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Show Sketch of Com. Mmfs Qrm. Brave Deeds of "Father of the American Navy" A Son of the "Emerald Isle." (New York Freeman's Journal.) That veteran historian, Martin I. J. Griffin of Philadelphia, has just completed com-pleted a good work for the honor of a good man, the glory of Erin, the truth of American history and the inspiration in-spiration and encouragement of American Amer-ican youth, in his handsome book on Commodore Barry just published at his own expense. He deserves the thanks and the financial support of his fellow fel-low countrymen. American history has not always been treated by impartial writers men of Irish birth have been slurred over nearly always and their hard-won laurels placed on other brows. Witness the scant mention of Sheridan or Shields in our text books of history, when his unique history as a legislator as well as soldier would I warrant a very conspicous treatment. ' Mr. Griffin, while a special pleader for men of his race and faith in history, is still a very impartial historian. Indeed, In-deed, his strong disapproval of biased history leads himself often into unnecessarily un-necessarily giving credit to others than his hero. When there Is the least doubt Mr. Griffin lets the other fellow have the benefit probably because he feels the Irishman has quite a good share of glory without lugging in the mooted questions. This large, handsome volume of 424 pages and , many illustrations, good paper and print, good margins and tasteful cover, leaves nothing to be written on John Barry. His ancestry, birth, baptism, early education, immigration to this country coun-try .upright business record here and his early appearance as 'a maker of American history are all carefully attested at-tested and are full of interest. With his appointment under, the Continental congress in 1775 to the command of the first armed cruiser, the Lexington, began his career as the leader of the American navy. His story for years is the story of the rise of the new republic and her glorious start in history of the nations. na-tions. John' Barry's name is many times inscribed in it, always coupled with deeds of wise daring, practical seamanship and unselfish devotion to the cause and to congress. Mr. Griffin was zealous in the hunting hunt-ing out in various libraries ot Boston; ' Washington and Philadelphia of documents docu-ments throwing light on the doings "on sea and land of those troublous days, whose only correct record is inv such original documents providentially preserved. pre-served. John Barry's fame is safe with them. To superiors,. to subordinates., to friend and foe, he was always the. man of courage and principle. Quick.to see his duty and strong to do it. His conveyance of Lafayette back to France in 1781 gave a sample of his ' character. He got orders to convey and quickly the marquis back to France. On the way vessels were encountered that, under other circumstances, would-be would-be legitimate prey and, like Columbus, on his famous voyage to America, he had to subdue a mutiny of his crew, who could not see his reasons for resisting re-sisting a light. Like the "Father of His Country," Washington, Commodore Barry had no children, but his fame and his example belong to all generations genera-tions of Americans and reflect credit on the country and the faith in which he was born. Mr. Griffin has still a limited number of his excellent work on hand at $3.50 a copy. It ought to be in every respectable respec-table library. It is an exceedingly interesting in-teresting book for American boys full of the history of those times. Why is CommoTJore John Barry, the father of the American navy, so little known? Why is the first man. who sailed an American warship under the striped flag, the organizer of the Amer- i ican navy, the first commodore of fhat navy, the man who fought and won the last naval battle of the revolution, and the man beloved by Washington, not known? He is not known because, like many j other Irish-American Catholic patriots, he has been ignored by those who have written so-called American history. He is the victim of a conspiracy of silence. si-lence. He was one of the makers of American history, the most prominent figure of that glorious chapter which tells of our naval victories in the very-infancy very-infancy over the "mistress of the seas." But he is little known. His name is j sought for in vain in many American i school histories, and in others he gets a bare mention. His deeeds are not recounted re-counted in these histories, therefore, it is not strange that he is "little known." He was not a Puritan and could not be used for the purpose of magnifying "Anglo-Saxon" achievements. He was a Catholic Irishman and coui.i not be used as a "Scotch-Irishman." These are chief reasons why the father of the American navy is not known, and no man can produce any othr reasons. rea-sons. It is a falsification of history by omission, and constitutes a deep crime against truth as the more open distortion distor-tion of facts to bolster a falsehood. Among