The Virginia Navy in the Revolution: Hampton’s Commodore James Barron and His Fleet

By James Tormey

The Virginia Navy, led by Commodore James Barron, raised more than fifty vessels to aid the fight against the British Empire. The ships kept open vital trade passages to the West Indies that allowed for goods and supplies to reach American shores despite English blockades. Barron defended his birthplace at the Battle of Hampton, suffered near-destruction at the hands of Benedict Arnold and supported the French navy in the decisive victory at Yorktown. Author James Tormey reveals these stories and more in a maritime adventure through the history of the Virginia Navy in the Revolutionary era.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The History Press
• Release date: Jul 4, 2016
• ISBN: 9781625857958

James Tormey

James Tormey served overseas in the US Army Corps of Engineers in Korea, Vietnam, Germany and Panama. He commanded the Norfolk Engineer District, which is responsible for the maintenance of the Harbor of Hampton Roads. He and his wife live in Hampton and are founding directors of the Hampton History Museum Association. His interest in Virginia history led him to write a novel about John Rolfe and a history of St. John's Church in Hampton.

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INTRODUCTION

James Barron was a sea captain who fought in the naval conflict between Britain and the thirteen American colonies in the American Revolution. Each state had a navy, and James Barron became a captain, and then a commodore, in the Virginia Navy. The state navies and the Continental navy faced the formidable power of the British Royal Navy in their struggle to keep the coastal and intercoastal waterways of America open. The navy of Virginia had few successes and was nearly destroyed. Nevertheless, Patriot troop and supply movements, as well as civilian commerce, continued despite action by the British navy and British privateers. Ultimately, the naval power of France swung the balance in favor of the American forces and their French allies.

The story of James Barron gives us an insight into how the sailors of the Chesapeake Bay region of Virginia worked and fought for their country. It is also the story of the seaport of Hampton, where James Barron lived and where the Virginia Navy was headquartered.

Chapter 1

COLONIAL TIDEWATER

The earliest Virginia colonists were quick to name the prominent capes that form the entrance to Chesapeake Bay. In doing so, they designated Cape Henry and Cape Charles for the sons of King James. These were prominent landmarks that would be the goal of generations of navigators making their way to England’s Virginia Colony.

Between Cape Charles and Cape Henry lay access to lower Chesapeake Bay. Indeed, it was the gateway to Virginia. There was an array of broad rivers: the James, York, Rappahannock and Potomac. Each of these rivers was wide enough to provide uncluttered access to riparian lands that could be cleared for farming. The mouths of these rivers were distant enough from the fall line, where portaging or locks become necessary, to create a broad coastal plain allowing thousands of acres for farms. Then there were tributaries to the larger rivers that allowed additional farmlands to be reached by the waterways. The topography of Tidewater Virginia could hardly have been more favorable to a people who were so dependent on waterways for transporting their produce.

The availability of farmland and waterways and the emergence of tobacco as a cash crop resulted in a rush to develop Tidewater Virginia after 1624, when Virginia ceased to be a privately owned company. The demand in England for tobacco seemed unlimited, despite the disapproval of King James. Virginia offered a means of satisfying the demand without resorting to foreign imports.

As a commodity, tobacco offered several advantages over grain. It did not require as much land to be cleared for planting, and it resulted in a denser product that required less volume to transport. A man’s labor for a year resulted in more money in return for his effort.

Tobacco imports into England had increased from 250 tons in 1628 to 10,000 tons by the end of the seventeenth century. In 1775, they exceeded 50,000 tons. This remarkable growth resulted in tobacco not only being the primary import from the colonies in terms of cash value but also eventually growing large enough that it could be exported by England to other countries in Europe.¹

Farming large acreages of tobacco appealed to English settlers who were eager to own their own land. The waterways of Virginia provided economical transportation to both the farmers of Virginia and the merchants of England with whom they traded.

