THE BUILDER JULY 1925

Great Men Who Were Masons 

Abraham Whipple

By BRO. GEORGE W. BAIRD, P.G.M., District of Columbia

CAPTAIN ABRAHAM WHIPPLE'S fame has been somewhat overshadowed by
that of his brother William Whipple, who was one of the Signers of
the Declaration of Independence; this is unfortunate because
Captain Abraham Whipple was one of the true heroes of the
Revolutionary period. We Masons may find an additional inspiration
from his heroic career by virtue of the fact that he was a member
of the famous old St. John's Lodge, No. 1, of Providence, Rhode
Island. This was the second lodge to be established in that Colony
and its was one of the sixteen charters that were granted by the
Provincial Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. The charter was signed by
Jeremy Gridley, Provincial Grand Master of North America at the
time. St. John's Lodge in Providence and King David's Lodge in
Newport were the only two active lodges in the state at the close
of the Revolutionary War.

Abraham Whipple was the third captain to be appointed in the
original (Colonial) Navy of the United States. He was born in
Providence, Sept. 16, 1733, and began his life on the sea when only
a boy. In those days the colonial merchant marine was the largest
producer of revenue for the Colonies and it was so extensive that
it was said that American vessels were seen on every sea.

During the French and Indian War (the war which had so much to do
with establishing our civil and religious liberties) Captain
Whipple was in command of the Game Cock, which in a single cruise
captured twenty-six French vessels.

When the War of the Revolution was in its incipiency, and when the
provisions of the Stamp Act prevented the movement of vessels,
England began to mobilize vessels in the harbors of Rhode Island,
a thing that brought the people to a high pitch of excitement.
Captain Whipple first became noted as the result of his part in the
famous G(bspee episode. When this armed schooner came into
Providence, Captain Whipple led a squad of volunteers in small
boats, who boarded and destroyed her on June 17, 1772. The British
Government offered a reward of 1,000 pounds for the apprehension of
the leader because war had not yet been declared and Whipple's act
was regarded as piracy.

In the summer of 1775, and after the Battle of Lexington, Captain
Whipple was made commander of two armed vessels, though his
commission as Captain was not dated until Dec. 22 of the same year.
A few days after he assumed command he chased and captured the
Rose, which was the very first sea-fight in the war. Captain
Whipple was later given command of the Providence, a larger vessel,
which took more prizes than did any other American vessel. When
this vessel was captured by the enemy Captain Whipple was assigned
to a new frigate bearing the same name and carrying twenty-eight
guns. He was blockaded in Narragansett Bay by a fleet, but
succeeded in running the blockade and escaping. This escape enabled
him to reach France with very important messages relating to the
first treaty with that country, for which service General George
Washington wrote Captain Whipple a particularly complimentary
letter.

He returned to Boston in July, 1779, bringing with him two merchant
vessels he had captured. He had taken eight other vessels besides,
which he had sent on to Boston, and the value of which was
estimated at $1,000,000.

In 1780 Captain Whipple sailed to Charleston, in order to help
relieve that city then being besieged by the enemy, but was met by
Sir Henry Clinton with a larger and better armed fleet, who
captured Whipple's vessels and held that good sailor prisoner until
the end of the war.

In 1784 Captain Whipple commanded the first vessel to unfurl the
American Flag in the River Thames. In 1788 he joined the famous
Ohio Company and settled in Marietta, where he died May 29, 1819.
He was tired of the sea and like so many retired sailors got as far
away from it as he could. He is interred in the cemetery at
Marietta with many of his pioneer brethren, and a bronze tablet at
the entrance records their names; but as far as I have been able to
discover no memorial has ever been erected to Whipple himself.

It is a pity that we know so little of the Masonic activities of
Abraham Whipple and of other famous patriots of the time. Surely
there must be in existence many old records, diaries, local
histories and correspondence, in which some grains of Masonic
information might be found. Let us dig!
