cAddress OF Michael J. Ryan, Esq. e American Navy . . . . '.' . . . . W UNDER THE A US PICES . OF THE Knights of Columbus TDeliveied at the Giand Opera House Btoad and Montgomery Avenue . . . On Sunday, September 13, igo3 COMPLIMENTS OF., Philadelphia Chapter Knights of Columbus PHILADELPHIA, PA. MICHAEL J. RYAN i Eni a • 'i b\ • V\ ci?ht fi i n *n i > nv mal ! ii ADDRESS OF Michael J. Ryan, Esq. Jit the Commemoration of the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Death of Commodore Barry, Father of the American J\[avy .... Under the. Auspices OF THE, KnigHts of Coltimbtis Delivered at the Grand Opera House Broad and Montgomery Avenue On Sunday, September 13. 1903 PRESS OF BRADLEY BROTHERS 200 S. TENTH ST. \jb)L-A>-r\ . ADDRESS JOHN BARRY Father of the American Navy BY MICHAEL J. RYAN, ESQ. of Philadelphia. In this, the city of his home and his grave, we have met, upon the one hundredth anniversary of his death, to honor the memory of Commodore John Barry. We assemble under the auspices of that Organization of Catholics who find in the illustrious Genoese the most striking example of indomitable energy and majesty of purpose, and it is signally appropriate that the bearers of the name of the great Navigator, who, steering through unknown seas, tore away the veil that hid this mighty Continent, and planting the Cross of Redemption, dedicated the land to the Virgin Mother, should commemorate that other Catholic who here found "theatre for his deeds of high emprize" and deservedly won the title of "Father of the American Navy." So magnificent were the achievements of John Barry, and so varied were his fields of enterprise, that it is difficult, as Shakespeare phrases it, "to turn the accomplishments of many years into an hour-glass." Their simple recital carries with them their own persuasive argument and of themselves would be complete answer to the organized ignorance which, under cover of the name of initialed organizations, often assails us, We glory in the dauntless courage, unswerving loyalty, and heroic devotion of Sheridan, Rosecrans, Meagher, Shields, Mulligan, Corcoran and the thousands who fought and died from Sumpter to Appomatox that the Union might be pre- served, but we may also summon to our array those mighty figures of the past — Moylan, Pulaski, Dillon, Rochambeau, Lafayette and Barry, without whose aid Liberty's battle was ab- solutely hopeless. These names are but types of the men of our faith who have ever borne unfaltering allegiance to our Country, but we single Barry out because of the day we celebrate and that he was the foremost Naval hero of the Revolution. As to him in particular there seems to have been a conspiracy of silence. This may largely have been due to ourselves, but there can be no question that the school books of the Nation have been written by hands none too friendly to his race or creed. When the Dewey Arch was built in New York City, fol- lowing the victory of Manila, although it was studded with the names of the great sea captains, there was no place for the mighty master under whom had served and been taught the art of war, Decatur, Dale, Murray, Stewart, and those other heroes of the seas who had won freedom for our flag upon the oceans. This meeting will have accomplished its purpose if there shall be revival of his fame of whom our own gifted poetess wrote : When Barry, the sorely stricken — wounded well nigh to death Spake the defiant message, outsounding the cannon's breath. And lifting waves that listened to his land, the tidings bore Of victory won through the iron will of her wounded Commo- dore. He was born in the parish of Tacumshane, in the County Wexford, Ireland. The exact year is unknown, but that in- 5 defatigable delver who has done so much for American Catho- lic History, and to whose monumental treasure book, the life of Barry, I at the outset of my discourse make grateful recog- nition, Martin I. J. Griffin, fixes it as 1745. This Irish parish was bounded by two land-locked gulfs, upon both of which it is said Barry "plied the oar and set the sail," for from his very infancy he "heard the multitudinous laughter of the sea," and it called to him and he loved it and followed it, and it gave to him power and triumphs. The date of his exile from his Island home is shrouded in mystery. Then the Anti-Trade and Penal laws were in full vigor, education was a crime, the priest was a felon, "The clogs were taught alike to run Upon the scent of wolf and friar," and the cradle of that race that has dowered the world with its genius afforded no opportunity to its sons for the exercise of tal- ents, ability or ambitions. They fled their native land — some to the Continent, where they gave to France her McMahons, to Spain her O'Donnells, to Austria her Taafes, to Russia her Lacys; and others made rich the Western world and gave to Liberty, Wayne, Montgomery, Sullivan, Knox, Hand, Stewart, Irvine, Thompson, the