Read the Revolution Speaker Series with Tim McGrath
November 15, 2023, from 6:30-8 p.m.- November 15, 2023, from 6:30-8 p.m.
- Museum of the American Revolution
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Purchase Tickets
Ticket Pricing:
$20 - Onsite Public (includes Zoom access)
$15 - Onsite Members (includes Zoom access)
$12 - Online Public (Zoom access)
$10 - Online Members (Zoom access)
FREE - Revolution Society & George Washington Council (includes 5:30 p.m. reception with author. RSVP to Jane Hayden at [email protected].)
What Think you of an American Fleet? I dont mean 100 ships of the Line, by a Fleet, but I Suppose this Term may be applied to any naval Force consisting of several Vessells, tho the Number, the Weight of Metal, or the Quantity of Tonnage may be small ...John Adams, in a letter to James Warren on Oct. 19, 1775
Join author and avid sailor Tim McGrath at the Museum on Wednesday evening, Nov. 15, for a special presentation, “’What Think You of an American Fleet?’: The Rise and Fall of the Continental Navy,” to kickoff the Museum's 2023-24 Read the Revolution Speaker Series. Drawing on two of his award-winning books, Give Me a Fast Ship: The Continental Navy and America’s Revolution at Sea and John Barry: An American Hero in the Age of Sail, McGrath will illustrate the life of Commodore John Barry (1745-1803) and his role in the Continental Navy, our first official naval force.
Born the son of a farmer in County Wexford, Ireland, Barry arrived as a sailor in Philadelphia before 1760 and commanded naval forces for the Continental cause during the Revolutionary War. Named by President George Washington as the first commissioned officer in the new United States Navy, Barry continued his military service alongside Samuel Nicholson, first captain of frigate Constitution, and Philadelphian Richard Dale, First Mate aboard John Paul Jones’s Bonhomme Richard, and several other officers who served in both the Continental Navy and the United States Navy. Barry ended his career during America’s naval war with France and was buried with full military honors in Philadelphia’s Old St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Churchyard. In connection with the Museum’s special exhibit, Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia, McGrath will also explore how the rise and fall of the Continental Navy, and Barry’s experiences, intersect with privateer James Forten’s Revolutionary War service at sea and help us to define American military and political leadership in the United States today.
The program will be held in the Museum’s Liberty Hall and will be broadcast live via Zoom. Following the presentation, Museum President & CEO Dr. R. Scott Stephenson will join McGrath in conversation and facilitate a live Q&A with both onsite and online audiences.
Doors open at 6 p.m. for onsite guests to see a special display of artifacts from the Museum collection, enjoy refreshments at a cash bar, and have the opportunity to purchase signed copies of the featured books. Guests are also invited to arrive at 5:30 p.m. to view Commodore John Barry’s sword on view in the Museum’s core exhibition, which is on loan from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, Massachusetts.
About Tim McGrath
Tim McGrath is a recipient of the Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature and a two-time winner of the Commodore John Barry Award for Maritime Literature, honoring John Barry: An American Hero in the Age of Sail (2010) and Give Me a Fast Ship: The Continental Navy and America’s Revolution at Sea (2014). His latest book is James Monroe: A Life (2020). He is currently at work on Four Days at Gettysburg, which explores the decisions made by President Abraham Lincoln, General Robert E. Lee, and Major General George Gordon Meade before, during, and after the Battle of Gettysburg and their consequences. McGrath serves on the Board of Port Wardens at Independence Seaport Museum and previously served as a board member of Fort Mifflin on the Delaware. He lives outside Philadelphia.
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John Barry
Read the Revolution Speaker Series
