Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

Abraham Whipple (September 26, 1733 – May 27, 1819) was an American naval officer best known for his service in the

Continental Navy The Continental Navy was the navy of the United Colonies and United States from 1775 to 1785. It was founded on October 13, 1775 by the Continental Congress to fight against British forces and their allies as part of the American Revolutionary ...

during the Revolutionary War and being one of the founders of

Marietta, Ohio Marietta is a city in Washington County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in Appalachian Ohio, southeastern Ohio at the confluence of the Muskingum River, Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, northeast of Parkersburg, West Virginia ...

. Born near Providence, Colony of Rhode Island, Whipple chose to be a seafarer early in his life and embarked on a career in the lucrative trade with the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

, working for

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

and John Brown. In the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

period, he became a privateersman and commanded

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

''Game Cock'' from 1759 to 1760. In one six-month cruise, he captured 23 French ships. In 1772, Whipple burnt the first British naval casualty of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, the revenue cutter ''Gaspee'', in the ''Gaspée'' Affair. The first to unfurl the Star Spangled Banner in London, Whipple was also the first to sail an ocean-going ship 2000 miles downriver from Ohio to the Caribbean, which opened trade with the Northwest Territory.Hildreth, ''Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', 159–60. He was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati of the State of Rhode Island.

Early life

Whipple was born on September 26, 1733, to Noah Whipple Jr. Abraham Whipple and Sarah Hopkins were married on August 2, 1761. They had three children: John, Catherine, and Mary. Catherine later married Colonel

Ebenezer Sproat Ebenezer Sproat (February 9, 1752 – January 7, 1805), surname also spelled Sprout, was an officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, a pioneer to the Ohio Country, and one of the founders of Marietta, Ohio, the fir ...

of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

. Whipple sold enslaved people as part of his mercantile career; in November 1763, Whipple sold an enslaved woman named Deuse to Nicholas Brown & Co.

Revolutionary activities

Rhode Island

As American colonists began to express their opposition to the policies of

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

, acts of defiance became increasingly prevalent. An early incident occurred on June 9, 1772, when Whipple led 50 Rhode Islanders in the capture and burning of the British revenue cutter ''Gaspee''. The ship had run aground off Pawtuxet while chasing the packet ''Hannah''. The burning initiated an exchange of notes between Whipple and Captain James Wallace of HMS ''Rose''. Wallace wrote, "You Abraham Whipple on June 10, 1772, burned his majesty's vessel the ''Gaspee'' and I will hang you at the yard arm!" Whipple responded, "Sir, always catch a man before you hang him." Three years later, the

Rhode Island General Assembly The State of Rhode Island General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. A bicameral body, it is composed of the lower Rhode Island House of Representatives with 75 representatives, and the upper Rhode Island Se ...

appointed Whipple commodore of two ships fitted for the defense of the colony's trade. On June 15, 1775, (the day the sea captain received his commission), Whipple led his men to capture the tender to

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

HMS ''Rose''. After cruising in the vicinity of

Narragansett Bay Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. S ...

, he headed south to

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

to procure gunpowder for use by the colony. On the return voyage, Whipple transported naval recruits to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Upon her arrival there, his ship, ''Katy'', was taken over by agents of the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

and was fitted out as sloop-of-war ''Providence''.

Naval command

Whipple was commissioned a captain in the

on December 22 and was given command of 24-gun ship ''Columbus''. From February 17 to April 8, 1776, he commanded the ship during the first

Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...

amphibious expedition—the cruise to

New Providence New Providence is the most populous island in The Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. On the eastern side of the island is the national capital, national capital city of Nassau, Bahamas, Nassau; it had a population of 246 ...