Carrolls, and at Mecklenburg, two years before the Declaration of Independence, proclaimed that the Colonies "were and of right ought to be free and independent." Barry probably landed in Philadelphia, for from the very birth of the Colony, Pennsylvania had been a favorite home of the Irish people. There were many reasons for this partial- ity. William Penn, its founder, had lived among the people of Ireland, had first become a member of the Society of Friends in Cork, and was there imprisoned for expressing his opinions. His great secretary, James Logan, whose books formed the nucleus of the Philadelphia Library of to-day, and the Surveyor General of the Province, Thomas Holmes, appointed by Penn in 1682, were both Irishmen. The soil of Pennsylvania was more fertile than New England, the climate was less bleak, the government was more humane, and the administration of the laws more stable and gentle than in any of the sister colonies. Freedom of conscience and worship were preserved to every man, and we Catholics should ever hold the Founder in grateful remembrance. To the charge that the Mass was openly cele- brated and that he was a Roman Catholic, Penn wrote: "If the asserting of an impartial liberty of conscience, if doing to others as we would be done by, and an open avowing and steady practicing of these things at all times and to all parties will justly lay a man under the reflection of being a Jesuit or a Papist of any rank, I must not only submit to the character, but embrace it." The tide flowed toward Philadelphia. The Crown of Empire has passed from us to our sister Commonwealth of the North, but in the Eighteenth Century our City was the Metropolis of the New World. The first authentic record of Barrv shows him as "clearing" from this Port in October, 1766, as Captain of a schooner trading between here and the Barbadoes. In 1769 we find that he was elected a member of the "Society for the relief of poor and distressed Masters of Ships," and the various advertisements and registers that have been preserved show him in pursuit of his honorable calling, rising to the command of vessels of increasing size until on December 27, 1774, he was made Captain of the "Black Prince," owned by John Nixon, but chartered by and in the service of Barry's employers, the foremost traders in North America, Morris, and Willing. This John Nixon was the grandson of Richard Nixon, a Catholic, who came to Philadelphia from Ireland in 1686, and 7 it was he who first read to the people of America in the State House yard on July 8, 1776, the immortal Declaration of In- dependence. It is curious the kinship that the Irish have had with this great pronouncement of human rights. The only man who signed his residence with his name was he who had most to lose, the Catholic, Carroll, of Carrollton. The document itself is in the handwriting of him whom Franklin styled "the' soul of Congress," the learned secretary, Charles Thompson, a native of County Donegal, Ireland, and it was first issued to the world by the publisher of the first daily newspaper printed in America, John Dunlap, a native of Tyrone, Ireland. While away upon his cruise to London in the "Black Prince" "the embattled farmers had fired the shot that echoed round the world," and upon his return to Philadelphia on October 13, 1775, Barry found the country aflame. On that very day the Continental Congress had resolved to fit out two armored cruisers — one of fourteen and the other of ten guns, with authority to capture vessels bringing supplies to the British Army. By resolution of Congress the fortunes of the Infant Navy were entrusted to the Marine Cortimitte, and they purchased two ships which they called the "Lexington" and the "Reprisal." These names then required no explanation. The former was in memory of the first battle of the Revolution, and the latter carried in its title a message to our enemies upon the seas. To the command of the former and larger, Barry was assigned. Bailey's "American Naval Biography" says : "At that interesting crisis, when Great Britain brought her veteran armies and powerful navies to coerce a compliance with her un- just demands, and when all but men struggling for their liberty would have deemed resistance folly, it became important to select officers whose valor and discretion, whose experience and skill could give the utmost efficiency to our insignificant means of defense and annoyance. The rare union in Commodore Barry of all these qualities recommended him to the notice of Con- gress, and he was honored by that body with one of the first naval commissions." Barry's commission as Captain indeed was the very first issued by the Marine Committee. It was dated December 7, 1775, and on the same day John Paul Jones, the great sea fighter, was commissioned as Lieutenant of the "Alfred," which was the new name given to Barry's old "Black Prince," after