Abraham Whipple
Abraham Whipple | |
|---|---|
1786 portrait of Whipple by Edward Savage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 26, 1733 |
| Died | May 27, 1819 (aged 85) Marietta, Ohio, U.S. |
| Resting place | Mound Cemetery, Marietta |
| Relations | Ebenezer Sproat (son-in-law) |
| Signature | |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United Colonies United States |
| Branch/service | Continental Navy |
| Years of service | 1775–1780 |
| Rank | Commodore |
| Battles/wars | |
Commodore Abraham Whipple (September 26, 1733 – May 27, 1819) was a Continental Navy officer who served in the American Revolutionary War and co-founded Marietta, Ohio. Born near Providence, Rhode Island, Whipple chose to be a sailor early in his life and embarked on a career in the lucrative colonial trade with the West Indies, working for Moses and John Brown. During the French and Indian War, he became a privateer and commanded the ship Game Cock from 1759 to 1760. In one six-month cruise, he captured 23 French ships.
In 1772, Whipple burnt the first British naval casualty of the American Revolution, the revenue cutter Gaspee, in the Gaspée affair. After the war he was the first to unfurl an American flag in London. Whipple was also the first to sail an ocean-going ship 2000 miles downriver from Ohio to the Caribbean, which opened trade with the Northwest Territory. He was a member of Society of the Cincinnati's Rhode Island branch.