 1775. Jeremiah and his five brothers, Gideon, John,
William, Dennis and Joseph, were crewmembers of the
sloop
UNITY. At the entrance to the harbor at
Machias
(a town then in
Massachusetts, now in
Maine),
thirty-one townsmen armed with guns, swords, axes, and pitch
forks captured the
British
armed
schooner
in an hour-long battle after the English commander had
threatened to bombard the town for interference with the
shipment of lumber to British troops in Boston, then under siege
by the Massachusetts Militia and the American Continentals.
This battle is often considered the first time British
colors
were struck to Americans, even though UNITY was not
formally a member of the
Continental Navy. Congress did not formally
authorize the Continental Navy until 13th October
1775. The
United
States Merchant Marine claims UNITY as one of its
own, and this incident as their beginning.
The World War II Liberty Ship
S.S. JEREMIAH O’BRIEN (now a memorial at Fisherman’s Wharf in
San Francisco, California), is named for him.
USS O'BRIEN
has been the name of five United States Navy ships, in honor of
Jeremiah
O'Brien and his five brothers:
O’Brien
(TB-30), a torpedo boat, 1900 – 1909;
O’Brien
(DD-51), an O'Brien-class destroyer (DD), 1915
– 1922;
O’Brien
(DD-415), 1940 - torpedoed in 1942;
O’Brien
(DD-725), 1944 – 1972;
O’Brien
(DD-975), 1976 - 2004.
A
privateer,
Jeremiah O'Brien continued under a Letter of Marque from
Congress as the captain of UNITY, renamed MACHIAS LIBERTY, for
two years. His brother
John later commanded the Privateer HIBERNIA.
John Barry
plied his maritime trade a long way from the Maine woods,
operating out of cosmopolitan Philadelphia (which was also the
first seat of government of the Continental Congress), and
ranging across the broad Atlantic.
The USS BARRY (DD-933) is the centerpiece of the naval museum
at the Washington Navy Yard, and the new USS JOHN BARRY (DDG-52)
carries the name of Commodore John Barry on the high seas
today. Four US Navy warships have been named for Commodore
John Barry:
USS BARRY (DD-2) (1902-1920); USS BARRY (DD-248) (1921-1945);
USS BARRY (DD-933) (1956-1983); USS JOHN BARRY (DDG-52) (1992-
).
There was also the World War II Liberty Ship, SS JOHN BARRY.
ON THE DELAWARE
With Irish-born Thomas FitzSimons,
John Barry helped organize Washington’s famous Crossing of the
Delaware, which led to the brilliant victory at Trenton in
1776; Barry also organized a force of volunteers and Marines,
which he commanded, as well as participating, as an artillerist,
in the Trenton-Princeton Campaign. At the Battle of Princeton,
FitzSimons led a company he had raised and trained. FitzSimons,
who then oversaw the construction of the defenses of
Philadelphia, and of the Pennsylvania Navy, later served both in
the Continental Congress and in the US Congress, as well as
representing Pennsylvania in the Constitutional Convention.
John Barry played a crucial role in securing the “Keystone
State” ratification of the Constitution.
Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, American, 1816-1868
George Washington Crossing the Delaware, 1851
Oil on Canvas; 12’ 2/5” x 21’ ¼”
Displayed in the American Wing
Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York City
In 1777, commanding the Continental Brig LEXINGTON,
John
Barry was the first to raise “The Stars and Stripes” in home
waters. In battle, Barry was both
effective and humane. He gave us our first victory on the high
seas. Commanding the Continental Frigate ALLIANCE, Barry
captured two British warships after being severely wounded in a
ferocious sea battle (28 May 1781).
The “Betsy Ross” design
Based on an Act of Congress
14 June 1777
13 Stars and 13 Stripes
Barry
captured over 20 ships including an armed British schooner in
the lower Delaware; he authored a Signal Book which established
a set of signals used for effective communication between ships;
and he fought and won the last naval battle of the American War
for Independence in March 1783.
A most
effective naval commander during the War for Independence,
Commodore John Barry would later (1794) be selected by President
George Washington build and command the USS UNITED STATES
(sister ship of the USS CONSTITUTION – “Old Ironsides”, which is
still in commission, in Charlestown, Massachusetts), and to be
the senior officer of the new United States Navy (recognized in
Public Law 109-142 as the first flag officer of the US Navy;
four US warships have borne the name BARRY, and one Liberty
Ship).
