Captain Jeremiah O'Brien (1744–1818) was an Irish-American captain in the Massachusetts State Navy . Prior to its existence (or that of the Continental Navy ), he commanded the sloop Unity when he captured the British armed schooner HMS Margaretta in the Battle of Machias , the first naval battle of the American Revolutionary War . He also led the first American attack on Nova Scotia in the Raid on St. John (1775) . Six United States ships were named in his honor.
12-770: (Redirected from O’Brien ) [REDACTED] Look up O'Brien in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. O'Brien may refer to: People [ edit ] O'Brien (surname) , an Irish surname O'Brien dynasty , a powerful Irish dynasty that ruled Munster and produced several High Kings of Ireland Places [ edit ] United States [ edit ] O'Brien, California , an unincorporated community in Shasta County O'Brien, Florida , an unincorporated community in Suwannee County O'Brien, Oregon ,
24-787: A census-designated place and unincorporated community in Josephine County O'Brien, Texas , a city in Haskell County O'Brien, West Virginia , an unincorporated community in Barbour County O'Brien County, Iowa , a county Other places [ edit ] O'Brien, Argentina , a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina O'Briens Hill, Queensland , a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Australia O'Brien Island , in
36-424: A surname (including a list of people with the name) O'Bryan (born 1961), American singer-songwriter Justice O'Brien (disambiguation) All pages with titles containing O'Brien Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title O'Brien . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to
48-642: The Continental Navy did not exist at the time. The United States Merchant Marine claims Unity as its member and this incident as their beginning. In August 1775, O'Brien participated in the Raid on St. John (1775) . O'Brien continued as the captain of Unity , renamed Machias Liberty , for two years, and received the first captain's commission in the Massachusetts State Navy in 1775. President James Madison appointed O'Brien as
60-693: The battles of Lexington and Concord reached Machias in early May 1775, leading Benjamin Foster to rally Machias residents at Job Burnham's tavern. Machias merchant captain Ichabod Jones sailed his ships Unity and Polly to Boston with a cargo of lumber and purchased food for sale in Machias. British troops encouraged Jones to deliver another cargo of lumber for construction of their barracks in Boston. Admiral Samuel Graves ordered HMS Margaretta , under
72-481: The packet boat Falmouth . After Falmouth ran aground, O'Brien and his five brothers, Gideon, John, William, Dennis and Joseph, seized the Unity . Under the command of Jeremiah O'Brien, thirty-one townsmen sailed aboard Unity armed with guns, swords, axes, and pitch forks and captured Margaretta in an hour-long battle after Margaretta had threatened to bombard the town. John O'Brien jumped aboard Margaretta as
84-733: The South Shetland Islands, Antarctica O'Brien Island, Chile , in the Magallanes Region, Chile Ships [ edit ] USS O'Brien , a list of ships with this name Capitan O'Brien -class submarine three submarines built for the Chilean Navy in 1928–1929 Oberon -class submarine (also known as O'Brien-class submarine), Chilean Navy submarine class Chilean submarine O'Brien (S22) , an Oberon -class sub Other uses [ edit ] O'Brien ( Nineteen Eighty-Four ) ,
96-531: The United States Navy, in honor of Jeremiah O'Brien (1744–1818): See also Jeremiah O%27Brien Jeremiah was the eldest son of Irish immigrants Morris and Mary O'Brien. He was born in Kittery, District of Maine in 1744. His family moved to Scarborough, Maine and settled in Machias, Maine in the 1760s to engage in lumbering. Maine was a part of Massachusetts at the time. Reports of
108-509: The command of James Moore, to accompany Jones' ships to discourage interference from Machias rebels. When the ships reached Machias on 2 June 1775, James Moore ordered the liberty pole removed; and Machias townspeople refused to load the lumber. Foster plotted to capture the British officers when they attended church on 11 June, but the British avoided capture and retreated downriver aboard Margaretta . On 12 June Foster pursued Margaretta aboard
120-424: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=O%27Brien&oldid=1189750450 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages USS O%27Brien USS O'Brien has been the name of five ships of
132-769: The main antagonist in George Orwell's novel O'Brien (TV series) , a British talk show presented by James O'Brien United States v. O'Brien , legal case ruled on by the US Supreme Court regarding draft card burning and the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech O'Briens Irish Sandwich Bars , a café chain based in Ireland O'Brien AutoGlass, the Australian subsidiary of Belron . See also [ edit ] Brien O'Brian ,
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#1732801742283144-481: The two ships closed, but was forced to jump overboard by the British crew. After rescuing John, Unity again closed Margaretta until their rigging became entangled. Unity was bombarded by grenades from the British ship, but Margaretta surrendered after James Moore was mortally wounded. This battle is often considered the first time British colors were struck to those of the United States, even though
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