the names of the patriots who gave their valor.'many of the best years of their lives, their fortunes and their hearts to the cause of liberty, that of John Barry, Irishman by biith, American by adoption, lover of liberty, must be ever venerated. In the character charac-ter and achievements of Barry one finds the manly virtues predominant. A :man who rose by merit alone from the I position of cabin boy to commande-, iwho entered the naval service without I any training in the art of. war, yet distinguished dis-tinguished himself upch many seas, cf rugged honesty, of charitable heart, of strong affections, of indomitable courage: cour-age: a true friend, a devoted patriot 'all these was John Barry, of whose ca-; ca-; reer every Catholic should be proud, every descendant of an Irishman glad and every American grateful in memory memo-ry as to the other hero-is of 1776. John Barry was born near Tacum-shin. Tacum-shin. County WexfoJ. Ireland, in 1743, and entered the merchant service at an early age. He served before the mast in jnany cruisea and at the age of i'l was a master mariner, aud for some time a commander. The first record of Barry in this .-oun'.ry ie in 17n6, when he arrived at Philade:pnla In command of a schooner from the West Indies. He commanded many vess.-ls, anions them the Black Prince, owned by John. Nixon, Nix-on, son of an Irishman. This siimn John. Nixon was the lirst man to read the Declaration of Independence to the pepple, .on July S, 1776. At the breaking out of-tha revolution Barry's every instinct was aflame with loyalty to the cause of the patriots and opportunity soon came for him to give, valuable help. Congress, realizing the necessity for a naval force, purchased two vessels, the Lexington and the Re prisal, and ordered them fitted out as privateers. Barry was appointed as captain of the Lexington, and was thus the first officer appointed to the command com-mand of the first vessel. Under Barry, the Lexington eluded two British vessels ves-sels of greatly superior force and ran with . Thomas Fitzslmons, another Catholic, who led another company, hastened to the relief of Washington. Washington came to Philadelphia, and, in company with Barry and Fitz-simons, Fitz-simons, recrossed the Delaware on that memorable Christmas of 1776, and, aided by Barry's and Fitzsimon's volunteers, vol-unteers, fell upon the Hessians at Princeton and Trenton, and won those two signal victories in rapid succession, greatly strengthening the American cause. Later, in 1777, the British forced Washington to leave Philadelphia and retreat to Valley Forge, where the darkest moments of the Revolution were endured by the soldiers of freedom. free-dom. Barry was in communication with Washington. The success of the British had caused the abandonment of the few vessels owned by congress, and among them the Effingham, Barry's Bar-ry's ship, which, by order of congress, Barry was obliged to sink, much against his will. Without a ship, the unquenchable 3pirit of Barry longed to strike a blow for the American cause. Learning that the supplies for the British troops in Philadelphia were conveyed through the lower Delaware, Barry resolved to make an attempt to destroy some of these supplies. With twenty-seven men in four rowboats Barry set out to steal past the city and reach the river below. Although every effort was made to get under cover of the darkness, the expedition was discovered and fired upon up-on arid chase given, but Barry's men eluded their pursuers and reached Port Penn, below the city. Here they attacked, at-tacked, captured and burned two ships, seized the supplies and tried to escape es-cape with the schooner Alert. Pursued by fleeter vessels, they abandoned the schooner and escaped, destroying a considerable quantity of the supplies, but taking as much as they could carry. car-ry. And" these supplies, as those subsequently sub-sequently captured, in every instance at tW risk of their lives, Barry and his daring men sent to Valley Forge, where the starving soldiers ate the food and warmed their shivering bodies bod-ies with the fruits of blankets secured . .. '- - COMMODORE JOHN" BARRY. out of the Delaware riveito sea. On April 7, 1776, Barry, in the Lexington, Lex-ington, attacked the' British sloop Edward Ed-ward and captured her after a desperate desper-ate battle of an hour and a half, He returned to Philadelphia with his prize. Thus John Barry was the first officer commissioned by the continental congress, commanding the first vessel fitted out. and flying the first continental conti-nental flag raised at sea. that captured the first naval prize under the authority author-ity of congress. Barry captured many prizes in the Lexington and the sums raised from the disposal of these prizes materially aided the American cause. In October, 1776, Barry was assigned to the command com-mand of the Effingham, a much larger vessel than the Lexington. The fortune of the revolutionary forces was slowly waning at this time and Barry had little to do. Washington, pressed by Cornwallis, was forced to retreat steadily from Fort Lee through New Jersey. News reached Philadelphia Philadel-phia that Washington's army was so hard pressed that defeat and capture were imminent. John Barry, having no naval work oconsequenoe.'