its purchase by the Colonies. The formal organization of the Colonial Navy dated, how- ever, from December 22, 1775, when Esek Hopkins, of Rhode Island, was appointed Commander-in-Chief. The "Alfred" was his flagship, but the fact remains that Barry was the first officer appointed to the command of the first vessel purchased. Of Barry it was said that when he entered the service of the Colonies that "he gave up the command of the finest ship and left the best employment in America." Several years after- wards, Jones, in complaining of the assignment of rank of the various commanders (he being made 18th and Barry 7th in the list) wrote that "when the Navy was established some gentlemen declined to embark in the expedition because they did not choose to be hanged, and it is certain that at first the hazard was very great." Through Barry's veins ran the blood of that race that recks no hazard when duty points the way, and fears no scaffolds when liberty is the prize ; and perhaps, like many another exile, he saw compensation for worldly loss in the vanquishing of the foe of his Mother land. With the "Lexington" Barry put to sea, and in Prebles' "Origin of the Flag" it is declared that his "was the first Vessel that bore the Continental Flag to victory on the ocean." His 9 prize, the "Edward," he brought on April n, 1776, into the Port of Philadelphia, giving pride and encouragement to the patriots, and John Adams wrote, "We begin to make some little figure in the Navy way." Barry during the next few months remained in and about the Delaware and its capes. Robert Morris, his old employer, the "Financier of the Revolution," was the active spirit of the Marine Committee. Under his direction Barry was to "assist in taking, sinking and destroying the enemy," and the contem- porary opinion of him and his success may be gauged from the report of Henry Fisher to the Committee of Safety of Penn- sylvania : "Last evening," he writes, "the Kingfisher" (British Man of War) "returned into our road with a prize brigantine, Captain Walker, of Wilmington, but, luckily for us, before the pirate boarded her, our brave Captain Barry had been on board of her and taken out the powder and arms." Caesar Rodney, one of the signers of the Declaration, wrote on August 3, 1776: "Yesterday came to town an armed vessel taken by Captain Barry at sea ;" and Josiah Bartlett, another signer writing to John Langdon, of New Hampshire, said: "Captain Barry in the "Lexington" has taken and sent in here a privateer of six gun carriage guns commanded by another of those famous Goodriches, of Virginia." These captures and like achievements of the Infant Navy thrilled the patriots to new endeavor. They indeed needed en- couragement, for these months were, as Paine's historic phrase describes them, "the times that tried men's souls." In the security of our primacy, with dominions stretching beyond the oceans, in the plentitude of wealth unparalleled, with luxury whose magnificance surpasses the barbaric splen- dors of the "farther Ind," we forget that but a little more than a century marks the span between our greatness and a handful of people, "stretched along the seacoast," whose western boun- IO claries were the Alleghenies — poor in all save courage and faith in God. In protest against the Tyranny that had "ravaged their coasts, plundered their towns and destroyed the lives of their people," they had risen in revolt. Yet their action was by no means unanimous. New York, during practically all the period of the Revolution, never passed from out the possession of the British. Philadelphia was a centre of Tory treason, and its wealth and fashion welcomed the British occupancy with revelry and merrymaking. The places that we regard as among the most sacred in our history, and the sacrifices that rank the Colonists as first among the martyrs of liberty were then things of contempt. Of the blood-stained snows of Valley Forge, the Royal Gazette, in May. 1778, said: ''Intelligence has been received that Mr. Washington and his tattered re- tinue have abandoned their mud-holes and were on the march to Germantown." In 1778 the French Minister, Gerard, wrote to his superiors that "not more than one-fourth of the people supported the new government." There were periods of acute depression, and the winter following the Declaration was one of agony. Even the great Washington then sounded the note of despair. "In ten days," he wrote, "this army will have ceased to exist. We are at the end of our tether." From New York across New Jersey he was retreating from Cornwallis. So confident was the latter of victory that, writing of Washington, he said : "At last the old fox is in a trap." Terror reigned in Philadelphia. Faithful among the faithless, Barry organized a company of volunteers and went to Washington's aid, and on the gloomy Christmas eve, 1776, he rendered valiant service in transporting the Continental