[Recommended by Historian Dr. Michael Crawford of the United
States Navy’s Naval History & Heritage Command, the best book on
Commodore John Barry, as of 2005, was Gallant John Barry
by William Bell Clark (1938). See also: John Barry: An
American Hero in the Age of Sail by Tim McGrath (2010).]
The Old Commodore
“The Brave Old Ship Alliance”
Columbia’s friend!
freed from this worldly coil
Now rests so heaven
ordains from human soil,
A Patriot firm,
through chequered life unblamed
A gallant veteran,
for his powers famed,
Beneath his guidance
lo! A Navy springs,
An infant Navy
spreads its canvass wings,
Arising Nation’s
weal, to shield, to save,
And guard her
commerce on the dangerous wave.
Who e’re the Sage,
his character shall scan,
Must trace those
Virtues that exalt the man
The bold achievement
and heroic deed
To honors fame the
laurelled brave that lead!
Long for his merits
and unsullied name
Dear to his friends
and sanctified by fame
His clay cold relics
shall his country mourn
And with her tears
bedew his hallowed urn.
Come cheering hope
celestial cherub come
Say that his virtues
soar beyond the tomb,
Say that with Mercy
in ethereal Guise,
His white robed
spirits climbs yon opening skies.
Many ballads were written about “Jack” Barry,
Commodore John
Barry (1745-1803. This one was written by William Collins,
who wrote many ballads about the American Revolution / War for
Independence including “Molly Pitcher” and “Moylan’s Men.” The
story and adventures of the Continental Frigate ALLIANCE is a
well known part of American Naval History.
The American Navy (i.e., George Washington’s Continental
Navy, the various State Navies of the Revolution/War for
Independence, and the successor United States Navy) has a
special place in the hearts of the American people, and of the
Irish people, as well.
Napoleon once said, “Defeat is
an orphan; Victory has a thousand fathers.” So, the Navy having
been an important part of the achievement, and later defense, of
American Independence, there are a myriad of virtual candidates
for the title “Father of the American Navy.” I say virtual
candidates, because this was not in the minds of the patriotic American mariners who joined their destiny to the
defense of the Public Liberty and the achievement of the
Independence of the United States; however, for various
reasons, different people, over the years, have promoted
different candidates for this posthumous honor. Msgr. Leo
Gregory Fink in Barry or Jones?, while recognizing the
great contributions of Scotland’s John Paul Jones, makes a
stronger case for Ireland’s John Barry. My suspicion is that
historian (and President) Theodore Roosevelt, a great admirer of
John Paul Jones (in truth we should all be great admirers of
John Paul Jones), given the rather narrow field presented by the
good monsignor, would come down on the side of the Captain of
the BONNHOMME RICHARD. With the wisdom of Solomon, the United
States Post Office, in 1936, issued a one cent stamp featuring
both Barry and Jones.
However, the matter has been
explained with great clarity by Rear Admiral Joseph F. Callo,
US Naval Reserve (Retired), author of the definitive book
on Jones,
John Paul Jones:
America’s First Sea Warrior
(published by the Naval Institute Press, and recipient of the
2006 Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature from the
Naval Order of the United States). On a number of occasions,
including at a Naval Reserve Association mess night, held in
2009 at the United States Merchant Marine Academy at King’s
Point, New York, Admiral Callo (American naval scholar from The
Bronx, Sicilian father / Irish mother) has very clearly put the
matter to rest.
Citing
George Washington's Secret
Navy: How the
American Revolution Went to Sea
by
James L.
Nelson, Admiral Callo made the case that there might
have been no American Navy for Hopkins, Barry, Jones or anyone
else to join, only for the wisdom, imagination, sagacity and
initiative of General George Washington, Commander-in-Chief of
the Continental forces. James Nelson makes, and documents, the
point that, in 1775 General George Washington secretly armed a
handful of small ships and sent them to sea against the world’s
mightiest navy.
The ensign known as the
Washington's Cruisers Flag
was first flown by two floating batteries, placed by the
Americans in the Charles River during the siege of Boston.