.'organi', ized a company of . .volunteers, and by the daring courage of John Barry. ! Barry's conduct in this . enterprise won for him the admiratirm of friends and foes alike. Sir William Howe, commander-in-chief of the British forces, offered the daring Irish-American 20,000 and the command of a British squadron if he would desert the service of the United States. To this base proposal the -"Father of the American Navy" replied: "Not the value and command of. the whole British fleet can seduce me from the cause of my adopted country." For this and the many other successful suc-cessful raids on the enemy's ships, Washington wrote to Barry, saying: "I congratulate you on the success which has crowned your gallantry. Although circumstances have prevented you from reaping the full benefit of your conquests, yet there is ample consolation consola-tion in the degree of glory which you have acquired." "For boldness of design de-sign and dexterity of execution," says Frost, "it was not surpassed, if equaled, during the war." In September, 1778, Barry was made captain of the Raleigh, and while cruising cruis-ing off the coast of Maine was pursued Vy - Vessel mounting three times a? i inany g4ns- Barry gave battle for nine hours against great odds, and then finding find-ing defeat or capture inevitable, beached his ship sooner than surrender, surren-der, and with his crew escaped ashore near the mouth of the Penobscot river. The loss of his ship did not diminish Barry's ardor for the cause. The state of Pennsylvania promptly fitted him out with a vessel, congress being too i poor at that time to replace the Ra-t Ra-t eigh. Sailing in the brig Delaware, Barry captured a British sloop of war, mounting fourteen guns and manned by ninety men. His own vessel had but ten1 guns and sixty men. Several other captures were made , by Barry during the next two year?. In June, 1780, congress gave him command of the Alliance, named in honor of the treaty of alliance with Catholic France. He sailed from Boston, Feb. 11. 1781. carrrying Colonel John Laurens, special commissioner of the United States to , France. During the return voyage from France the Alliance had many adventures. adven-tures. A few days out two brigs were captured, one of thirty-six guns and the other of ten guns. On May 28, 17S1, ; I on this voyage, the Alliance, fell in j - I (Continued on Page, 3.) j M '' SKETCH OF COM. JOHN BARRY'S CAREER (Continued from page 1.) with two vessels, the Atlanta, a ship of war, and the Trepassy, a brig. Barry Bar-ry promptly engaged them. His force of men was greatly reduced, for the prizes previously captured had been manned with crews from his own complement; com-plement; there were fifty men on the sick list and 100 prisoners were on board. Despite this handicap Barry did not hesitate a moment. He called for the surrender of the Atlanta, which demand was . refused. ... During, the engagement Barry was Wounded in the shoulder and forced to leave the deck to be treated. The Alliance Al-liance was sorely wounded by her two opponents, and the officer In command during Barry's disability believed that surrender was advisable to prevent annihilation. an-nihilation. He went below decks to see Barry, whom he found in the hands of the doctor, with a gaping wound. "We are hard pressed, sir," said he, "shall we strike our flag?" "Strike his flag?" Had Barry heard aright? Strike his flag? Through his heart surged the warm blood of a patriot, every red drop eager to leap forth in the cause of liberty. Across his brain came the flood of the yesteryears yes-teryears in his native land. The memories mem-ories of the wrongs of Ireland,, the land of his birth, and those of America, Amer-ica, the land of his adoption, suffered at the hands of the same enemy, swept through his brain with cyclonic force. "Strike my flag.?. Never!" he shouted, shout-ed, and, snatching his coat to cover his wound, bleeding John . Barry bounded up the companion way to the deck, where he lent the strength of his heroic presence to his men and urged them to such efforts that after four hours of fighting the two' British vessels ves-sels surrendered. In this battle, which is one of .the most famous engagements of. the Revolution, Rev-olution, five men of Barry's force were killed and twenty-three wounded. Frost in his "Naval Biography," referring re-ferring to this engagement, says: "It was considered a most brilliant exploit and an unequivocal evidence of the unconquerable un-conquerable firmness and intrepidity of the victor." The Alliance, with her prizes, arrives safely at Boston, June 6. 1781, and the value of Barry's cap-' tures was. such that -congress was en abled to fit out a new ship of waiThe America, from their proceeds.' When the terms for which" the men had enlisted in .the Alliance expired, every man gladly signed, again to sail under Barry. As at all times during the Revolution it" was most difficult to get men to man ships, the voluntary offer of every member of Barry's crew to ship with him again is a striking attestation to his character As to ! desertion, it Was so rare Jhat but two instances are- cm record during the , entire period of Commodore Barry's command. The Alliance, under Barry, carried to France Lafayette, who returned to his country to endeavor to secure greater help for the struggling patriots. This mission was. successful, Catholic France fitting out a fleet and preparing prepar-ing 3,000 men to ''assist the American cause. After this voyage 'Barry in the Alliance pursued a uniformly successful success-ful course as a sea commander, capturing cap-turing in five weeks no less than eight prizes. 'During the entire course of the Revolution Barry captured more vessels and through this gave to the American cause more aid, moral and financial, than any other commander. In 1783, while carrying trom Havana a large amount of specie tor congress, he fought the last 'battle of the Revolutionary Rev-olutionary Avar. Peace had been declared de-clared on land some time" before, but an engagement occurred between the Alliance and the Sybil, in which the latter was worsted. It was on thia occasion that Barry gave his famous answer when hailed with "Who are you?" His reply was, "The United States ship Alliance saucy Jack Barry, Bar-ry, half irishman and half Yankee. Who are you?" After the war Barry resumed his employment em-ployment of merchantman commander. The navy was dismantled. The country struggled along for some years, every moath discovering the Articles of confederation, con-federation, which had served well enough in time of war, when all were I united against a common foe, were not suitable for government in times of peace. At length, in 17S7, a convention was called for the purpose of changing chang-ing the form of government or devising devis-ing a new method of government. Most of the states were represented. The result of this was the adoption by the convention of the present constitution of the United States. When Pennsylvania's delegates to the constitutional convention reported to the Pennsylvania assembly and senate sen-ate some of those Opposed to a change attempted to defer action, by the legislature. leg-islature. Nineteen members attempted to prevent business by absenting themselves them-selves and preventing the presence of a quorum. Public sentiment was strongly against these members, and their attempt was cut short by the determined de-termined action of John Barry, now a citizen. With a few friends. Barry seized" forcibly two members of the assembly and brought them to the session of the legislature, where, unwilling auditors, they made a quorum, which immediately immedi-ately voted to fix a time for action upon the proposed Constitution of the United States. Thus John Barry by determined ac tion forced Pennsylvania into line and helped to the adoption by his state of the present Constitution. Consti-tution. One of these members, James McCalmont, attempted to have Barry 1 prosecuted, and on his evidence, not denied by Barry, the state went through the form of beginning action against the latter. But, like many other actions strictly legal but opposed to common weal, it died a natural death. During the latter part of Washington's Washing-ton's administration congress authorized author-ized the building of three frigates and three smaller vessels of war! This was dene in March,- 1794, nnd in June six captains were appointed. The first appointed.", ap-pointed.", outranking all others, was John Barry, who, by this act, became the senior officer of the infant navy. Washington issued the first commission, commis-sion, creating the first officer in the, jtavy of the United States of America, to John Barry on Feb. 22, 1797. Thus, in a double sense, is John ' Barry the father of the American navy. As first commander of the first ship flying the first continental flag utiph, thej seas and j bearing the first commission' issued in the name of the continental congress, he was the first-officer pf the revolution revolu-tion upon the sea. And now,' as first captain and ranking officer commanding command-ing the first vessels owned by the United States of America, he becomes the naval progenitor of the long line of distinguished naval heroes. Barry died Sept. 13, 1803, and was buried in the church yard of the parish of St. Mary's Catholic church on South Fourth street, near Locust street, Phil adelphia, where his remains still lie. Thus lived and died John Barry, strong, brave and true. Faithful to his countrj-, faithful to church and faithful faith-ful to every domestic obligation, this noble officer and patriot, whose career is so linked with our history as a country, coun-try, must be honored while men revere courage, fidelity, patriotism and conscience. con-science. These virtues he had in distinguished dis-tinguished measure, and let every Irishman and Catholic heart take full measure of pride in the name and fame of that true patriot, Commodore John Barry. |