Army across the ice-blocked Delaware, and served with honor and distinction in the victories of Trenton and Princeton that again gave heart to the despairing patriots and drove the English back to New York. 1 1 In reply to Cornwallis' request for the conveyance of relief to the wounded, Washington gave a signal mark of his confi- dence in Barry by sending him as his representative to secure the safe conduct of baggage, surgeons and medicines ; and when that work was completed, he resumed his position as senior commander of the Port of Philadelphia, and with his new vessel, the "Effingham," defending it from British in- vasion by sea and harassing and capturing their vessels of war and merchantmen. Of this character of service Franklin wrote : "Nothing will give us greater weight and importance in the eyes of the Commercial States than a conviction that we can annoy on- occasion their trade and carry our prizes into safe harbors." Unsuccessful in their invasion from the North, the British forces sailed to the Chesapeake, and following the battle of Brandywine entered Philadelphia. During the entire period of their occupancy, both from above and below the City, Barry gave to them annoyance. It was he who devised the plan of filling kegs with gunpowder and sending them down from Bordentown to spread consternation by exploding against the warships and firing the wharves of the city. The "Battle of the Kegs" has passed into poetry, and the terror with which the floating arsenals inspired the invaders was long a fruitful cause of mirth to the patriots. The British, however, had their re- venge upon him, for the "Effingham" was by a land force at its moorings destroyed in the upper Delaware. Even though without a ship, Barry could not be idle. In addition to capturing the vessels of the enemy, it was the aim of the Colonials to destroy their forage and provisions. This was Barry's occupation while the Patriot Army lay encamped at Valley Forge, and as a sample of his success he reported on February 26, 1778, to Washington : "According to the orders of General Wayne, I have destroyed 400 tons of the enemy's forage." 12 In Abbott's "Blue Jackets of '76" is recounted the story of how Barry, with twenty-seven men in open rowboats, cap- tured in the Delaware the British war vessel, the "Alert," of ten guns, with four convoys, and took more than one hundred and fifty prisoners. Frost's Naval Biography said of this achievement that, "for boldness of design and dexterity of execution, it was not surpassed, if equaled, during the war." Such conduct won for Barry the admiration of friends and foes. It is said that Sir William Howe, the Commander-in-Chief of the English forces in America, offered him twenty thousand guineas and the command of a British frigate if he would desert the patriot cause. Barry's reply was : "Not the value and command of the whole British fleet can seduce me from the cause of my country." Part of the stores captured upon this occasion Barry forwarded to Washington at Valley Forge, and received from him this reply : "I congratulate you on the suc- cess which has crowned your gallantry and address in the late attack upon the enemy's ships. Although circumstances have prevented you from reaping the full benefit of your con- quests, yet there is ample consolation in the degree of glory which you have acquired. You will be pleased to accept my thanks for the good things which you were so polite as to send me, with my wishes that a suitable recompense may always at- tend your bravery." On June 17, 1778, the British evacuated Philadelphia, and all undaunted, the patriots on land and sea renewed the battle for freedom. In the following September, Barry was appointed by Congress to the command of the "Raleigh." then lying in the Port of Boston. Sailing thence he was attacked by a superior force, and after fighting bravely to prevent its capture, he ran his vessel ashore on Seal Island, off the Massachusetts coast. One of Barry's crew, an Englishman, remained on board and extinguished the fires which had been lighted to destroy 13 the ship, so that she was taken by the enemy. In Watson's Annals, the fight is called "A noble and daring defense," and its loss in no wise diminished the gallant commander's prestige, for we find that shortly thereafter, when Congress proposed the in- vasion of Florida, that the supreme command of all the squad- ' ron was, by formal resolution, assigned to Barry. This expedi- tion, owing to changed political conditions, never set sail, and Barry for a time became commander of the privateer "Dela- ware," of twelve guns and sixty men, and so remained winning new glories for the flag until in November, 1780, he was ap- pointed commander of the frigate "Alliance," then lying in Boston Harbor. The "Alliance" was the best ship ever owned by the Con- tinental Congress, and was the favorite of the Navy and the Nation during all