Why did, Mayor of Boston, Michael Curley have a monument sculptured by John F. Paramino placed on Boston Common even though the commodore was born in Ireland and resided it Philadelphia?
James Michael Curley, as so many Irish Americans, were proud of their Irish heritage and proud of their part in the making of America's history. This monument is just one of many stones dedicated to such great leaders in our country.
Commodore John Barry (1949)
Tremont Street / Lafayette Mall John F. Paramino, Sculptor Granite
Father of the American Navy
Born in Wexford, Ireland 1745 - Died in Philadelphia 1803
Receive First Commission from the Continental Congress to Command the Lexington 1775
Sailed from Boston on the Raleich 1778
Acclaimed in Boston in 1780 for the Victories on the Alliance
Appointed in 1794 by President Washington to plan Construction of the later to be in Command of First U.S. Navy Launched 1798
Erected by the city of Boston James M. Curley Mayor 1949
Taken from the Stone
John Barry (March 25, 1745 – September 13, 1803) was an officer in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War and later in the United States Navy. He is often credited as “The Father of the American Navy". Barry was born in Tacumshane, County Wexford, Ireland and appointed a Captain in the Continental Navy on December 7, 1775.
Few Americans are well-acquainted with the gallantry and heroic exploits of Philadelphia’s Irish-born naval commander, Commodore John Barry. Obscured by his contemporary, naval commander John Paul Jones, Barry remains to this day, an unsung hero of the young American Republic.
As most naval historians note, Barry can be classed on a par with Jones for nautical skill and daring, but he exceeds him in the length of service (17 years) to his adopted country and his fidelity to the nurturing of a permanent American Navy. Indeed, Barry deserves the proud epithet, “Father of the American Navy,” a title bestowed on him not by current generations of admirers, but by his contemporaries, who were in the best position to judge.
In the space of 58 years, this son of a poor Irish farmer rose from humble cabin boy to senior commander of the entire United States fleet. Intrepid in battle, he was humane to his men as well as adversaries and prisoners. Barry’s war contributions are unparalleled: he was the first to capture a British war vessel on the high seas; he captured two British ships after being severely wounded in a ferocious sea battle; he quelled three mutinies; he fought on land at the Battles of Trenton and Princeton; he captured over 20 ships including an armed British schooner in the lower Delaware; he au- thored a Signal Book which established a set of signals used for effective communication between ships; and he fought the last naval battle of the American Revolution aboard the frigate Alliance in 1783.
Boston Bronze and Stone Talk schedule:
Langley Adams Library 184 Main Street, Groveland MA. at 6:30 PM
Wakefield Library 345 Main Street, Wakefield, MA at 7:00 PM
OLLI Group University of Massachucetts Boston Campus 11:30 am to 1:00 PM date TBA, pending Nov 5, 2015
Diamond School Lexington, MA May 2015 TBA
