John Barry ( naval officer ) 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 widely credited as " The Father of the American Navy " ( and shares that moniker with John Paul Jones ) and was appointed a Captain in the Continental Navy on December 7 , 1775 . He was the first Captain placed in command of a US warship commissioned for service under the Continental flag . After the war , he became America ' s first commissioned naval officer , at the rank of Commodore , receiving his commission from President George Washington in 1797 . Early life and education . Barry was born on March 25 , 1745 , in Tacumshane , County Wexford , Ireland . Barry ' s family was driven from their ancestral home by the British . Career . Barry received his first captain ' s commission in the Continental Navy on March 14 , 1776 , signed by John Hancock , president of the Continental Congress . Barry was a religious man and began each day at sea with a reading from the Bible . He had great regard for his crew and their well being and always made sure they were properly provided for while at sea . During his naval career Barry commanded United States Ship s " Delaware " , " Lexington " , " Raleigh " , and " Alliance " . Command of " Delaware " . In 1777 Barry commanded the ship USS " Delaware " , a brig sailing under a letter of marque capturing English vessels in the Delaware river . Command of " Raleigh " . In 1778 Barry assumed command of the USS " Raleigh " , capturing three prizes before being run aground in action on September 27 , 1778 . Her crew scuttled her , but she was raised by the British who refloated her for further use in the Royal Navy . Command of " Lexington " . Captain Barry was given command of USS " Lexington " , of 14 guns , on December 7 , 1775 . It was the first commission issued by the Continental Congress . The Lexington sailed March 31 , 1776 . On April 7 , 1776 , off the Capes of Virginia , he fell in with the " Edward " , tender to the British man - of - war , and after a desperate fight of one hour and twenty minutes captured her and brought her into Philadelphia . On June 28 , Pennsylvania ' s brig " Nancy " arrived in the area with 386 barrels of powder in her hold and ran aground while attempting to elude British blockader . Barry ordered the precious powder rowed ashore during the night leaving only 100 barrels in " Nancy " at dawn . A delayed action fuse was left inside the brig , which exploded the powder just as a boatload of British seamen boarded " Nancy " . This engagement became known as the Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet . Barry continued in command of " Lexington " until October 18 , 1776 , and captured several private armed vessels during that time . Command of " Alliance " . He and his crew of the USS " Alliance " fought and won the final naval battle of the American Revolution off the coast of Cape Canaveral on March 10 , 1783 . He was seriously wounded on May 29 , 1781 , while in command of " Alliance " during her capture of HMS " Atalanta " and " Trepassey " . Barry was successful in suppressing three mutinies during his career as an officer in the Continental Navy . John Barry was once offered 100 , 000 British pounds and command of any frigate in the entire British Navy if he would desert the American Navy . Outraged at the offer , Captain Barry responded that not all the money in the British treasury or command of its entire fleet could tempt him to desert his adopted country . Appointed senior captain upon the establishment of the U . S . Navy , he commanded the frigate " United States " in the Quasi - War with France . Barry authored a signal book published in 1780 to improve communications at sea among vessels traveling in formation . Commodore commission . On February 22 , 1797 , he was issued Commission Number 1 by President George Washington , backdated to June 4 , 1794 . His title was thereafter " Commodore . " He is recognized as not only the first American commissioned naval officer but also as its first flag officer . Barry ' s last day of active duty was March 6 , 1801 , when he brought the USS " United States " into port , but he remained head of the Navy until his death on September 12 , 1803 , from asthma . Barry died childless . Later life and death . Barry died at Strawberry Hill , in present - day Philadelphia on September 13 , 1803 , and was buried in the graveyard of Old St . Mary ' s Roman Catholic Church in Center City , Philadelphia . Personal life . On October 24 , 1768 , Barry married Mary Cleary , who died in 1774 . On July 7 , 1777 , he married Sarah Austin , daughter of Samuel Austin and Sarah Keen of New Jersey . Barry had no children , but he helped raise Patrick and Michael Hayes , children of his sister , Eleanor , and her husband , Thomas Hayes , who both died in the 1780s . Bibliography . < br > Further reading :