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John Barry commissioned by the Continental Navy

John Barry commissioned by the Continental Navy

 

On this day in history, March 14, 1776, John Barry is commissioned by the Continental Navy. He would become known as the “Father of the American Navy.” Barry was born in Wexford, Ireland. His family was driven from Wexford by the English and he learned a hatred of oppressing invaders when 3,000 Wexfordians were killed by an English army.

 

Barry began sailing as a boy with his uncle and settled in Philadelphia. He worked for several Philadelphia merchants, captaining their cargo ships to the West Indies. Just before the American Revolution broke out, Barry began working for the firm of Willing, Morris and Cadwalader, who assigned him to their 200 ton ship, the Black Prince. Barry sailed the Black Prince to London and on the return voyage set a record for the longest distance sailed in one day in the entire 18th century, traveling 237 miles in 24 hours. Upon arriving back in Philadelphia, Barry found out the war had begun. Congress apparently first employed Barry in October, 1775 and he assisted in the efforts to outfit and supply Congress’ first fleet of ships.

 

On March 14, 1776, Barry received a captain’s commission, signed by John Hancock, and was assigned the 14 gun USS Lexington. Barry sailed from Philadelphia on March 31 and engaged his first British ship on April 7, capturing the first ship by a Continental vessel in the war. On June 28, he helped defend a Pennsylvania ship carrying gunpowder and other supplies when it ran aground after being chased by British ships. Barry organized the removal of the supplies and the defense of the ship.

 

When there were only 100 barrels of powder left, he had the main sail taken down and wrapped around the gunpowder. When they abandoned the ship, he lit the end of the sail, draped over the side of the ship, on fire. By the time a British boarding party arrived, the flames reached the gunpowder and blew the ship sky high, killing several dozen British soldiers, in a blast that was heard for miles.

 

During the Revolution, John Barry captured at least 20 British vessels. He fought as a soldier at the Battles of Princeton and Trenton and during the occupation of Philadelphia. He was severely wounded in a fierce battle off Newfoundland, during which, after losing consciousness, he got up and rallied his crew until they captured the two British vessels that were attacking them. He fought the last naval battle of the war off Cape Canaveral, while delivering a shipload of Spanish coins to the Continental Congress.

 

After the Revolution, Barry got back into mercantile shipping and made several voyages to the Orient. When George Washington re-established the Navy in the 1790s, Barry was made Commodore of the United States Navy, receiving Commission Number One, dated June 4, 1794. He oversaw the building of the Continental Fleet and captured several French vessels during the Quasi-War. He finally retired on March 6, 1801 after bringing the USS United States back to Philadelphia from the West Indies. Barry trained numerous sailors who went on to be naval leaders of the War of 1812 and is often called the “Father of the American Navy.” He passed away in 1803 at his home near Philadelphia.

 

*Note that some sources say Barry received his captain’s commission on December 7, 1775, when the Lexington was purchased by Congress. The Lexington was apparently not received until March, 1776, however and later sources indicate he received the captain’s commission at this time.

 

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com    

 

Jack Manning

President General

2019 – 2021

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

 

“The natural cure for an ill-administration, in a popular or representative constitution, is a change of men.”
Alexander Hamilton (1787)

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The Battle of Fort Charlotte ends

The Battle of Fort Charlotte ends

 

On this day in history, March 13, 1780, the Battle of Fort Charlotte ends when Spanish Governor of Louisiana and General Bernardo de Galvez takes the city of Mobile, Alabama, which was then part of British West Florida. Mobile was originally a French settlement and Fort Charlotte was built in 1723 to guard the city. Britain gained control of West Florida in 1763 after the French and Indian War.

 

When Spain officially allied with the United States against Great Britain in 1779, Spanish Governor of Louisiana, Bernardo de Galvez, set about driving the British out of the Gulf Coast. He quickly took control of the southern Mississippi River and then set his sights on Mobile before attempting to take Pensacola, the capital of West Florida. He sailed from New Orleans in January of 1780 and arrived at Mobile Bay on February 13.

 

Captain Elias Durnford was in charge of the British garrison at Mobile with about 300 men. He had already been strengthening Fort Charlotte’s defenses after hearing of Galvez’s campaign in Louisiana. On the arrival of Galvez’s fleet, Durnford quickly sent word to Pensacola requesting reinforcements.

 

Durnford also burned down the entire town of Mobile, causing great distress to the inhabitants, in order to prevent the Spanish foes from using the houses and shops of Mobile for cover or as a base of operation. A large British force from Pensacola was sent overland to help, but they got bogged down in the swampy bayou. It soon became apparent that no reinforcements would arrive.

 

Meanwhile, Galvez built entrenchments around the fort and began a cannon siege on March 10. With no reinforcements, Captain Durnford knew his 300 men would not be able to stand long against Galvez, whose force was more than twice the size of his own. Within a few days, the walls of Fort Charlotte were breached. Captain Durnford surrendered the garrison on March 13, ending British rule in Mobile, forever.

 

Governor de Galvez renamed Fort Charlotte Fort Carlotta and began making plans to conquer Pensacola, the last British stronghold in West Florida. The British made an attempt to retake Mobile the following January when Galvez was gathering together his Pensacola invasion force in Havana, but this attempt was quickly repulsed. Pensacola fell to Galvez March 9, 1781 bringing British rule in West Florida to an end forever.

 

The foundations of Fort Charlotte were discovered in downtown Mobile and about one third of it was reconstructed in the 1970s. Today, the site goes by the name of Fort Conde, which was the French name for the fort, and houses the official welcome center for the city of Mobile.

 

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com    

 

Jack Manning

President General

2019 – 2021

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

“Oppressors can tyrannize only when they achieve a standing army, an enslaved press, and a disarmed populace.”
James Madison

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British invasion fleet arrives off Cape Fear, North Carolina

British invasion fleet arrives off Cape Fear, North Carolina

 

On this day in history, March 12, 1776, a British invasion fleet arrives at Cape Fear, North Carolina, intending to capture the rebellious territory and march on to take Charleston, South Carolina, the largest port city in the south. British Major General Henry Clinton’s plans were thwarted though, when he learned that a local army of Loyalist supporters had been destroyed a few weeks before at Moore’s Creek Bridge.

 

Clinton sailed south from Boston in January with 1,200 men. He was to meet another fleet sailing from Ireland under the command of Sir Peter Parker. Parker’s fleet would carry 2,000 soldiers under the direction of Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis. In addition, North Carolina Governor Josiah Martin was raising a Loyalist army to join Clinton. The overall objective was to quickly subdue the rebellion in the south, with the help of what was believed to be large numbers of southern Loyalist supporters, and restore colonial rule in the southern colonies so the army could focus on the more rebellious north.

 

Clinton arrived off the coast of Cape Fear on March 12. He quickly realized his plan would not work when he learned of the defeat of Governor Martin’s Loyalist army at the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge. In addition, Parker’s fleet, which was supposed to have left Ireland in December, had not yet arrived. Clinton was forced to wait off the coast until the first of the fleet arrived on April 18. The rest of the fleet, which had been battered by a rough crossing and scattered, was not fully present until May 31.

 

Clinton met with the governors of North and South Carolina and Captain Parker. Due to the loss of the Loyalist army, they decided that disembarking in North Carolina at this time would be unwise. Instead, Parker suggested a direct assault from the sea on Charleston. His scouts had learned that the fort at the opening of Charleston’s harbor was only partially complete and he believed it would be easily taken, giving them complete control of the harbor.

 

When Clinton and Parker sailed from North Carolina, with Governor Martin on board, royal rule in North Carolina was essentially over. General Cornwallis would not make another attempt to re-establish British rule there until 1780 during the southern campaign, which ultimately failed as well.

 

When Clinton and Parker reached Charleston and attacked Fort Sullivan, Colonel William Moultrie successfully repelled the attack from the unfinished fort. The stunned and humiliated Clinton and Parker were forced to abandon their attempt to retake the south. Instead, they sailed north and joined General William Howe’s invasion of New York. The British would not return to the south until 1778, when they began a new southern campaign with the capture of Savannah in December of that year.

