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"Father of theAmerican Navy"

Barry had became a prominent, prosperous transatlantic trader and Sea Captain.

At thestart of hostilities, Barry was chosen to outfit and provision ships for thefledgling Continental Navy. He did thejob so well that in December 1775, he was given command of the U.S.S. Lexington, the first commission issued by theContinental Congress, Just three months later, Barry became thefirst U.S. Navy captain to seize a British ship (H.M.S. Edward). Later in the closing days of thewar whilecommanding the U S S Alliance in March of 1783; Barry and crew won the final naval battleof theAmerican Revolution off thecoast of Cape Canaveral. In 1797, Barry, who is now known and remembered as The Father of theAmerican Navy, was issued Commodore Commission Number One in theU S Navy by President George Washington.

Barry was an honorableand fearless leader as well as a man of great integrity; he was aboveall an American Patriot. As did all of theFounding Fathers, Military Leaders and " Rebels" in the War Of Independence; he risked everything to help thecause.

Once offered 100,000 British pounds and command of any frigate in theBritish Navy if he would desert theAmerican

Washington's Irish Spy

One of the best shows with an historic theme on Netflix over thepast few years has been Washington's Spies. It turns out, one of the characters is based on a real lifehero of the Revolutionary War era, Hercules Mulligan

Mulligan was born in County Derry and may well have been one of the key players in the War because

Navy, an outraged Barry replied that not all the money in theBritish treasury or command of its entirefleet could tempt him to desert his adopted country his intelligence probably saved Washington's life. When theBritish took control of New York, Mulligan remained in the city as an espionage agent, posing as a Loyalist and gathering vital information from British soldiers during their meetings in his clothing store. Mulligan?s vital communiqués included the British plan to invade Pennsylvania and a warning that British agents intended to kidnap George Washington.