Later it was also flown by a number of small armed vessels of
"The United Colonies of North America," commissioned under
Washington's authority as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental
Army. The artistic rendition of the tree and the exact wording
of the motto varied from flag to flag. In April 1776, the
Massachusetts legislature made this flag official for the naval
forces of the state. A similar flag, with no motto, is still
the official ensign of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
America’s first
commander-in-chief --
whose previous military experience had been entirely on land --
nursed the fledgling American Revolution through a season of
stalemate by sending troops to sea. Mining previously
overlooked sources, James L. Nelson’s swiftly moving narrative
shows that George Washington deliberately withheld
knowledge of his tiny navy from the Continental Congress for
more than two critical months, and that he did so precisely
because (as a former Member of Congress from Virginia) he knew
Congress would not approve. “George Washington's Secret Navy”
has received the Rodney Houghton Award, given by the National
Maritime Historical Society for the best article of the year in
its popular Sea History Magazine. This particular
article was an excerpt from the book telling the story of naval
battle that took place in Machias, Maine, in 1775, the
"Lexington and Concord of the Sea." [See my earlier comments re
Jeremiah O’Brien.] George Washington's Secret Navy is
also the 2009 recipient of the Samuel Eliot Morison Award for
Naval Literature, presented by the Naval Order of the United
States to the author "who by his published writings has made a
substantial contribution to the preservation of the history and
traditions of the United States Navy." The Morison Award is one
of the top honors in the United States given to maritime
authors. Past recipients have included David McCullough and
Patrick O'Brian. Nelson’s work further buttresses the earlier
case made by Chester G. Hearn in
George Washington's Schooners:
The First American Navy.
All of that said,
George
Washington, the Father of His Country, should also be
recognized as the necessary and true Father of the American
Navy. Finally, at the request of the State of Rhode Island,
and others, the Continental Congress acted on 13 October 1775,
and authorized the fitting out of a “swift vessel to carry ten
carriage guns” and formed a committee to oversee this task, as
well as to find additional vessels and bring in an estimate of
the expense. Congress was catching up with Washington’s
vision. This legislation marked the “official” launching of the
American (Continental) Navy.
But the story doesn’t end
there. Like Al Smith said, “Let’s look at the
record.” While the scholars cited above have made a most
convincing case for George Washington as the Father of the
American Navy, the fact still remains that Washington, the
Virginia planter and soldier who outwitted or outfought the best
that England could throw at him, did not go to sea. There is
another opinion which we should seek in the placement of heroic
captains in the pantheon of American naval heroes, and that is
the opinion of the Father of the American Navy, himself.
When George Washington,
in the process of becoming the Father of His Country,
ascended to the Presidency of the United States, under the new
Constitution of the United States, he had to re-invent a number
of wheels to make the new government viable. Among the problems
which he inherited was the fact that, after the achievement of
Independence, Congress (under the Articles of Confederation), in
its “wisdom,” had decided that the United States no longer
needed a navy! So, they had sold off the ships and paid off all
of the sailors and naval officers (many of whom returned to the
American Merchant Marine), as well paying off the Marines.
On 1 August
1785 the financially strapped Congress auctioned off the last
remaining Continental Navy vessel, ALLIANCE, for $26,000.
Yet, only two years
later, the new Constitution (1787) very clearly stated that,
among the many duties of the President, is Commander-in-Chief of
the army and the navy (Art. II, sec. 2). Based on his
experience as, among other things, Father of the American Navy
of the Revolution / War for Independence, the President of the
United States had to appoint someone to re-create a navy.
The man
chosen by President George Washington to stand up the new
United States Navy was Commodore John Barry. Barry was
Commissioned as Captain, United States Navy, and placed Number 1
on the lineal list, with a date of rank of 7 June 1794. In
2005, the United States Congress, by Joint Resolution,
recognized Commodore John Barry as the First Flag Officer of the
United States Navy; this was signed into law by the President of
the United States on 22 December 2005, becoming Public Law
109-142, which
should put a tin hat on a lot of things.
The official recognition, by statute, of Commodore John Barry as
the first Commodore flag officer of the United States Navy has
made explicit in the Public Law of the United States, what was
already implicit in the historical record and in the records of
the United States Navy. Its greatest utility will be a guide
(or perhaps a footnote) for future historians. Congress had set
a sort of precedent for this kind of action a few years earlier
with the recognition of George Washington, who had resumed his
military rank upon his retirement from the Presidency, as the
senior general officer of the United States Army, for all time.
In Barry’s case, the recognition does not give him seniority
over any Admirals, but does establish his seminal, and
functional, leadership role as Commodore of the fledgling United
States Navy. Barry’s recognition as the first flag officer of
the US Navy was also important in that Congress had not yet
formally created the “one-star” Commodore grade by the time of
Barry’s death, 13th September 1803.
