Abraham Whipple

In 1761, Abraham Whipple got married to Sarah Hopkins. The couple had three children named John, Catherine, and Mary. Whipple’s daughter Catherine married Ebenezer Sproat, who served as a colonel in the Continental Army.

For his great contribution towards the achievement of American independence, the Congress granted Abraham Whipple monthly pension.

Whipple passed away at the age of 85, at Marietta, Ohio. His body was later buried at the Mound Cemetery, located in the same town.

Abraham Whipple was born on September 26, 1733 in Providence, Rhode Island, to Noah Whipple Jr., one of the owners of a plantation. Since he lived in a coastal town, he developed interest in exploring the sea from a very young age.

Whipple was appointed as the captain of a merchantman. He quickly acquired the knowledge of all tricks of navigation and sailing. Whipple also became a close acquaintance of the ‘Northern Harbors’, a group which helped him in a great way during the revolution.

The year 1772 turned out to be really remarkable for Whipple, who gathered a team of around 50 people from Rhode Island to burn the British ship ‘HMS Gaspee’ during this period. This was claimed to be an important move from America’s behalf to oppose the British oppression.

In 1775, Whipple was appointed the Commodore of two colonial ships by the Rhode Island General Assembly. Whipple directed his troops to capture the ship ‘HMS Rose’.

Whipple was given the responsibility to command the ship ‘Columbus’, which was equipped with 24 guns, in the year 1776. He was also appointed as the captain of the Continental Army during the same year.

In 1778, the ship ‘Providence’ which was commanded by Whipple, tackled British vessels such as ‘HMS Lark’, and managed to cross the Atlantic ocean safely. During this journey ‘Providence’ also managed to acquire guns and other key supplies of war, before reaching motherland.

The period from 1759 to 1760, was one of the most eventful ones of Whipple’s career, where he captured around 26 ships of French origin, as a captain of the ship ‘Game Cock’.

Another event for which Whipple is remembered is the ‘Gaspee Affair’ of 1772. The British customs Schooner ‘HMS Gaspee’, which had enforced unfair trading regulations, was destroyed under Whipple’s leadership.