Commodore Abraham Whipple of the Continental Navy: Privateer, Patriot, Pioneer

259 Pages·2010·8.31 MB·English

by  Sheldon S. Cohen

HISTORY/MILITARY HISTORY f New YCoormkmodore f
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“A brilliantly penned biography . . . illuminating the early history of the Rhode Island colony; o f f
the Continental Navy’s recruiting and maintenance of crew challenges; the siege of Charleston, h Abraham Whipple
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S.C.; the financial dealings of the nascent U.S. government; and the settling of eastern Ohio. . . . n f f
Whipple is an overlooked and somewhat tragic naval hero, largely lost in the dusty history of the
Continental Navy, but Cohen’s stunning and seminal biography should go a long way in correct- s4 f of the Continental Navy f
ing this oversight.”—Sea History s4
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“Two years prior to the opening salvos at Lexington and Concord, Whipple participated in the
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Privateer, Patriot, Pioneer
capture and destruction of HMS Gaspee, a British ship that pursued smugglers along the New m f f
England coast. . . . An informative, complete accounting of a man who can be considered one of @ @
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our nation’s founding fathers. . . . An invaluable resource.”—Pirates and Privateers d f f
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“Of the twenty-seven men who were commissioned as captains in the Continental Navy, only two e
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are famous today . . . most of the men who made substantive contributions to the Revolutionary A
War’s maritime cause have largely been forgotten. Sheldon Cohen’s biography of Captain Abra- b
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ham Whipple is thus a welcome literary tapestry, a vivid depiction of events woven together with a
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threads of strong scholarship and attention to detail. . . . During 1779, Captain Whipple success- a f f
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fully made the largest single capture of enemy prizes during the war . . . the outcome was called by

some ‘the million dollar cruise.’”—New England Quarterly W f f
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“Sent to assist in the defense of Charleston, he was captured after General Lincoln’s surrender of
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1780; during his capture and parole he spent his own money looking after sick men and, later, in
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paying for the upkeep of himself and officers under parole. . . . Obviously an interesting man who l
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achieved much.”—Naval Review o
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“Due to family and financial obligations, Whipple left Rhode Island to take advantage of new land h
within the Northwest Territory and migrated to Marietta, Ohio, in 1789. . . . Spans the areas of e
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military history, maritime history, and the American Revolution, and should be included in any
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course touching on early American history.”—International Journal of Maritime History n f f
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“In April 1801, [Whipple] navigated the first sailing ship down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers n
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to New Orleans. . . . [The U.S. Navy] named three ships after him. . . . His service to his state and n
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country is certainly of enough interest to deserve the kind of excellent coverage provided by this a
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book.”—Journal of America’s Military Past
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“The life and times of a seaman in peace and war, a man who knew success and failure, a stout- v
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hearted sailor and devoted patriot.”—Northern Mariner
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Sheldon S. Cohen, professor emeritus of history at Loyola University Chicago, is the author of numerous
books, including Yankee Sailors in British Gaols and British Supporters of the American Revolution. f f
A volume in the series New Perspectives on Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology, edited by
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James C. Bradford and Gene Allen Smith
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Front cover: Portrait of Abraham Whipple by Edward Savage.
Courtesy of the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command.
ISBN 978-0-8130-3978-7 UPF
UPF f f
University Press of Florida ,!7IA8B3-adjhih! @ @
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Sheldon S. Cohen
www.upf.com
Commodore Abraham Whipple of the Continental Navy
New Perspectives on Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology
University Press of florida
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers
Florida International University, Miami
Florida State University, Tallahassee
New College of Florida, Sarasota
University of Central Florida, Orlando
University of Florida, Gainesville
University of North Florida, Jacksonville
University of South Florida, Tampa
University of West Florida, Pensacola

Commodore Abraham Whipple
of the Continental Navy
Privateer, Patriot, Pioneer
sheldon s. Cohen
Foreword by James C. Bradford and Gene Allen Smith
University Press of florida
Gainesville/Tallahassee/Tampa/Boca Raton
Pensacola/Orlando/Miami/Jacksonville/Ft. Myers/Sarasota
Copyright 2010 by Sheldon S. Cohen
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper.
All rights reserved
First cloth printing, 2010
First papreback printing, 2011
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cohen, Sheldon S. (Sheldon Samuel), 1931–
Commodore Abraham Whipple of the Continental Navy : privateer,
patriot, pioneer / Sheldon S. Cohen ; foreword by James C. Bradford
and Gene Allen Smith.
p. cm.—(New perspectives on maritime history and nautical
archaeology)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8130-3433-1 (alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-8130-3978-7 (pbk.)
1. Whipple, Abraham, 1733–1819. 2. Ship captains—United States—
Biography. 3. United States. Continental Navy—Biography. 4. United
States—History—Revolution, 1775–1783—Naval operations. 5.
United States—History—French and Indian War, 1755–1763—Naval
operations. 6. Privateering—United States—History—18th century. 7.
Pioneers—Ohio—Biography. 8. Ohio—Biography. I. Title.
E207.W47C644 2010
359.0092—dc22 [B] 2009025054
The University Press of Florida is the scholarly publishing agency
for the State University System of Florida, comprising Florida A&M
University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida Gulf Coast University,
Florida International University, Florida State University, New College
of Florida, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, Uni-
versity of North Florida, University of South Florida, and University
of West Florida.
University Press of Florida
15 Northwest 15th Street
Gainesville, FL 32611-2079
http://www.upf.com
To Benjamin
Who represents the future

Where lies the land to which the ship would go?
Far, far ahead, is all her seamen know.
And where the land she travels from? Away,
Far, far behind is all that they can say.
Arthur Hugh Clough, 1819–61

Contents
List of Illustrations / xi
Foreword / xiii
Preface / xv
Acknowledgments / xix
1. Rhode Island Beginnings / 1
2. The Passage from Peacetime to Rebellion, 1763–1775 / 19
3. Whipple’s War, at Home and Abroad, 1775–1778 / 51
4. War’s Fortunes and Misfortunes, 1779–1783 / 94
5. Postwar Discontentments, 1783–1789 / 130
6. Final Years in Ohio, 1789–1819 / 155
Notes / 179
Bibliography / 213
Index / 225