Rum Sodomy & the Lash - Irish Maritime Times & Lore

MarchDub

HellsAngel wrote: »

John Barry was born in 1745 in Tacumshin Parish in Wexford. Barry's father was a poor tenant farmer who was evicted by his british landlord. The family was forced to relocate to Rosslare. Luckily his uncle was the captain of a fishing vessel and a very young John Barry started his sea career with him. Rising quickly thru the naval ranks, he eventually ended up in the growing port city of Philadelphia, a city he was attracted to as it had a tradition of religious tolerance and equal oppurtunity to Catholics.

Understandably enthusiastic about having a go at the auld enemy and therefore joining in with the struggling American navy, Barry attacked a British fleet with a tiny mix of rowboats, barges and longboats, and surprised two armed ships as well as a fortified schooner capturing all three. Not satisfyied with that, he then succeded in destroying three other ships, holding off a frigate and a ship-of-the-line. George Washington immediately sent John Barry a letter commending him.

Among his other many other achievements, he captured over 20 ships including an armed british schooner in the lower Delaware; he captured two british ships after being severely wounded in a sea battle and he fought the last naval battle of the American revolution in 1783. And as if all that wasn't enough, he also fought on land at the Battles of Trenton and Princeton. What a fighter, truly a fightin' Irishman.

Eventually placing Barry at the head of the Navy, George Washington stated he had special trust and confidence "in his patriotism, valor, fidelity and abilities ". Four US navy ships have been named in his honour, and in Wexford harbour there is a statue to Commodore Barry which was visited by President John F Kennedy on his visit to Ireland in 1963.

Yes - Barry is a somewhat neglected figure in Ireland but in the USA he is acknowledged and much honoured.

http://www.ushistory.org/people/commodorebarry.htm

Corsendonk

Some more info on the Black Prince and the Privateers Dowling and Kelly. Curiously no mention of Luke Ryan.

http://ied.dippam.ac.uk/records/21958
"SAILING SHIPS AND PRIVATEERS a talk by Capt. R. H. Davis 1952

Another vessel that was handed back to her master, almost
at our own door, was a vessel named the "Industry". On her
arrival at Belfast in September 1779 her master made a
deposition to the effect that North of the entrance to
Strangford
Lough he was boarded by a boat from the American privateer
"Black
Prince" which carried a crew of a hundred and thirty men.
Before bringing him on board the privateer, the officer in
charge
of the boat relieved the deponent of ten guineas in gold, some
silver, his watch and buckles and a quantity of wearing apparel.
He was detained on board for nearly three hours and was then
allowed to return to his ship, and he arrived in Belfast at
five o'clock the same day. While on board the Black
Prince, off the Copelands, she took a sloop bound from Liverpool
to Larne which was ransomed for two hundred guineas, she then
continued north and was observed passing Larne at 3.00 p.m.
In her next voyage, on her arrival at Cork, the "Industry"
reported that the Belfast privateer "Amazon" had arrived off
Madeira for a supply of provisions was was (sic) forced to sea
again by the violence of the weather and had not returned
before the "Industry" had sailed.
The "Black Prince", which I have mentioned, for a while
played havoc in the channel with our shipping. She was
commanded by a man named Patrick Dowling and it was said that
both he and the majority if his crew belonged to Rush in County
Dublin. Early in March 1780 both he and his ship were much in
the news. A letter was received in Dublin from Holyhead
reporting that two of the mail packets, the "Hillsborough" and
the "Bessborough", were taken by the "Black Prince" and a
consort
named the "Princess" which accompanied her. The letter stated
that it was believed that the privateer intended landing at
Rush with her plunder. The authorities on receipt of the letter
at once called out the volunteers from four different Corps.
The Merchant Corps were joined by detachments from the Dublin
Goldsmiths, the Liberty, and the County Volunteers, three
hundred
men in all marched for Rush at midnight, and on arrival there
surrounded the town when it was found that owing to a heavy
South West Gale blowing, the privateer had been unable to make
the harbour.
Apparently there was many renegades serving in enemy
privateers a number of which carried Letters of Marque from both
France and America and fought under whichever flag suited. In
October 1781, a letter was received by the owners of a Belfast
ship - a cartel ship named the "Statesman" - which had carried
French prisoners of war to a channel port. The letter said -
"This place is full of privateers, the greater part of whose
crews are English or Irish". Further on the letter went on to
say that a sailor from one of the privateers had told the writer
that his vessel was being prepared for service in the Irish
channel where they hoped to make their fortune by capturing some
of the Belfast linen ships. A linen ship would certainly have
been a valuable prize as mention is made that on occasions these
little ships had a cargo valued at a hundred thousand pounds.
In addition to linens they sometimes had bullion on board. The
statement of the captain of the cartel ship as to English and
Irish crews being on board was verified when less than three
moths afterwards, the Stag frigate brought into Dublin a large
cutter privateer named the Anti-Briton that had been fitted out
at Dunkirk. She was commanded by John Kelly, a native of Rush,
and there were twelve ransomers on board to the amount of sixty
thousand pounds. In all, ninety-eight persons were taken out
of her and all but seven were lodged in Newgate on the charge of
being traitors.

In September of this same year, 1781, our friend of the
"Black Prince", Patrick Dowling turned up again. This time he
was in command of a privateer flying French colours, the
"Fantasie", and although only eight days out from Dunkirk had
already taken seven prizes, among them the Belfast brig "Bell"
appears to be one of the last Belfast ships taken before the
declaration of an uneasy peace which lasted for ten years.
Owing to the approach of this peace, in January 1783, orders
were received at Belfast to suspend all recruiting, and a few
weeks afterwards a hundred and fifty men who had joined the
navy at Belfast were paid off, and already Belfast ships were
being advertised for New York and Philadelphia. On the 21st
February our local press published the King's Proclamation,
dated the 14th of the cessation of arms with the States General
of the United Provinces and the United States of America.