 

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com    

 

Jack Manning

President General

2019 – 2021

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

 

“Liberty is a word which, according as it is used, comprehends the most good and the most evil of any in the world. Justly understood it is sacred next to those which we appropriate in divine adoration; but in the mouths of some it means anything, which enervate a necessary government; excite a jealousy of the rulers who are our own choice, and keep society in confusion for want of a power sufficiently concentered to promote good.”
Oliver Ellsworth (1787)

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The Commander-in-Chief’s Guard is formed

The Commander-in-Chief’s Guard is formed

 

On this day in history, March 11, 1776, the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard is formed, a unit charged with the personal protection of the Commander-in-Chief’s personal household and the papers and money belonging to the Continental Army.

 

With the taking of Dorchester Heights on March 4, George Washington knew British General William Howe would be forced to abandon Boston. Consequently, Washington began making plans for the defense of New York City, which he believed would be the next most logical place of attack for the British army.

 

First, however, Washington decided to create an elite unit of soldiers responsible for protecting his own person and household, as well as the official papers of the army. On March 11, 1776, Washington sent an order to each regiment surrounding Boston, requesting that 4 soldiers be selected for the unit, which would meet for the first time the next day at noon. The letter requested that the men be selected based on their “sobriety, honesty, and good behaviour,” and that they be “from five feet, eight Inches high, to five feet, ten Inches; handsomely and well made.”

 

The unit was officially called the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard, but was popularly known as Washington’s Life Guard. The Guard normally had around 180 men who guarded Washington’s headquarters, ordered and prepared his food, escorted his personal baggage and the papers of his office on journeys, delivered messages and looked after Washington’s personal staff.

 

When Washington arrived in New York City after the Siege of Boston had ended, an assassination plot against him was uncovered, which included several members of his own guard. Sergeant Thomas Hickey, one of Washington’s Guard, was born Irish and had deserted from the British army. He was the only conspirator hanged for his role in the affair and was the first soldier to be tried for treason. The following April, when the Guard was reformed due to expiring enlistments, Washington required that no foreigners be part of the team, required that all or most of them be loyal Virginians and forbade any British deserters from being part of the army.

 

During the winter at Valley Forge of 1777-78, Baron Friedrich von Steuben was tasked with training the Continental Army in European battle techniques. He chose the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard as his model for training the troops. Von Steuben trained the Guard with his techniques and they in turn trained the rest of the army, turning it into a formidable fighting force. To reduce the possibility of inter-colony rivalry, the Guard was augmented with soldiers from all the other colonies for the training.

 

Washington’s Life Guard was formally disbanded on November 15, 1783. Only 330 men served in the Guard for the entire duration of the war, so it was an extremely elite unit of which to be a part. Only two men, Major Caleb Gibbs and Captain William Colfax commanded the Guard during its entire eight year existence. Major Gibbs was a member of the famed Marblehead Regiment founded by General John Glover. William Colfax later became a general in the War of 1812.

 

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com    

 

Jack Manning

President General

2019 – 2021

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

 

“I think we have more machinery of government than is necessary, too many parasites living on the labor of the industrious.”
Thomas Jefferson (1824)

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Last naval battle of the American Revolution

Last naval battle of the American Revolution

 

On this day in history, March 10, 1783, the last naval battle of the American Revolution is fought off Cape Canaveral, Florida, as Captains John Barry and John Green try to deliver a shipload of Spanish silver to the Continental Congress. John Barry, captain of the USS Alliance, arrived in Martinique from France in January, 1783. There he found orders from Robert Morris of the Continental Congress to sail to Havana, Cuba to pick up 72,000 Spanish silver dollars that were to be used to finance the Continental Army.

 

When Barry arrived in Havana, he discovered that Captain John Green, aboard the USS Duc de Lauzun, was already there with the same orders from Morris. The silver was already loaded on Green’s ship so the captains decided to sail together in case they encountered any enemies along the way. The ships left Havana on March 6 and sailed part way with a Spanish and French fleet that was making its way to Jamaica.

