John Barry (naval officer)
John Barry was an Irish-born American naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War and in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War. He has been credited by some as "The Father of the American Navy", sharing that moniker with John Paul Jones and John Adams, and was appointed as a captain in the Continental Navy on December 7, 1775. Barry was the first captain placed in command of an American warship commissioned for service under the Continental flag. After the Revolutionary War, he became the first commissioned American naval officer, at the rank of commodore, receiving his commission from President George Washington in 1797.
A 1972 repaint by V. Zveg of an 1801 portrait by Gilbert Stuart
Barry receiving commodore commission from Washington
The Commodore John Barry statue by John Boyle has been exhibited in Washington, D.C.'s Franklin Square since 1914
Plaque and Bust of Commodore Barry at Rickover Hall, USNA
The Continental Navy was the navy of the Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolutionary War. Founded on October 13, 1775, the fleet developed into a relatively substantial force throughout the Revolutionary War, owing partially to the substantial efforts of the Continental Navy's patrons within the Continental Congress. These Congressional Patrons included the likes of John Adams, who served as the Chairman of the Naval Committee until 1776, when Commodore Esek Hopkins received instruction from the Continental Congress to assume command of the force.
John Adams took an active role in the formation of the navy and the drafting of suitable operational regulations. Painting by John Trumbull, c. 1792–93.
Continental ship Columbus with captured British brig Lord Lifford, 1776
Abraham Whipple painting by Edward Savage
Continental frigates Hancock and Boston capturing British frigate Fox, June 7, 1777