John Barry: An American Hero in the Age of Sail
Watch Tim McGrath's lecture on CSpan at http://www.c-span.org/Events/Father-of-the-American-Navy/10737422614-2/
The man regarded as "the Father of the American Navy" was the son of a hardscrabble Irish farmer from County Wexford who arrived in Philadelphia during the restless decade before the American Revolution. Brave and ambitious, he ascended the ratlines to become a successful merchant captain at a young age, commanding the most prestigious ship in the colonies and recording the fastest known day of sail in the century. Tim McGrath's lecture focused on the life and times of Barry, a Catholic, married at Christ Church to a young lady from the Austin family who rented a pew here. The Austin's were literally torn in two by the Revolution; one of Sarah Barry's brothers, Issac, fought at Trenton and Princeton, while the eldest, William, was a staunch Loyalist. Barry also had some interesting relationships with some of Christ Church's better know members and attendees. While he was good friends with Robert Morris (his boss), and George Washington, his relationship with Benjamin Franklin and Francis Hopkinson were not so good.