ABSTRACT
Commodore. He was one of the original four captains of the American Continental Navy appointed by General WASHINGTON during the American Revolution. He is credited with firing the first shot at sea during that war, while in command of the 24-gun converted merchantman Columbus. He participated in a raid on the British-controlled Bahamas Islands in 1776, and also operated successfully off the New England coast during that year. In 1778 he took command of the new 28-gun frigate Providence, and eluded British blockaders to carry dispatches to France and naval stores to the United States in return. In subsequent operations in command of a small squadron off the North American coast, he captured eleven vessels in a convoy off Newfoundland. He was captured on 12 May 1780 after a failed attempt to defend Charleston against an overwhelming British armynavy force. The defeat at Charleston, South Carolina, was considered by many to be the worst American military setback of the Revolution. After his capture he was given permanent parole by the British. Earlier in his career, when he received a note from the captain of a British frigate, referring to Whipple’s role in the burning of the schooner HMS Gaspee and promising to hang him for his actions, Whipple reputedly replied: ‘Sir, Always catch a man before you hang him’. Prior to the American War of Independence he captained the colonial privateer Gamecock during the French and Indian War and was credited with capturing twenty-three French ships. As a shipmaster following the American Revolution, he sailed the first US-flag vessel into the River Thames in England in 1784.