Commodore John
Barry
By Gilbert Stuart (1801)
John Barry was born on Good Friday, 1745 (the same year
as the decisive charge by the Irish Brigade at the Battle of
Fontenoy in 1745, where the Irish battle cry was “Cuimnidh ar
Luimneach agus ar Feall na Sasanach!” (Remember Limerick and
the English Treachery); it was also “The ‘45”, the year that
“Bonnie Prince Charlie” landed in Scotland in an attempt to
regain the throne for his father, James III, the legitimate
king). In 1745, on the Gregorian calendar, Good Friday was the
16th of April.
Barry was born in the farming hamlet of Ballysampson, Tacumshin
Parish in the Barony of Forth in County Wexford (Loch
Garman) at the southeastern extreme of the eastern
Province of Leinster in Ireland. He would be the eldest of at
least six children. Shortly after, the family removed to
Rosslare Parish, just south and east of Wexford harbor, where he
spent his formative years, manifesting a strong inclination to
follow the sea. Ireland had suffered a number of “famines”
under English rule over the years, and some effects of the
famine of 1739 were still evident. To stay home in Ireland was
poverty (or worse), and the inability, as a Catholic, to acquire
the means of self-improvement. Some half-million, or more,
Irish emigrated, either to the Continent, or to America, during
the first half of the 18th century, many as Wild
Geese, seeking to join the armies (or, in some cases navies)
of England’s enemies, or potential enemies. This townland
beside the sea had an ancient tradition of seafaring, but, like
the rest of Ireland was suffering both under the Penal Laws, and
under the various Navigation Acts - designed to give special
advantage to the mercantile economy and industrial might of
England. But no laws could prevent seamen of ambition and
ability like Barry from the lure of the sea, which he followed
(thanks to his father’s encouragement and his uncle’s
connections), beginning at the age of ten, as a cabin boy on a
merchantman. William Bell Clark in Gallant John
Barry: 1745 – 1803, states that the young John Barry
carried “with him hatred of the oppressors and memory of
the misery and want of his childhood…”
John Barry thrived in the
maritime life, and by the time he was full grown, a strapping,
powerful 6’4”, he had risen in the profession to be a mate, well
respected in America’s leading city of Philadelphia. Although
religious prejudice was not unknown in the New World, in most
places, especially in Pennsylvania, is was mild compared to the
persecution found under direct English rule in the “British
Isles.” Clark points out, that, “Throughout his later career
Barry suffered at no time from it, which would imply a
personality powerful enough to overcome the bigotry of the
age.” There is an apocryphal story, noted by Clark, that Barry
served, in 1764, as a mate on a ship carrying Charles Carroll of
Carrollton from London to Maryland. In 1766, a Philadelphia
ship-owner named Denny entrusted his only vessel, the newly
re-named sixty-ton schooner Barbadoes, to a 21-year old,
now Master Jack Barry – something which, in itself, speaks
volumes. Barry never disappointed those who placed trust in
him.
After the commencement of hostilities in 1775,
Captain Jack
Barry offered his services to Congress in the cause of American
Liberty. Once Congress had
awakened to the necessity of a Navy, Barry’s last merchant
command, the Black Prince, was purchased from its owner,
Robert Morris, and Barry was asked to re-rig and outfit the
ship, renamed Alfred, for war. John Barry was
commissioned a Captain in the Continental Navy on 7 December
1775.
John Barry, however, was to have command of a new ship,
the EFFINGHAM. While waiting on his ship to be finished he and
his good friend Thomas FitzSimons joined and fought with
Washington in the ice and cold at battles of Trenton and
Princeton (previously detailed above). Washington’s epic
victory at Trenton would resonate throughout the country and
reinvigorate the flame of Liberty.
Barry's victories at sea (beginning 7 April 1776) were
many and important to the morale of the American people as well
as to the successful prosecution of the war. On one
occasion he sailed into Philadelphia with a prize ship loaded
with overcoats, in time for those same coats to help
Washington's army get through the cold of winter. Another
mission safely delivered the gold from France, raised by popular
subscription by the Roman Catholic clergy, to pay the French and
American armies in the Yorktown campaign.
