The magazine of history with notes and queries, Vol. II, No. 6, December 1905

by Various

RELICS OF COMMODORE JOHN BARRY IN PHILADELPHIA

Apropos of the proposed erection here of a monument to the memory of Commodore John Barry, it is interesting to know that in addition to his tomb in St. Mary’s Churchyard, on Fourth street below Locust, where he was buried, there are many other relics of the great naval commander in this city, which was his home and where he maintained both a town and country residence. In Fairmount Park, too, is a monument not known to many people, where one of the five figures of the fountain erected by the Catholic Total Abstinence Society is a statue of Barry. It is of heroic size and the inscription, besides reciting some of his principal exploits on the sea, describes him as the first commodore of the United States navy.

Nearly all the other relics are in the possession of Mrs. W. Horace Hepburn of this city, who is a great-grandniece of Barry, and also a granddaughter of Commodore Bainbridge, and to whom they have been handed down. They are of many kinds and, taken altogether, would form quite a museum. Some of them are particularly valuable as records of history, among these being the logs of the Alliance and other warships which Barry commanded. Another documentary relic is the commission as captain and commander of the frigate United States issued to Barry to “take rank from the fourth day of June, 1804.” It is dated February 22, 1797, however, and is signed by Washington. On the margin it is numbered “one,” showing it to have been the first captain’s commission issued in the navy of the new constitutional government.

Of nearly equal importance as a record is the certificate of Barry’s membership in the Society of the Cincinnati. With this Mrs. Hepburn has also the handsome jewelled badge of the order presented to him by Lafayette. It is in the regular form of the organization’s emblem, but is very ornate. It was manufactured in France. Also in Mrs. Hepburn’s possession is Stuart’s original portrait, a copy of which, by Colin Campbell Cooper, was presented to the city by the Hibernian Society in 1895, and now hangs in Independence Hall. The Stuart portrait was painted in this city.

Among the relics is a set of china, much of which was used on the frigate Alliance. Among these is a punch bowl and pitcher in white china, with a good picture of the frigate under full sail on each. This china was probably made in France, but that point has not as yet been definitely determined. What were also probably used on the ship are a number of glass goblets and other glassware, which are not particularly fine as to design and manufacture, but are none the less cherished as relics. There is also a considerable quantity of French china, with the monogram S. B., for Sarah Barry, on it, and a number of dinner plates, which were probably used in his house. Pertaining more closely to the commander’s seafaring career are one of his swords, a gun, and a full-dress uniform, the latter consisting of yellow nankeen knee breeches and vest, with a blue frock coat with immense brass buttons. The size of these garments emphasizes the well-known fact that the commodore was a very large man. Originally among the relics were a pair of silver knee buckles, which, before the collection came into the hands of its present owner, were melted down and made into teaspoons. How big they were may be inferred from the fact that they made six spoons. Mrs. Hepburn has these spoons, but says she would much prefer to have the silver in its original form of buckles. Commodore Barry’s watch is also in the collection, as is a large solid silver ale tankard, which was probably used on land.

Barry’s tomb in St. Mary’s churchyard is one of the most impressive mementos of him because of the inscription which it bears. The original tomb was erected by the commodore’s widow, but this became dilapidated through the ravages of time and the inscription, written by Dr. Benjamin Rush, a copy of which has been preserved in the Ridgeway branch of the Philadelphia Library, was barely decipherable as early as 1865. In 1876 the tomb was repaired, and now bears the following inscription:

“Sacred to the memory of Commodore John Barry, father of the American navy. Let the Christian patriot and soldier who visits these mansions of the dead view this monument with respect and veneration. Beneath it rest the remains of John Barry, who was born in County Wexford, Ireland, in the year 1745. America was the object of his patriotism, and the aim of his usefulness and ambition. At the beginning of the Revolutionary War he held the commission of captain in the then limited navy of the colonies. His achievements in battle and his renowned naval tactics merited for him the position of commodore, and to be justly regarded as the father of the American navy. He fought often and bled in the cause of freedom, but his deeds of valor did not diminish in him the virtues which adorned his private life. He was eminently gentle, kind, just, and charitable, and no less beloved by his family and friends than by his grateful country. Firm in the faith and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, he departed this life on the 13th day of September, 1803, in the fifty-ninth year of his age. In grateful remembrance, a few of his countrymen, members of St. Mary’s Church and others, have contributed towards this second monument, erected July 1, 1876. Requiescat in Pace.”

Commodore Barry’s deeds as a naval officer, the fact that he commanded the Lexington, the first armed cruiser; that he captured and brought to Philadelphia the first prize; that he fought the last naval battle, and many other such points in his brilliant record, are all embalmed in the nation’s history. In private life he was a loyal friend and a good citizen, social in his tastes, hearty in his manner, and genial to all. He was a sailor before joining our navy, having been placed in the merchant marine service by his father when a mere boy. He came to this country when probably about twenty-one years old, reaching Philadelphia from the island of Barbados, in command of the schooner Barbados. This was ten years before the Revolution, and from that time until the opening of the war he followed his career in these waters, and in command of vessels sailing between here and England. He was twice married, and both wives were buried in the same grave in St. Mary’s churchyard. His second wife, Sarah Austin, and her sister, Mary, are said to have made and presented to John Paul Jones the flag of the Bon Homme Richard. Commodore Barry died in 1803, at his country residence, “Strawberry Hill.” This was not the Strawberry Hill in Fairmount Park, but was located on Frankford Road, at Gunner’s Run. The body was brought to his city residence, on the south side of Chestnut Street, between Ninth and Tenth Streets, on a site about opposite the Record building, where the funeral took place.—Philadelphia Record.