, in the Bahamas, to seize essential military supplies from the British garrison at Nassau. After returning north to

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

, Whipple captured five British prizes before March 27, 1778, when his ship ran aground off Point Judith,

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. After stripping the ship, the captain and his crew abandoned her and escaped capture ashore. AbrahamWhipple

Assigned next to command 28-gun frigate '' Providence'', Whipple ran the British blockade on the night of April 30, 1778, damaging HMS ''Lark'' and outrunning another British ship during the escape. Tacking for France, the ''Providence'' crossed the Atlantic Ocean unmolested, bearing important dispatches relating to agreements between France and the American colonies, and reached Paimboeuf. After acquiring guns and supplies for the Continental Army, the ''Providence'' and the ''Boston'' sailed home to the colonies, taking three prizes en route. Upon his return, Whipple received command of a small squadron—''Providence'', ''Ranger'', and ''Queen of France''. On one occasion in mid-July 1779, this group of ships encountered a large British convoy in dense fog off the Newfoundland Banks. Whipple concealed his guns and ran up the British flag. Thus disguised, Whipple cut 11 prizes out of the convoy, eight of which contained spoils of war valued together at over one million dollars (roughly 25.7 million in 2024 dollars), making the venture easily one of the richest captures of the entire war. Whipple then cruised off Bermuda before arriving at

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. On December 23, 1779. British forces threatened Charleston, which was at the time a key Continental port. The threat led Whipple to move the guns and crews from the Continental Navy ships in port on shore to reinforce the land batteries and repulse the expected British assault. However, after a rugged four-month siege, the overwhelming pressure of British arms forced the Continental forces to surrender on May 12, 1780. Whipple remained a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

of the British until he was paroled to

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (also known as the Delaware Valley) on the western bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. ...

, at which point he took no further part in the war. Upon the conclusion of hostilities, Whipple took up farming near Cranston, Rhode Island.

Later life

For the rest of his life, he remained a farmer, with the exception of two spells of seafaring as master of merchantmen, first of the ''General Washington'' and then of the ''St. Clair''. With the formation of the

Ohio Company of Associates The Ohio Company of Associates, also known as the Ohio Company, was a land company whose members are today credited with becoming the first non-Native Americans in the United States, Native American group to permanently settle west of the Alle ...

in 1788 and the initial westward migration into that territory, Whipple and his family became pioneers on the American frontier and were among the founders of the town of

, and the first named proprietor of

Charleston, Vermont Charleston is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,021 at the 2020 census. The town contains two unincorporated villages: East Charleston and West Charleston. Local government Town * Selectboard – Patr ...

.Esther Munroe Swift. ''Vermont Place-Names: Footprints of History'', Publisher: S. Greene Press (1996) Granted a pension by Congress in recognition of his distinguished service in helping to win American independence, Whipple died at

, on May 27, 1819, and was buried at Mound Cemetery in Marietta. His gravestone reads: Several ships of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

have been named USS ''Whipple'' in his honor. There is a Whipple Street, Avenue or Court in almost every one of the 39 municipalities in the State of Rhode Island.

Fictional references

* In '' The Case of Charles Dexter Ward'' by H.P. Lovecraft, Capt. Abraham Whipple, one of the "eminent townsmen" of

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, led the raid on Joseph Curwen's farm. He is also mentioned in " The Shunned House" as a cousin of the narrator's great-grandfather. Whipple was an indirect ancestor of Lovecraft's, through his grandfather Whipple Van Buren Phillips.

References

Bibliography

* Cohen, Sheldon S.: '' Commodore Abraham Whipple of the Continental Navy: Privateer, Patriot, Pioneer'', University Press of Florida, Series: New Perspectives on Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology, Gainesville, Florida (2010). , * Hildreth, S. P.: ''Biographical and Historical Memoirs of the Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', H. W. Derby and Co., Cincinnati, Ohio (1852).

External links

:
The Whipple Website

Whipple contributed to nation, Marietta
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whipple, Abraham 1733 births 1819 deaths Continental Navy officers People of Rhode Island in the American Revolution American Revolutionary War prisoners of war held by Great Britain 19th-century American farmers People from Marietta, Ohio Burials at Mound Cemetery (Marietta, Ohio) Patriots in the American Revolution Military personnel from Providence, Rhode Island People from colonial Rhode Island People of the French and Indian War 19th-century American merchants 18th-century American slave traders 18th-century American farmers