Tobacco was transported in hogsheads, a barrel containing about one thousand pounds of tobacco, compressed into a dense volume. The proximity of waterways meant that overland transportation—which might damage the leaf if transported over miles of dirt roads—could be avoided. The hogshead needed to reach its destination in England within a year or the Virginia tobacco would deteriorate and lose its quality.

In times of war, English vessels were subject to attack by French, Dutch or Spanish privateers, who could find a ready market for prizes seized en route from the colonies to England. As a defense against attack, the English government had devised the convoy system. Royal Navy ships would escort a convoy of as many as two hundred tobacco ships from assembly areas in the lower Chesapeake Bay to their destinations in English ports.

The tobacco convoy would depart the bay in May. Progress was slow because the speed of the convoy was limited by the slower ships. After discharging their tobacco in England, the ships would take on cargo for the return to America, often destined for the plantation that had produced the tobacco. The ships had to return to the Chesapeake Bay by November, after which northeast winds were unfavorable for the square-rigged vessels.²

In order to develop and control trade, the English designated eight towns in Virginia as ports. Hampton was chosen to be a port in 1691, and all port duties on the lower James River were administered at Hampton. Hampton was also the seat of Elizabeth City County. As a port, Hampton was limited by relatively shallow depth, but it was the primary port of colonial Virginia throughout the seventeenth century. The proximity of Hampton to Old Point Comfort was advantageous for monitoring shipping.

Point Comfort had been recognized by the earliest settlers as a suitable location for a fort. Cannons located on Point Comfort could dominate ships passing in the narrow, but naturally deep, channel nearby. Captain John Smith had called it a place fit for a castle, and in 1609, it was chosen as the location for Fort Algernon. While the capture of the Spanish spy Diego de Molina occurred at the fort in 1611 and there were occasional marauders, the Virginia Colony allowed the fort to fall into disrepair intermittently during the colonial period.

Fry and Jefferson map of Virginia and Maryland, 1751. Library of Congress.

During the administration of Governor Gooch, the fort had been rehabilitated and named Fort George in honor of the English monarch. Unfortunately, the walls of the fort consisted of sand-filled cribs placed on a weak foundation. In 1749, a disastrous hurricane resulted in penetration of the walls and their subsequent destruction.³

The commandant of Fort George in 1749 was Captain Samuel Barron, who ordered the garrison, including wives and children, to occupy the second story of the living quarters during the storm. The weight of the occupants and their possessions held the buildings on their foundations. Samuel Barron’s actions probably prevented loss of life in the storm, but the destruction of the walls and the burial of the guns left the fort a ruin. The British government did not assume responsibility for funding repairs, leaving that to the colonial legislature. The Virginia legislature did not take action to restore the fort, and Samuel Barron found himself without employment to support his large family.⁴

Loading tobacco for shipment to England. Special Collections, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Before becoming the commandant at Fort George, Samuel Barron had accumulated a comfortable fortune. According to family recollection, however, he was a gay, frolicsome man and his associate officers had little else to do but spend their money, and to assist him to get rid of his.⁵

Samuel Barron died in the following year, and his widow was left with the difficult task of supporting eight children. In eighteenth-century Virginia, it was customary for families who could not afford to educate their children to find them places as apprentices so they could learn a trade. Next to farming, the trade that was most likely to be engaged in at Hampton was being a sailor. The port was bustling with vessels going to and from England. Likewise, there was commerce to and from the Indies and the other ports of colonial America. The men required to man the ships often began their seagoing careers while boys.

Fortunately, John Hunter of Hampton was a friend of the Barron family. He was an agent for the Royal Navy and had connections in the maritime community. Hunter believed that James Barron, who was then ten years old, might be successful as a sailor and took the boy to see his friend Captain Barrington in the hopes that he might be apprenticed as a seaman. Although an apprentice was not paid well, he had the opportunity to learn the many skills of a profession that offered a path to advancement.

