Captain Jeremiah O'Brien (1744–1818) was an American captain in the Massachusetts State Navy. (Despite the image in this article, he had light brown hair and blue eyes.Sherman, Andrew, Life of Captain Jeremiah O'Brien, 1902 at p. 20) Prior to its existence (or that of 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 ...

), he commanded the sloop ''Unity'' when he captured the

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 ...

armed

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

in the Battle of Machias, the first naval battle of 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 ...

. Thereafter, he renamed the ''Unity'' the ''Machias Liberty''. He also led the first American attack on

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

in the

Raid on St. John (1775) The Raid on Saint John took place on 27 August 1775 during the American Revolutionary War. The raid involved American privateers from Machias, Province of Maine, Machias, Commonwealth of Massachusetts Bay attacking Saint John, New Brunswick, Saint ...

. Six United States ships have been named in his honor.

Early life

Jeremiah was the eldest son of Irish immigrants Morris and Mary O'Brien. He was born in Kittery, District of Maine in 1744. His family moved to

Scarborough, Maine Scarborough is a New England town, town in Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County on the southern coast of the U.S. state of Maine. Located about south of Portland, Maine, Portland, Scarborough is part of the Portland, Maine, Portland&ndash ...

and settled in Machias, Maine in the 1760s to engage in lumbering. They owned two sawmills.

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

was a part of

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

at the time.Bangor and Aroostook Railroad Historical and Technical Society ''The BAR Newsletter'' June 1976 volume III, issue 2, pages 2&3

American Revolution

Reports of the

battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 were the first major military actions of the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot militias from America's Thirteen Co ...

reached Machias by early May 1775, leading Jeremiah and Benjamin Foster to rally Machias residents at Job Burnham's tavern. Machias merchant captain Ichabod Jones sailed his ships ''Unity'' and ''Polly'' to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

with a cargo of lumber and purchased food for sale in Machias. British troops encouraged Jones to deliver another cargo of lumber for construction of their barracks in Boston. Admiral

Samuel Graves Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Samuel Graves (17 April 1713 – 8 March 1787) was a Royal Navy officer who served in the Seven Years' War and American Revolutionary War, American War of Independence. Ancestry He is thought to have been born i ...

ordered HMS ''Margaretta'', under the command of James Moore, to accompany Jones' ships to discourage interference from Machias rebels. When the ships reached Machias on 2 June 1775, Capt. James Moore saw the town's liberty pole and ordered it removed. The Machias townspeople refused to remove the pole and to load the lumber. Foster plotted to capture the British officers when they attended church on 11 June, but the British escaped capture and retreated downriver aboard ''Margaretta''. On 12 June Jeremiah pursued ''Margaretta'' aboard Jones' ship the ''Unity''. Foster intended to participate in the

packet boat Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed mainly for domestic mail and freight transport in European countries and in North American rivers and canals. Eventually including basic passenger accommodation, they were used extensively during t ...

''Falmouth''. But after the ''Falmouth'' ran aground, O'Brien and his five brothers, Gideon, John, William, Dennis and Joseph, and men of Machias took the ''Unity'' and went on alone. Under the command of Jeremiah O'Brien, thirty-one townsmen sailed aboard ''Unity'' armed with guns, swords, axes, and pitch forks and captured ''Margaretta'' in an hour-long battle after Capt. Moore of the ''Margaretta'' had threatened to bombard the town. John O'Brien jumped aboard ''Margaretta'' as the two ships closed, but was forced to jump overboard by the British crew. After rescuing John, the ''Unity'' again closed on the ''Margaretta'' until their rigging became entangled. The ''Unity'' was bombarded by

grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

s from the British ship, but ''Margaretta'' surrendered after James Moore was mortally wounded. This battle is often considered the first time British colors were struck to those of the United States, even though the

did not exist at the time. The

United States Merchant Marine The United States Merchant Marine is an organization composed of United States civilian sailor, mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of ...

claims ''Unity'' as its member and this incident as their beginning. In August 1775, O'Brien participated in the

. O'Brien continued as the captain of ''Unity'', renamed ''Machias Liberty'', for two years, and received the first captain's commission in the Massachusetts State Navy in 1775. He met with General

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

more than once.

Later life

President

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

appointed O'Brien as the federal customs collector for the port of Machias in 1811, and he held the position until his death in 1818.

Honors

* Five ships in 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 in his honor: ** , a torpedo boat, built in 1900 and served until 1909 ** , an O'Brien-class destroyer, which served from 1915 until 1922 ** , a , served from 1940 until she was sunk by an enemy torpedo in 1942 ** , an , served from 1944 until 1972 ** , a , launched in 1976 and served until 2004 * , an EC2-S-C1-class Liberty ship, which served during World War II from 1943 until 1946 and is currently an operational museum ship in San Francisco *

Bangor and Aroostook Railroad The Bangor and Aroostook Railroad was a United States railroad company that brought rail service to Aroostook County, Maine, Aroostook County in northern Maine. Brightly-painted BAR boxcars attracted national attention in the 1950s. First-genera ...

bicentennial __NOTOC__ A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to: Europe * French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...

locomotive number 1776 was named ''Jeremiah O'Brien''

References

* * *

Notes