 

On the 7th, the Americans left the fleet and headed north, but ran into two British ships, the HMS Alarm and the HMS Sybil. Barry and Green headed back toward the Spanish and French fleet and as soon as the British ships saw the fleet they sailed off. On the 8th, Barry and Green sailed to the north again and reached Florida, with Barry constantly slowing his ship because the Duc de Lauzun was much slower. On the 9th, the two agreed to transfer much of the money to the Alliance because the Duc de Lauzun’s slow speed made it vulnerable to the British ships patrolling the area.

 

On the 10th, the Alarm, the Sybil and a third British ship, the Tobago, found the American ships off the coast of Cape Canaveral. As the British gave chase, as usual, the Duc de Lauzun dragged behind. Captain Barry pulled alongside Green and persuaded him to throw most of the ship’s cannons overboard to lighten the load. A fourth ship of unknown origin appeared on the horizon, which caused the British ships to hold back, making Barry think it must be French or Spanish. Barry then maneuvered between the Duc de Lauzun and the Sybil, which began firing.

 

The Alliance took several direct hits, including one in the captain’s quarters which killed one and wounded several others. Barry commanded his men not to fire, but sailed directly for the Sybil. When they were in extremely close rage, he ordered the men to fire and they unleashed a torrent of cannon fire on the Sybil. After a firefight of 40 minutes, the Sybil fell quiet and began to sail off. Nearly 40 had been killed on the ship and another 40 wounded.

 

The Alliance, the Duc de Lauzun and the ship from the horizon, which turned out to be the French ship Triton, chased the British ships, but lost them in the night. The rest of the silver was transferred to the faster Alliance and the ships headed north. The Duc de Lauzun was able to travel up the Delaware to Philadelphia on the 18th and the Alliance made it to Newport, Rhode Island on the 20th. Only a few days later, word arrived that the Treaty of Paris had been signed on February 3, bringing the Revolution to a close and making this engagement the last naval battle of the Revolution.

 

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com    

 

Jack Manning

President General

2019 – 2021

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

 

“Your love of liberty — your respect for the laws — your habits of industry — and your practice of the moral and religious obligations, are the strongest claims to national and individual happiness.”
George Washington (1789)

 

 

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The Siege of Pensacola begins

The Siege of Pensacola begins

 

On this day in history, March 9, 1781, the Siege of Pensacola begins. The role of Spain and France in the American Revolution is often underemphasized in American history classes, but their cooperation was crucial to winning the war against England.

 

Spain’s interest in joining the American Revolution lay in her traditional alliance with France and in her desire to get back Spanish possessions that were lost to Britain in previous wars, such as Minorca and Gibraltar. One of Spain’s chief goals was capturing British controlled West Florida and its capital Pensacola. The Spanish governor of Louisiana, Bernardo de Galvez, secured the lower parts of the Mississippi River in late 1779 and captured Mobile, also part of West Florida in 1780. He then set his sights on Pensacola.

 

The British commander at Pensacola, General John Campbell, began strengthening the defenses of the city when Spain formally entered the war in 1779. Some 3,000 soldiers and hundreds of Indian allies guarded the city. The city’s main defense, Fort George, was reinforced with several redoubts at strategic points around the city.

 

The Spanish invasion fleet from Havana arrived at Pensacola Bay on March 9, 1781. Because of the city’s strong fortifications, it could not be taken immediately. Instead, a siege began that lasted for two months. The Spanish force dug trenches and bunkers around the city for cover from British fire from the city. Numerous skirmishes between the two sides occurred during the first seven weeks of the siege, including one on April 12 in which Governor Galvez was wounded, forcing him to give field command to a subordinate.