Captain John Barry was assigned by Congress to command the Brig
LEXINGTON in March 1776. As Captain of the LEXINGTON,
Barry was the first to raise the Stars and Stripes, “Old Glory”
in American home waters. At the same time another great Celtic
immigrant naval hero of the Revolution, John Paul Jones, native
of Scotland, received his commission as an American Continental
Navy Lieutenant. [After the war, Barry continued to make his
home in the United States, while Jones eventually went on to
become an Admiral and the premier hero of the Russian Navy
(perhaps ironically, Saint Andrew's Cross is both the flag of
the Russian Navy and the flag of Scotland, in addition to being
the basis of the flag of Nova Scotia).]
Later, in command of the Continental frigate ALLIANCE,
36-guns, Barry fought many actions. On one occasion he
encountered two Royal Navy ships, HMS ATLANTA and HMS TREPASSEY
in a furious four-hour sea battle on 28 May 1781. After being
severely wounded by grape shot, Barry was taken below for
treatment, shortly after which enemy shot carried away the
American ensign. The English began cheering, thinking that the
Americans had struck. Barry demanded to be carried back on deck
to continue fighting the ship, had a new Continental ensign
raised, and concluded the action, finally capturing both British
ships (see: Charles R. Smith. Marines in the Revolution: A
History of the Continental Marines in the American Revolution,
1775 – 1783. Washington, D.C.: History and Museums Division,
Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, 1975). In the ALLIANCE Barry
could outrun any ship too powerful to outfight. Twice he
carried Lafayette across the ocean, and John Adams once.
Many an English Captain, in addition to Captain Edwards of the
HMS ATLANTA, came to rue hearing the call:
“This is the Continental
frigate ALLIANCE, in the service of the American Congress, John
Barry commanding.”
Fighting Tops Continental Frigate ALLIANCE 28 May 1781
Original Art by Colonel of Marines Charles Waterhouse
www.waterhousemuseum.com
During the American War for
Independence, the English attempted to get Barry, who had proved
himself to be a most effective combat commander, to switch
sides, offering him a full Captaincy and a command in the Royal
Navy. Captain John Barry rejected Admiral Lord Howe's
flattering offer to desert Washington and the Patriot cause,
stating, "Not the value and command of the whole British
fleet can lure me from the cause of my country." Captain
John Barry, in command of the Continental frigate ALLIANCE, also
won the last sea battle of that war, against the HMS SYBILLE on
10 March 1783.
When the Pennsylvania Assembly could not get a Convention
quorum for the essential adoption vote, John Barry organized the
"compellers", so-called because they sought out and compelled
the attendance of enough delegates, in order that the
“Keystone State” might ratify the Constitution of the United
States. It is no accident that the statue of John Barry
stands before that same “Independence Hall” in Philadelphia.
It is worth repeating that, when, under the new Constitution,
Congress authorized the funding for President Washington to
create and operate a United States Navy, it was again to John
Barry that George Washington turned, personally conferring
upon him "Commission No. 1" as Captain, United States Navy. The
Commission, dating from 7th June 1794, was delivered,
personally, by Washington, to his fellow-member of the Society
of the Cincinnati, on Washington’s Birthday, 22nd
February 1797.
It was Commodore John Barry who supervised the building of his
own flagship, the USS UNITED STATES, and commanded that
first United States Navy, one of whose ships, "Old Ironsides",
the USS CONSTSTUTION (sister-ship of the USS UNITED STATES), is
still in commission, and may be visited at the US Naval Station
in Charlestown, just north of Boston, Massachusetts.
USS UNITED STATES
Flagship of Commodore John Barry
United States Navy
John Barry served as the senior officer of the United States
Navy, with the title of `Commodore' (in official
correspondence), under Presidents Washington, Adams, and
Jefferson. As Commander of the first United States Naval
Squadron under the Constitution of the United States, John Barry
was a Commodore, with the right to fly a broad pendant, which
made him a flag officer. In this sense the Naval Historical
Center agreed that Commodore John Barry was the first flag
officer of the United States Navy; after a twelve-year-long
campaign, led by the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America,
with a lot of support from the Naval Reserve Association, the
Irish Brigade Association, and others, in 2005, succeeded in
having Commodore John Barry recognized as such in Public Law
109-142.
During a visit to New York some years ago,
Sergeant Major
Wally Doyle, the late Wexford Town Historian, spoke of the
deep local affection for the US Navy in Wexford. Commodore John
Barry's statue was a gift of the United States. Sword in hand,
Barry overlooks Wexford harbor from atop a granite monument in
his native Ireland (it is also featured on a postage stamp –
above). President John F. Kennedy paid a formal visit in
1963 to the John Barry monument at Crescent Quay in Wexford. A
different statue of Commodore John Barry stands in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, symbolically pointing the
way to the future of his adopted country. A statue dedicated
to Barry also stands in Franklin Square (Washington, D.C.).