the period of the Revolution. She was so named in honor of and in proof of the unity existing between France and America ; and in Watson's Annals it is recorded that she "was the only one of our first Navy of the class of frigates which was so successful as to escape capture or destruction dur- ing the war. In the year 1781 she and the "Deane" were the only two of our former frigates then left to our service. She was in many engagements and always victorious. She was a fortunate ship, was a remarkably fast sailer and could always choose her combat. She could either fight or run away, always beating her adversary by fight or flight." John Adams, in one of his letters, states that "One of the most experienced, best read and most scientific commanders in Europe, speaking of the "Alliance," says: "The frigate in which you came here is equal v to any in Europe. I have examined her, and I assure you that there is not in the King's service nor in the English Navy a frigate more perfect and complete in materials or workman- ship." Barry's selection to command this ship was a conspicu- '4 ous and honorable testimonial to his merit, abilities and serv- ices. In 1780 things in America were in a very deplorable state. The people were tired of the war, Continental money was with- out value, the credit of Congress was almost entirely gone, and the fortunes of the Colonists were at the lowest ebb. The com- mand of the forces, both on land and sea, were given to General Washington, who wrote to Franklin : "Our present position makes one of two things essential to us : A peace, or the most vigorous aid of our allies, particularly in the article of money," and Franklin wrote to the French Government : "For effectual friendship, for the aid so necessary in the present conjunction, we can rely on France alone in the continuance of the King's goodness towards us." To secure further aid from France the "Alliance" was ordered to convey thither our special commissioner, Colonel John Laurens. His father, who had also been an envoy, had been captured and was a prisoner in London, and great pre- cautions were needed for the safety of our other representa- tive. Accompanying Laurens as passengers upon the "Alliance" in Barry's care, were Thomas Paine and the Count De Noailles, the brother-in-law of Lafayette. Barry safely landed his passengers in France, and Laurens succeeded in securing from the King a gift of six million livres. It was this money that enabled Washington to pay his army and transport it to Yorktown, for the soldiers had absolutely refused to continue in service unless given at least one month's pay in specie. Not only were the soldiers without money, but they were absolutely destitute of supplies, as the paper money issued by Congress was practically worthless. In addition to paying the wages of the soldiers this French money bought them food, clothing and munitions of war, and enabled Washington to compel the sur- render of Cornwallis. 15 On March 29, 1781, the "Alliance" left for America and, after sixty-nine days, arrived on June sixth in Boston harbor. It was on this voyage that Barry fought and won, although severely wounded, one of the fiercest naval battles of our his- tory — the capture of the "Atalanta" and the "Trepassey." "Next right against us steering Came a saucy "seventy- four," In all her pride careering To thrash the Commodore ; But each gunner plied his rammer And a ringing broadside poured And we brought the British banner And the mainmast to the board." On September 21, 1781, Barry was placed by Washington in command of the whole Navy of the Colonies, and he so re- mained until the Independence of the United States was ac- knowledged. Robert Morris, chief of the Department of Finance, wrote : "I do not fix your cruising ground because I expect you will know the most likely cruise and will be anxious to meet such events as will do honor to the American flag and promote the general interests." On October 19, 1781, part of the British forces had sur- rendered in Virginia, and instead of being sent to destroy the vessels of the enemy, Barry was again entrusted with the safe delivery of another envoy to France, her own distinguished son, the Marquis de Lafayette. Morris, in concluding another letter of instructions to Barry, said : "I know your sense of duty and patriotism will lead you into all proper measures and exertions for the safety of your ship, for the success of her voyage and crew, and for the promotion of your country's interests." The importance of Lafayette's mission to France was deemed by 16 Washington to be greater than any service he could render upon the field in America, and it may be estimated from the great commander's letter to him of November 15, 1781 : "Respecting the operations of the next campaign I declare in one word that the advantages of it to America and the honor and glory of it to the allied armies in these