Abraham Whipple Abraham Whipple ( September 26 , 1733 – May 27 , 1819 ) was an American revolutionary commander in the Continental Navy . Whipple was born near Providence , Rhode Island and chose to be a seafarer early in his life . He embarked on a career in the lucrative West Indies trade , working for Moses and John Brown . In the French and Indian War period , he became a privateersman and commanded privateer " Game Cock " from 1759 to 1760 . In one six - month cruise , he captured 23 French ships . He sank the first British ship of the American Revolution , the British schooner , in the 1772 Gaspée Affair . The first to unfurl the Star Spangled Banner 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 . Early life . Abraham Whipple was born on September 26 , 1733 to Noah Whipple , Jr . . Abraham Whipple and Sarah Hopkins were married on August 2 , 1761 . They had three children : John , Catherine , and Mary . Catherine later married Colonel Ebenezer Sproat of the Continental Army . Revolutionary activities . Rhode Island . As American colonists began to resist what they considered unfair oppression by the British crown , acts of defiance became increasingly prevalent . An early incident occurred on June 9 , 1772 when Whipple led 50 Rhode Islanders in the capture and burning of British revenue cutter . The ship had run aground off Pawtuxet while chasing the packet " Hannah " . The burning initiated an exchange of notes between Whipple and Captain James Wallace of HMS " Rose " . Wallace wrote , " You Abraham Whipple on June 10 , 1772 burned his majesty ' s vessel the " Gaspée " and I will hang you at the yard arm ! " Whipple responded , " Sir , always catch a man before you hang him . " Three years later , the Rhode Island General Assembly appointed Whipple commodore of two ships fitted for the defense of the colony ' s trade . On June 15 , 1775 , ( the day the sea captain received his commission ) , Whipple led his men to capture the tender to frigate HMS " Rose " . After cruising in the vicinity of Narragansett Bay , he headed south to Bermuda to procure gunpowder for use by the colony . On the return voyage , Whipple transported naval recruits to Philadelphia . Upon her arrival there , his ship , " Katy " , was taken over by agents of the Continental Congress and was fitted out as sloop - of - war " Providence " . Naval command . Whipple was commissioned a captain in the Continental Navy on December 22 and was given command of 24 - gun frigate " Columbus " . From February 17 to April 8 , 1776 , he commanded the ship during the first Continental Navy - Marine Corps amphibious expedition — the cruise to New Providence , in the Bahamas , to seize essential military supplies from the British garrison at Nassau . After returning north to New England , Whipple captured five British prizes before March 27 , 1778 , when his ship ran aground off Point Judith , Rhode Island . After stripping the ship , the captain and his crew abandoned her and escaped capture ashore . Assigned next to command 28 - gun frigate " Providence " , Whipple ran the British blockade on the night of April 30 , 1778 , damaging HMS " Lark " and outrunning another Britisher during the escape . Tacking for France , the " Providence " crossed the Atlantic Ocean unmolested , bearing important dispatches relating to agreements between France and the American colonies , and reached Paimboeuf . After acquiring guns and supplies for the Continental Army , the " Providence " and the " Boston " sailed home to the colonies , taking three prizes en route . Upon his return , Whipple received command of a small squadron — " Providence " , " Ranger " , and " Queen of France " . On one occasion in mid - July 1779 , this group of ships encountered a large British convoy in dense fog off the Newfoundland Banks . Whipple concealed his guns and ran up the British flag . Thus disguised , Whipple cut 11 prizes out of the convoy , eight of which contained spoils of war valued together at over one million dollars , making the venture easily one of the richest captures of the entire war . Whipple then cruised off Bermuda before arriving at Charleston , South Carolina . On December 23 , 1779 . British forces threatened Charleston , which was at the time a key Continental port . The threat led Whipple to move the guns and crews from the Continental Navy ships in port on shore to reinforce the land batteries and repulse the expected British assault . However , after a rugged four - month siege , the overwhelming pressure of British arms forced the Continental forces to surrender on May 12 , 1780 . Whipple remained a prisoner of the British until he was paroled to Chester , Pennsylvania , at which point he took no further part in the war . Upon the conclusion of hostilities , Whipple took up farming near $ 4 , Rhode Island . Later life . For the rest of his life , he remained a farmer , with the exception of two spells of seafaring as master of merchantmen , first of the " General Washington " and then of the " St . Clair " . With the formation of the Ohio Company of Associates in 1788 and the initial westward migration into that territory , Whipple and his family became pioneers on the American frontier and were among the founders of the town of Marietta , Ohio , and the first named proprietor of Charleston , Vermont . Granted a pension by Congress in recognition of his distinguished service in helping to win American independence , Whipple died at Marietta , Ohio on May 27 , 1819 , and was buried at Mound Cemetery in Marietta . His gravestone reads : Sacred to the memory of Commodore Abraham Whipple whose naval skill and courage will ever remain the pride and boast of his country . In the revolution he was the first on the seas to hurl defiance at proud Britain , gallantly leading the way to wrest from the mistress of the ocean her scepter , and there to wave the star spangled banner . He also conducted to the sea the first square rigged vessel built on the Ohio , opening to commerce resources beyond calculation . Born September 26th , A . D . 1733 . Died May 27th , 1819 . Aged 85 years . Several ships of the United States Navy have been named USS " Whipple " in his honor . There is a Whipple Street , Avenue or Court in almost every one of the 39 municipalities in the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations .