Lambert Wickes Lambert Wickes ( 1735 – October 1 , 1777 ) was a Captain in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War . Revolutionary activities . Wickes was born sometime in 1735 in Kent County , Maryland . His home was on Eastern Neck Island , in the family home , Wickliffe . Prior to the American Revolution , Wickes was captain of the merchant ships the " Neptune " and the " Ceres " . On March 28 , 1776 the Continental Congress allowed the purchase of the 16 - gun brig which would be renamed the . In May of the same year , Wickes was the Reprisal ' s captain and he was ordered to sail into battle against the British frigate " Roebuck " which was opening the Delaware River to British ships . Wickes would later be designated as number 11 on the Continental Navy ' s seniority list . The Committee of Secret Correspondence of Congress , by arrangement with the Marine Committee , issued orders for Capt . Wickes to proceed to the West Indies in " Reprisal " and bring out munitions for use by General Washington ' s army . In addition , Wickes was to transport William Bingham to his post , the French possession of Martinique , as agent for the American colonies . " Reprisal " passed down the Delaware River from Philadelphia during the latter part of June 1776 . While en route , " Reprisal " went to the aid of the harried Continental 6 - gun brig " Nancy " — bound from St . Croix and St . Thomas with 386 barrels of gunpowder — which was being chased by six British men - of - war . In order to save " Nancy " , her captain ran her aground . " Reprisal " and " Lexington " – the latter under the command of Capt . John Barry – kept boats from HMS " Kingfisher " at bay and succeeded in landing some 200 barrels of the precious powder . In this engagement , Wickes ' brother Richard was killed while serving as third lieutenant in " Reprisal " . This engagement became known as the Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet . Clearing the $ 3 on July 3 , " Reprisal " , under Wickes ' sterling seamanship , captured a number of prizes in the West Indies and had a sharp engagement with HMS " Shark " , beating her off and escaping into port . On October 24 , 1776 , Wickes was ordered to France with Benjamin Franklin as passenger . During the voyage , " Reprisal " captured two brigs and reached Nantes on November 29 where the ship ' s important passenger disembarked . Setting sail in January 1777 , Wickes took " Reprisal " to sea on a cruise which took her to the Bay of Biscay and the mouth of the English Channel . On February 5 , his ship captured the armed packet - boat " Swallow " , carrying mail between Britain and its ally Portugal , after a hard action of 40 minutes duration . During the battle , " Reprisal " suffered two officers seriously wounded and one man killed . During the remainder of this foray against British shipping , Wickes took five additional prizes and left them at Port Louis . Wickes moved " Reprisal " to Lorient , but was ordered to leave the port in 24 hours by the French government — the port authorities apparently stirred to action by bitter remonstrances from the British government . Wickes , however , claimed that " Reprisal " had sprung a leak and needed to be careened for hull repairs . Wickes proved to be skillful at gaining time ; as , on several occasions , he thwarted the intentions of the French government to have him sail . In April 1777 , the Continental vessels " Lexington " and " Dolphin " joined " Reprisal " and constituted a squadron under Wickes ' command . Setting sail from St . Auzeau on May 28 , the ships cruised around Ireland in June , July , and August ; during one phase of the voyage , the three ships captured 15 ships in five days . On September 14 , Wickes left France in " Reprisal " , in company with " Dolphin " , bound for home . Around October 1 , " Reprisal " foundered off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland , with the loss of all hands except the cook . Legacy . Louis H . Bolander , the assistant librarian at the Naval Academy , wrote an article on Wickes in 1928 , entitled " A Forgotten Hero of the American Revolution . " Appearing in " Americana , " in April 1928 , the article closed with a fitting epitaph for Capt . Lambert Wickes : " Thus closed a career distinguished for patriotism , gallantry and humanity , for not a single charge of cruelty or harshness was ever breathed against him by any one of his many prisoners . Franklin , who knew him well , said of him , ' He was a gallant officer , and a very worthy man . ' " Two ships in the United States Navy have been named in his honor . The two iron balls on each side of a magnetic compass , used to balance out and counteract magnetic variations based on a ship ' s location , are traditionally called " Lamberts " , in his honor .