States must depend absolutely upon the naval force which is employed in these seas at the time of its appearance next year. No land force can act decisively unless it is accompanied by a marine superiority, nor can more than negative advantages be accepted without it. It follows, then, as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definite, and with it, everything honorable and glorious. A constant naval superiority would terminate the war speedily. Without it, I do not know that it will ever be terminated honorably." Scanty recognition has been given at best to the magnificent aid of the sailors of the colonies in the war for Independence. Then, as now, England's bulwark was her fleets. Her sea forces had been increased until in 1781 there were enlisted in the Royal Navy 100.000 men. During the war we had captured over 800 vessels, of which more than one hundred were war ships. Barry's prizes from one voyage alone brought into French Ports and there sold amounted to more than £562,000. It was these and like losses, touching the pockets of British traders, that struck terror to them and caused the merchants of Oreat Britain to petition the Government for peace. With the wisdom that in the light of history seems to have been more than human, Washington demanded "Naval superi- ority." Time and again since then his demands have been justified. Perry on Lake Erie and McDonough on Lake Champlain won security and forced a peace before Jackson overwhelmed Packenham at New Orleans. In the Civil War 17 the defeat of the Merrimac, the destruction of the Alabama, and Farragut lashed to the mast of the Hartford winning vic- tory, were as effective in preserving the Union as the battles upon the land. And in the recent war the achievements of our fleets in Cuban oceans and under Dewey in Manila Bay thrilled to the heart's core the American people, and are compelling them to recognize in our sailors the chief buttress of the nation destined to be Mistress of the Seas. To procure the ships, the men, and the money "to ter- minate," as he expressed it, "the war speedily," Washington and Congress sent the Catholic Lafayette to Catholic France in the best vessel of the Government, commanded by the Chief of the Navy— the Catholic Barry, and so successful was the great Frenchman's mission that the British Government, despairing of success, on November 30, 1782, signed provisional terms of peace, recognizing the Freedom of the Colonies. It was not, however, until April 11, 1783, that Congress issued its procla- mation declaring "the cessation of arms as well by sea as by land." There was then no system of wireless telegraphy, and Barry, who had sailed from France, was away upon one of his cruises when in March, 1783, while convoying from Havana the French treasure ship, "The Due de Lauzan," he had the honor to fight the lasLhaJtle of the Revolution, when he whip- ped the British frigate "La Sybilla." To our old hero's credit, therefore is : I. Acceptance in the days when it was "risk and hazard to be hanged" of the first commission as Captain of the first vessel owned by America. II. The capture of the first British vessel brought as a prize into the capitol of the Nation. III. The fighting and winning of the last battle of the Revo- lution ; and \y IV. The supreme command by order of Washington and the Continental Congress of the entire Navy of the Colo- nies at the most critical period in our history and its glorious retention until all the world gave welcome to our Starry Banner into the Sisterhood of Independent Nations. Notwithstanding its history, the "Alliance" at the close of the War was ordered to be sold, and on the first Tuesday of August, 1788, the grand old ship was disposed of at public sale at the Merchants' Coffee House, Philadelphia. She passed into useful and honorable service as a merchantman, and after some few voyages to the China Seas, found a grave in the mud of Petty's Island. Some few ribs from her frame of oak still exist, but the old hull was completely destroyed about five years ago by the American Dredging Company, when the river islands were removed. Thomas Buchanan Reid, the Poet, presented President Lincoln with a piece of the wood of the old fighter, telling him that "her log book records, triumphs and incidents as glorious as the achievements of any vessel in the navies of the world." We now would suppose that this splendid memo- rial would have been jealously guarded, but as the desire to preserve Revolutionary relics is of comparatively recent growth, we need not marvel at her auction, for let us remember that a Pennsylvania Legislature authorized the destruction of Inde- pendence Hall and the sale of the Square for building lots, and that a mob of ignorant bigots calling themselves "Native Amer- icans," when they put their torch of fiery hate to the cross sur- mounting the tower of St. Augustine's Church, destroyed the clock that had marked the hour for the men who in Indepen- dence Hall "pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honors." With the acknowledgment of the Independence of the Col- onies, Barry returned to private life, and again as Captain in i9 the merchant service, aided in the extension of the trade of America. He so continued until summoned in 1794 once more to the aid of his Country. The American Navy dates from March 27th of that year. Our commerce was threatened not only by the Algerine pirates, but by the wars between France and England, and it became necessary, as the Act of Congress, signed by Washington, declares, "that a naval force should be provided for its protection." On June 5, 1794, Henry Knox, Secretary of War, issued the following letter addressed to each of those named therein: "Sir — The President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, has appointed you to be a Captain of one of the ships to be provided in pursuance of the act to provide a naval armament herein enclosed. It is understood that the relative rank of the Captains is to be in the following order : " I. John Barry. " II. Samuel Nicholson. •TIL Silas Talbot. "IV. Joshua Barney. " V. Richard Dale. "VI. Thomas Truxton." At that time, and for years after, the senior Captain was the commanding officer of the Navy, as it was not until 1862, during the Civil War, that the legal rank of Commodore was established, but at all times the commander of two or more ves- sels had by courtesy been given that title. Barry immediately accepted, and the second in rank, Cap- tain Nicholson, wrote to him : "Give me leave to congratulate you on your honorable appointment to the command of our Navy. I make no doubt but it is to your satisfaction and to all who wish well to this country." Washington's purpose was, as he himself expressed it, "to preserve the country in peace if I can and to be prepared 20 for war if I cannot," and he named as Commander, giving him the first and highest commission of the Navy of the Republic, the same old veteran who in the dark days of the Revolution, when "Naval superiority was of the utmost importance," had in his charge every ship of the Colonies, and who had never failed to "acquit himself of his duty in a manner becoming a skillful seaman and a brave warrior." In Cooper's History of the Navy it is stated "that his appointment met with general appro- bation, nor did anything ever occur to give the Government reason to regret its selection." It was Barry who first proposed the creation of a separate department of the Navy, and with rare foresight he also pointed out the need for governmental shipyards, and these were after- wards acquired. The construction of war ships immediately began, and on May 10, 1797, the first of the new vessels of the Navy was launched at the foot of Washington avenue in the Delaware. It was christened the "United States," and Barry, who had super- intended its building, was by Washington placed in command. In McMaster's History of the American People it is declared : "In the long list of splendid vessels which in a hundred combats have maintained the honor of our National Flag, the 'United States' stands at the head." During the difficulties with France, when Washington, summoned from his retirement, had again been made Chief of the land forces, Barry was in control upon the ocean, and so remained directing our fleets, fighting our enemies, and again bringing our Envoys to negotiate a peace, until the Treaty with France was completed. At the Fourth of July celebrations of the period the com- mon toast was "To Captain John Barry and his brother officers of the Infant Navy of the United States : May their colors fly triumphant on the American Seas." 21 When upon the advent of Jefferson's administration a re- duction of our Naval forces was determined upon, he was one of the nine Captains retained, and he remained in the service of the Nation, whose Navy was his child, until his death in Phila- delphia, on September 13, 1803. To name him "Father of the American Navy" is to make for him no new claim. Within ten years of his death, Mr. Dennie, the Editor of the chief literary journal of the period, "The Portfolio," wrote : "Captain John Barry may justly be considered the father of our Navy. His eminent service during our struggle for Independ- ence, the fidelity and ability with which he discharged the duties of the important stations which he filled, give him a lasting claim upon the gratitude of his country." In St. Mary's churchyard, with Thomas Fitzsimmons, the Catholic signer of the Constitution, who proposed the first Tariff law in the Congress of the United States ; George Meade, the grandfather of Meade of Gettysburg, and Matthew Carey, the advocate of American industrial supremacy, his grave was made, and for epitaph upon his tomb Dr. Benjamin Rush, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, whose fortune established the vast Ridgway Library on Broad street, wrote : Let the Patriot, the Soldier and the Christian who visits these mansions of the dead view this monument with respect. Beneath it are interred the remains of JOHN BARRY. He was born in the County of Wexford, in Ireland, But America was the object of his patriotism and the theatre of his usefulness. 