Isaiah Robinson (unknown – c. 1781) was a captain 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

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

Biography

Robinson, probably born in

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 ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, was a member of the Philadelphia Ship Masters' Association and served as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on the with Joshua Barney. He later commanded the 10-gun Continental

sloop-of-war During the 18th and 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship of the Royal Navy with a single gun deck that carried up to 18 guns. The rating system of the Royal Navy covered all vessels with 20 or more guns; thus, the term encompassed all u ...

, fitted out by the Marine Committee shortly after Admiral Esek Hopkins' fleet sailed for New Providence in 1776, and captured a six-gun

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

letter of marque off the Virginia Capes. Andrew Doria NH 85510-KN

Appointed captain in the

on 10 October 1776, he assumed command of the 14-gun

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

. One of the more important smaller boats of the Continental Navy, the brig sailed under orders of the Secret Committee, dated 17 October 1776, for the Dutch island of

Sint Eustatius Sint Eustatius, known locally as Statia, is an island in the Caribbean. It is a Caribbean Netherlands, special municipality (officially "Public body (Netherlands), public body") of the Netherlands. The island is in the northern Leeward Islands ...

to take on a cargo of military stores. When the '' Andrew Doria'' entered the harbor at Sint Eustatius on 16 November, it received one of the first gun salutes rendered to the American flag). Upon the return voyage in late November, he captured the British 12-gun

after a two-hour engagement near

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. The following year, Captain Robinson cruised against enemy shipping off Cape May, but was finally blockaded in the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

. During the defense of Philadelphia, and following the destruction of Fort Mifflin on 15 November 1777, he was forced to burn ''Andrew Doria'' to prevent the vessel from falling into enemy hands. He commanded the 12-gun Pennsylvania privateer ''Pomona'' in 1779 and succeeded in taking several British privateers. The date of his death is unknown, but his will, dated 12 August 1777, was probated in the city of Philadelphia on 25 September 1781.

Legacy

The

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

s and were named in his honor. Robinson appears in John Edward Jennings' 1950

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

''The Sea Eagles''.

References

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Isaiah Year of birth missing Year of death missing Continental Navy officers People from colonial Pennsylvania