Captain Barrington had a fine ship that sailed regularly to London, and he had a place aboard for James Barron as a member of his crew. Young Barron was bright and worked hard, and after a few transatlantic voyages, Barrington promoted him to second mate of the vessel. James Barron had found his profession. He recognized that a career as a mariner could be very rewarding, even though it could be very hazardous. He never forgot the power of the storm that had destroyed Fort George. He was tall and of good physique, with the lively manner of a good leader. A few years later, before his apprenticeship had expired, his father’s friend John Hunter offered him command of a small vessel named the Kickotan.⁶

The Kickotan was named for the Indian village that had existed on the site of Hampton before the English had seized it from the native Americans in 1610. For decades, the settlers continued to use the Indian name for the town. It was fitting for James Barron to have as his first command a boat named for the town from which he sailed for many years, both in war and in peace.

It was natural for the brothers of James Barron to be drawn to the sea for a livelihood. Of the six Barron brothers, all but one eventually took to the sea, and Richard, like James, became a captain sailing from Hampton who made a name for himself for his ability and his leadership.

Reports of ship sightings and arrivals were of sufficient interest to colonial Virginians to warrant reporting them in newspapers. There are many shipping reports that give an idea of the activity of James Barron. For example, in December 1768, the Virginia Gazette reported that Captain James Barron and the ship Molly were bound for London carrying 478 hogsheads of tobacco, 35 bags of cotton, 2 bags of ginseng, 30 tons of pig iron, 2 casks of snakeroot and 12,675 staves. Such details were of interest in an economy engaged in producing raw materials.

Also of interest were reports of shipping encountered on the high seas. In November 1769, the Virginia Gazette included a notice: "Captain Barron reports the Duchess of Gordon from London, bound for New York, [was] on 18 November 1769, about 20 leagues east of Cape Henry, out 6 weeks, all’s well." Presumably, Captain Barron provided this intelligence to the Gazette upon his arrival in Virginia.

Trade with Europe was not confined to English ports. There was widespread demand for the produce of American farms. In January 1774, the Gazette reported that James Barron and the brig Jenny had made for Cadiz, with 1,170 barrels of flour, 2,100 bushels of wheat,10 barrels of bread, 6,100 staves, and 1 cask of beeswax.

James Barron. Special Collections, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

The name of James Barron’s brother Richard also appears in the shipping reports of this time. In February 1774, there was notice of Richard Barron and the ship Fly headed for Liverpool, with 701 hogsheads of tobacco, 2 hogsheads of deerskins, 11,750 staves, and 1,654 feet of oak plank.

Both James and Richard Barron had acquired property for homes in Elizabeth City County near Hampton. James had bought land on a peninsula formerly known as Capps Point on the Hampton River. He called his home Little England and built a house fronting on the river.⁷ The Barron brothers were prospering. James was married to Jane Cowper, and they had two sons, Samuel and James, born in 1765 and 1768, respectively.

By the spring of 1774, the relations between England’s colonies and the mother country were deteriorating rapidly. The British were determined to raise revenue at the expense of the colonies to pay for the French and Indian War. Attempts to raise revenue through the Stamp Act were considered particularly onerous, especially in a town like Hampton, which generated numerous transactions subject to taxation. The repeal of the Stamp Act was welcomed with enthusiasm in Hampton and the cause of celebration at a dinner in the Bunch of Grapes tavern.

The population of the thirteen American colonies had increased dramatically in the twenty years preceding 1770 from 1 million people to more than 2 million.⁸ The colony with the greatest population was Virginia. In all the colonies, there was a growing awareness that England was intent on deriving wealth from the people overseas, who had no voice in how that wealth would be expended. The revolution took place before the Revolutionary War when the colonials decided that they would not be exploited any longer.

American seamen who had contact with their British counterparts were offended by disparaging remarks about the colonials. James Barron could see the war clouds forming and could foresee that if he continued in the employ of British ship owners when hostilities began, he might find himself quarantined aboard a British ship in England. He had made many voyages as captain of a ship belonging to Samuel Guest, a prominent English merchant. As he did not wish to return to England aboard that ship, he surrendered command of the vessel to the first mate after passing Cape Henry en route to England,