22 In the Revolutionary War, which established the Independence of the United States, he took an early and active part as a Captain in their Navy, and afterwards became Commander-in-Chief. He fought often, and once bled in the Cause of Freedom. His habits of war did not lessen his Virtues as a Man, nor his piety as a Christian. He was gentle, kind and just in private life, and was not less beloved by his family and friends than by his Grateful Country. The number and objects of his charities will be known only at that time when his dust shall be reanimated, and when He who sees in secret shall reward openly. In the full belief of the doctrines of the Gospel he peacefully resigned his soul into the arms of his Redeemer. In no class spirit of proud exultation do we proclaim the fame of this illustrious commander. We assert that the great- ness of the Republic is due to no particular race and no par- ticular creed. Even as old Egypt was said to be the fruitful offering of the Nile, so our power in the result of the heart pourings of the best and noblest of mankind. The soldiers of our church dotted hill and valley, lake and river with the names of God's heroes, stamping the soil with the seal of Catholicity, fronting the Atlantic with St. Augustine and St. Lawrence, giving the keys of the Golden Gate to St. Francis and the care of the garden spot of the Western coast to the Queen of the An- gels. But when, in the Boston Massacre, Crispus Atucks, the Negro ; Patrick Carr, the Irishman ; Maverick, and Gray, and Caldwell, men of various races, fell, they were like Lafayette and Witherspoon and Pulaski and Von Steuben and Barry — names written by God's finger to ever remind us that when in 23 the fullness of Faith the Patriot Fathers were to stamp upon our coins "In God we trust," and blazon on our seal "The many in one," they were giving voice to history and to prophecy. From the outset, attracted by the rewards that follow industry and the glory of living in a land of liberty, came here the ambi- tious, the chivalrous, the flower of the earth. In the mysterious alchemy of Omnipotence a hundred races have been harmoni- ously blended, and there has been evolved, not the Anglo-Saxon, but the master of the ages — the American. He has wrought with such mighty energy that the annals of men are searched in vain for parallels to his prosperity. For him nature seemed to have waited to lay bare her secrets and science to unfold her mysteries. The lightnings are his chained servitors and the winds and the waves are his vassals. His triumphant fleets breast every sea, the products of his lands, his looms, his fur- naces and his forges find sale in every clime, the earth yields him tribute, and the sceptre of Empire has crossed the Atlantic from the old world to the new. Yet the history of civilization tells us that Republics cultured like Greece, that even now after the lapse of two thousand years, sways the intellect of men ; like Rome, that from her throne of beauty ruled the world ; like Venice, whose sails whitened every sea and for whom the waves sang hosannas — all have perished. They fell — not from the foes without their border, Persian or Goth or Hun or Vandal — factious vote in the Lion's Mouth — all would have failed in their early days, but great wealth had begotten degraded labor ; false culture, luxuries ; luxuries, licen- tiousness and crime; bribery and corruption reigned in high places ; public honors were the spoil of the auction block ; civic virtue was destroyed, and there existed no virile force to stem the onward sweep of the conquerors. "From the past gather lesson for the future." What has been, mav be. The old Mother Church of Barry, Lafayette, 24 Rochambeau, Carroll, Sheridan and Shields — the parent and model of Democracy, whose highest office is elective, who taught mankind that all the sons of men are children of the Common Father, at whose altars White, Black, Brown or Yellow kneel as equals — freighted with the wisdom of the ages, still points toward God. And on this memorial night, worshiping wheresoever we may, we can all join in the prayer of the eloquent poet — Bishop of Peoria : And thou, oh God, of whom we hold Our Country and our freedom fair, Within Thy tender love enfold This land ; for all Thy people care. Uplift our hearts above our fortunes high, Let not the good we have make us forget The better things that in Thy Heavens lie ! Keep still, amid the fever and the fret Of all this eager life our thoughts on Thee, The hope, the strength, the God of all the free.