 

The full Spanish attack began on April 30, but on May 5 and 6, a hurricane disrupted the assault, forcing the Spanish fleet to sail away from the coast. This left the assault to the soldiers alone. On May 8, one lucky howitzer shot hit the main British powder magazine at the city’s outermost defense, which was called Fort Crescent. The fortification was blown to smithereens with 57 British soldiers killed. This blast left the way open for the Spanish forces to rush in and quickly overtake the next ring of defenses. Two days later, knowing it was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed, General Campbell surrendered Pensacola and over 1,100 soldiers to Governor Galvez.

 

The capture of Pensacola left West Florida in Spanish hands. By the end of the war, all of the lands surrounding the Gulf of Mexico were controlled by Spain. East Florida was given to Spain in the final peace treaty with Britain in exchange for the Bahamas, leaving Spain in control of all of the Floridas. Spain would continue to hold Florida until 1819 when a treaty was signed with the United States ceding control of all of Florida in exchange for American agreement not to pursue the acquisition of Texas.

 

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com    

 

Jack Manning

President General

2019 – 2021

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

 

“A feeble executive implies a feeble execution of the government. A feeble execution is but another phrase for a bad execution; and a government ill executed, whatever may be its theory, must be, in practice, a bad government.”
Alexander Hamilton (1788)

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96 Christian Indians killed at the Gnadenhutten Massacre

96 Christian Indians killed at the Gnadenhutten Massacre

 

On this day in history, March 8, 1782, 96 Christian Indians are killed in the Gnadenhutten Massacre, one of the most brutal and tragic atrocities of the American Revolution. The Lenape Indians had moved to Ohio after being forced from their land on the eastern seaboard. Several hundred had converted to Christianity under Moravian missionaries and lived in small villages, including Gnadenhutten.

 

The Moravian strategy was to create Christian settlements secluded from non-Christians and from the animistic practices of their former tribes. These converts were generally “Europeanized,” wore white people’s clothing, intermarried with whites and so on. When the American Revolution arrived, some Lenape sided with the British and others with the Americans. The Moravian villages, including Gnadenhutten, remained neutral in the conflict, but were known to pass intelligence on British movements to the Americans.

 

On the frontier, distinctions between Indian tribes were often lost on white settlers, especially in times of war. Innocent tribes were often on the receiving end of retribution from white settlers for acts committed by other tribes.

 

In September of 1781, several British allied tribes forcibly removed the Christian Indians further north. By February, they were starving and about a hundred went back to harvest crops left at Gnadenhutten. Their timing happened to occur just when a militia raid was being made from western Pennsylvania in response to earlier Indian raids that left several people dead.

 

160 militia showed up as the Indians were gathering their crops. Thinking the whites were their friends, the Lenape welcomed the visitors. The militia posed as friends at first, but then took the Indians captive. The soldiers met and decided all the prisoners should be executed for the raids into Pennsylvania. The Indians protested they had nothing to do with the raids, but the decision was final. Some of the men involved had relatives who were killed in these raids, contributing to their lust for revenge.

 

On the evening of March 7, the Indians sang hymns and prayed all night, knowing they would be killed the next day. In the morning, they were brought a few at a time into huts and bludgeoned with a club. Then they were scalped, left for dead and the huts burned to the ground. In all, 28 men, 29 women and 39 children were killed. Only a handful of the white men refused to participate, indicating the level of hatred toward the Indians.

 

Two young boys survived to tell of the massacre, both of whom had been scalped and left for dead. One hid under the floorboards in one of the slaughter huts. He later told of the blood running through the cracks in the floor. The second boy regained consciousness and pretended to be dead. He later snuck away when the executioners left.

 

The Gnadenhutten Massacre was one of the great tragedies of American history. It sparked revenge attacks against white settlers for decades to come. A monument and museum is located at the site of the event in present day Gnadenhutten, where you can see reconstructed huts and the burial mound where the remains of the Indian martyrs were buried.

 

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com    

 

Jack Manning

President General

2019 – 2021

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

 

“The mild voice of reason, pleading the cause of an enlarged and permanent interest, is but too often drowned, before public bodies as well as individuals, by the clamors of an impatient avidity for immediate and immoderate gain.”
James Madison (1788)

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