Lambert Wickes (1735 – October 1, 1777) was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

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 ...

Revolutionary activities

Wickes was born sometime in 1735 in Kent County,

Province of Maryland The Province of Maryland was an Kingdom of England, English and later British colonization of the Americas, British colony in North America from 1634 until 1776, when the province was one of the Thirteen Colonies that joined in supporting the A ...

. His family home, Wickliffe, was on Eastern Neck Island. Prior to the American Revolution, Wickes was captain of the merchant ships the ''Neptune'' and the ''Ceres''. On March 28, 1776 the Continental Congress allowed the purchase of the 18-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 ...

which would be renamed the . In May of the same year, Wickes was the Reprisal's captain and he was ordered to sail into battle against the British frigate Roebuck which was opening the Delaware River to British ships. Wickes would later be designated as number 11 on the Continental Navy's seniority list. The

Committee of Secret Correspondence The Committee of Secret Correspondence was a committee formed by the Second Continental Congress and active from 1775 to 1776. The Committee played a large role in attracting France, French France in the American Revolutionary War, aid and allianc ...

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, by arrangement with the Marine Committee, issued orders for Capt. Wickes to proceed to 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 ...

in ''Reprisal'' and bring out munitions for use by General Washington's army. In addition, Wickes was to transport

William Bingham William Bingham (March 8, 1752February 7, 1804) was an American statesman from Philadelphia. He was a delegate for Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress from 1786 to 1788 and served in the United States Senate from 1795 to 1801. Bingham was o ...

to his post, the French possession of

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

, as agent for the American colonies. ''Reprisal'' passed down 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 ...

from

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during the latter part of June 1776. While en route, ''Reprisal'' went to the aid of the harried Continental 6-gun brig ''Nancy'' — bound from St. Croix and St. Thomas with 386 barrels of gunpowder — which was being chased by six British

men-of-war In Royal Navy jargon, a man-of-war (also man-o'-war, or simply man) was a powerful warship or frigate of the 16th to the 19th century, that was frequently used in Europe. Although the term never acquired a specific meaning, it was usually rese ...

. In order to save ''Nancy'', her captain, Hugh Montgomery, ran her aground. ''Reprisal'' and ''Lexington'' – the latter under the command of Capt. John Barry – kept boats from HMS ''Kingfisher'' at bay and succeeded in landing some 200 barrels of the precious powder. In this engagement, Wickes' brother, Richard Wickes, was killed while serving as third lieutenant in ''Reprisal''. This engagement became known as the Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet. Clearing the Delaware capes on July 3, ''Reprisal'', under Wickes' sterling seamanship, captured a number of prizes in the West Indies and had a sharp engagement with , beating her off and escaping into port. On October 24, 1776, Wickes was ordered to France with

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

and his two grandsons as passengers. On November 27, while approaching the coast of France, Captain Wickes received Ambassador Franklin's permission to engage two brigs, and captured them both: the brigantines ''George'' and ''La Vigne''. On November 29, still some distance from

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, Wickes had to drop anchor because of unfavorable winds. Four days later Wickes hailed a fishing boat, which took Franklin and his grandsons ashore at the village of

Auray Auray (; , or simply ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Morbihan Departments of France, department, Regions of France, administrative region of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, northwestern France. Inhabitants of Auray are cal ...

. Setting sail in January 1777, Wickes took ''Reprisal'' to sea on a cruise which took her to the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...

and the mouth of the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. On February 5, his ship captured the armed packet-boat ''Swallow'', carrying mail between Britain and its ally

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,Letter, Thomas Morris to American Commissioners, 18 Feb 1777
franklinpapers.org- accessed 2007-12-06 after a hard action of 40 minutes duration. During the battle, ''Reprisal'' suffered two officers seriously wounded and one man killed. During the remainder of this foray against British shipping, Wickes took five additional prizes and left them at

Port Louis Port Louis (, ; or , ) is the capital and most populous city of Mauritius, mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's financial and political centre. It is admi ...

. Wickes moved ''Reprisal'' to

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

, but was ordered to leave the port in 24 hours by the French government—the port authorities apparently stirred to action by remonstrances from British diplomat. Wickes, however, claimed that ''Reprisal'' had sprung a leak and needed to be careened for hull repairs. Wickes proved to be skillful at gaining time; as, on several occasions, he thwarted the intentions of the French government to have him sail. In April 1777, the Continental vessels ''Lexington'' and ''Dolphin'' joined ''Reprisal'' and constituted a squadron under Wickes' command. Setting sail from St. Auzeau on May 28, the ships cruised around

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in June, July, and August; during one phase of the voyage, the three ships captured 15 ships in five days. On September 14, Wickes left France in ''Reprisal'', in company with ''Dolphin'', bound for home. The ships encountered a Nor’Easter near the

Grand Banks The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod, swordfi ...

around October 1, and ''Reprisal'' foundered with the loss of all hands except the cook.

Legacy

Louis H. Bolander, the assistant librarian at the

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. List of naval academies See also

* Military academy {{Authority control Naval academies, Naval lists ...

, wrote an article on Wickes in 1928, entitled "A Forgotten Hero of the American Revolution." Appearing in ''Americana,'' in April 1928, the article closed with a fitting epitaph for Capt. Lambert Wickes: "Thus closed a career distinguished for patriotism, gallantry and humanity, for not a single charge of cruelty or harshness was ever breathed against him by any one of his many prisoners. Franklin, who knew him well, said of him, 'He was a gallant officer, and a very worthy man.' " Two

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in the

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have been named in his honor. The two iron balls on each side of a magnetic compass, used to balance out and counteract magnetic variations based on a ship's location, are traditionally called "Lamberts", in his honor.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wickes, Lambert 1735 births 1777 deaths American Revolutionary War deaths Continental Navy officers People of Maryland in the American Revolution People from Kent County, Maryland 18th-century American naval officers People lost at sea

Revolutionary activities

Legacy

Further reading

References