Commodore John Barry is also recognized, with Cork-born General
Stephen Moylan, in the Statue of Liberty museum in New
York harbor as one of six foreign-born great leaders of the
American War for Independence.
It was the ships built
under Barry, and the officers recruited and developed by him,
that constituted the United States Navy that would perform so
magnificently in the wars with the Barbary Pirates and in
America’s Second War for Independence.
On 31 October 1767, John
Barry married Mary Cleary, who died in 1774. On 7 July 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, both of whom died in the 1780s. In
addition to a number of co-lateral descendants, there is a
Commodore Barry Park in Brooklyn, Barry Hall at the US
Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point and John Barry Hall at
Villanova University. There are also a number of schools and a
townland named for him. John Barry died at Strawberry Hill, in
present-day Philadelphia on 13th September 1803, and
was buried in the churchyard of Old St. Mary's Roman Catholic
Church in his adopted hometown, Philadelphia.
Numerous times have
Members of Congress proposed that Commodore John Barry Day,
13 September, be a national observance. The Honorable Clare
Gerald Fenerty of Pennsylvania, who was also a naval officer and
John Barry orator, proposed this in the 1st Session of the 74th
Congress. Commodore John Barry Day is a legal holiday in the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (the Commodore John Barry Bridge,
over the Delaware River, connects Pennsylvania and New Jersey);
it is a legal observance in New York State.
The 1990 National Convention of the Ancient Order of Hibernians
in America, meeting in Virginia, unanimously passed a resolution
petitioning Congress to make Commodore John Barry Day, 13
September, an annual national patriotic observance, like Flag
Day, in order that all Americans might be better reminded of the
immigrant origins of the United States and of the extraordinary
contributions of immigrants to the defense of American Liberty
from the earliest days. The 1992 National Convention of the
Naval Reserve Association also resolved in favor of legislation
making September 13th "Commodore John Barry Day". President
Ronald Reagan proclaimed 13 September 1982 as "Commodore John
Barry Day," and President George H.W. Bush similarly proclaimed
13 September as "Commodore John Barry Day" in 1991 and 1992,
pursuant to Resolutions of Congress.
[Barry
was born on Good Friday, 1745; he died on 13 September 1803.
While the date of his birth may not have been generally known
when he died (it was discovered, subsequently, by scholarly
examination of a family Bible), the quality of his life, both
public and private, does not argue against, in the same manner
as with saints, marking the day of his passage to his eternal
reward.]
Continental Navy
Jack
Still in use in the US
Navy
Though called the First Navy Jack, this flag was probably used
as an ensign. It was hoisted in the fall of 1775 by Commodore
Esek Hopkins as he took command of the Continental Navy forces
in the Delaware River. The stripes, rattlesnake, and motto were
all widely employed as symbols of the Patriot cause. A flag with
a field of thirteen alternating red and white stripes was flown
by the Sons of Liberty.
USS BARRY (DD–933)
The USS BARRY (DD-933) is the centerpiece of the naval museum
at the Washington Navy Yard, and the new USS JOHN BARRY (DDG-52)
carries the name of Commodore John Barry on the high seas
today. Four US Navy warships (DD = Destroyer) have been
named for Commodore John Barry:
USS BARRY (DD-2) (1902-1920); USS BARRY (DD-248) (1921-1945);
USS BARRY (DD-933) (1956-1983); USS JOHN BARRY (DDG-52) (1992-
).
There was also the World War II Liberty Ship, SS JOHN BARRY.
USS JOHN BARRY (DDG – 52)
Derek Warfield, do scrí
William Bell Clark.
Gallant John Barry: 1745-1803,
The Story of a Naval Hero
of Two Wars
(1938)
McGrath, Tim.
John Barry: An American Hero in
the Age of Sail (2010)
Very Rev. Leo Gregory Fink. Barry or Jones?
Martin I.J. Griffin. Commodore John Barry
Joseph Gurn. Commodore John Barry, Father of the American
Navy
“Captain Jeremiah O’Brien and
the Machias Liberty” by Lieutenant Commander M.D. Giambattista,
US Navy, in United States Naval Institute Proceedings
(February 1970).
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