Captain Jeremiah O'Brien (1744–1818) was an

Irish-American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

captain in the

Massachusetts State Navy The Massachusetts Naval Militia (at first called the Massachusetts Colonial Navy and later the Massachusetts State Navy), was a naval militia active during the American Revolutionary War. It was founded December 29, 1775, to defend the interests ...

. Prior to its existence (or that of the

Continental Navy The Continental Navy was the navy of the United States during the American Revolutionary War and was founded October 13, 1775. The fleet cumulatively became relatively substantial through the efforts of the Continental Navy's patron John Adams ...

), he commanded the sloop ''Unity'' when he captured the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

armed

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

in the

Battle of Machias The Battle of Machias (June 11–12, 1775) was an early naval engagement of the American Revolutionary War, also known as the Battle of the ''Margaretta'', fought around the port of Machias, Maine. Following the outbreak of the war, British a ...

, the first naval battle of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. He also led the first American attack on

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

in the

Raid on St. John (1775) The Raid on Saint John took place on 27 August 1775 during the American Revolutionary War. The raid involved American privateers from Machias, Maine attacking Saint John, Nova Scotia (present day New Brunswick). The privateers intended to stop th ...

. Six United States ships were named in his honor.

Early life

Jeremiah was the eldest son of Irish immigrants Morris and Mary O'Brien. He was born in Kittery, Province of Massachusetts Bay in 1744. His family moved to

Scarborough, Maine Scarborough is a New England town, town in Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County on the southern coast of the U.S. state of Maine. The town is a coastal resort area. Located about south of Portland, Maine, Portland, Scarborough is part of t ...

and settled in Machias, Maine in the 1760s to engage in lumbering.

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

was a part of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

at the time.Bangor and Aroostook Railroad Historical and Technical Society ''The BAR Newsletter'' June 1976 volume III, issue 2, pages 2&3

American Revolution

Reports of the

battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord ...

reached Machias in early May 1775, leading Benjamin Foster to rally Machias residents at Job Burnham's tavern. Machias merchant captain Ichabod Jones sailed his ships ''Unity'' and ''Polly'' to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

with a cargo of lumber and purchased food for sale in Machias. British troops encouraged Jones to deliver another cargo of lumber for construction of their barracks in Boston. Admiral

Samuel Graves Admiral Samuel Graves (17 April 1713 – 8 March 1787) was a British Royal Navy admiral who is probably best known for his role early in the American Revolutionary War. Ancestry He is thought to have been born in Castledawson, Northern Irelan ...

ordered HMS ''Margaretta'', under the command of James Moore, to accompany Jones' ships to discourage interference from Machias rebels. When the ships reached Machias on 2 June 1775, James Moore ordered the liberty pole removed; and Machias townspeople refused to load the lumber. Foster plotted to capture the British officers when they attended church on 11 June, but the British avoided capture and retreated downriver aboard ''Margaretta''. On 12 June Foster pursued ''Margaretta'' aboard the

packet boat Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed for domestic mail, passenger, and freight transportation in European countries and in North American rivers and canals, some of them steam driven. They were used extensively during the 18th and 19th ...

''Falmouth''. After ''Falmouth'' ran aground, O'Brien and his five brothers, Gideon, John, William, Dennis and Joseph, seized the ''Unity''. Under the command of Jeremiah O'Brien, thirty-one townsmen sailed aboard ''Unity'' armed with guns, swords, axes, and pitch forks and captured ''Margaretta'' in an hour-long battle after ''Margaretta'' had threatened to bombard the town. John O'Brien jumped aboard ''Margaretta'' as the two ships closed, but was forced to jump overboard by the British crew. After rescuing John, ''Unity'' again closed ''Margaretta'' until their rigging became entangled. ''Unity'' was bombarded by

grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...

s from the British ship, but ''Margaretta'' surrendered after James Moore was mortally wounded. This battle is often considered the first time British colors were struck to those of the United States, even though the

did not exist at the time. The

United States Merchant Marine United States Merchant Marines are United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, an ...

claims ''Unity'' as its member and this incident as their beginning. In August 1775, O'Brien participated in the

. O'Brien continued as the captain of ''Unity'', renamed ''Machias Liberty'', for two years, and received the first captain's commission in the

in 1775.

Later life

President

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...

appointed O'Brien as the federal customs collector for the port of Machias in 1811, and he held the position until his death in 1818.

Honors

* Five ships in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

have been named in his honor: ** , a torpedo boat, built in 1900 and served until 1909 ** , an O'Brien-class destroyer, which served from 1915 until 1922 ** , a , served from 1940 until she was sunk by an enemy torpedo in 1942 ** , an , served from 1944 until 1972 ** , a , launched in 1976 and served until 2004 * , an EC2-S-CI-class Liberty ship, which served during World War II from 1943 until 1946 and is currently an operational museum ship in San Francisco *

Bangor and Aroostook Railroad The Bangor and Aroostook Railroad was a United States railroad company that brought rail service to Aroostook County in northern Maine. Brightly-painted BAR boxcars attracted national attention in the 1950s. First-generation diesel locomotives op ...

bicentennial __NOTOC__ A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to: Europe *French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...

locomotive number 1776 was named ''Jeremiah O'Brien''

References

* * *

Notes