Joshua Barney
Commodore, U.S. Navy

Joshua Barney was born on 6 July 1759 in Baltimore, MD.

Destined for a naval career, Barney became a ship's mate at age 12 and a ship commander at 16. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1776 as a Lieutenant and took part in the defense of the Delaware River. In 1779 he was captured by the British and imprisoned in Plymouth, England, until his escape two years later.

As U.S. Commander at the Battle of Delaware Bay on 8 April 1782, Barney defeated a superior British force and captured the heavily armed frigate HMS General Monk. During the 1790s he served in the French Navy, commanding two frigates, then returned to America in 1802. He resumed active duty at the outbreak of the War of 1812.

On 25 April 1814, President James Madison gave him the commission of "Captain in the Flotilla Service of the United States," which defended Washington, DC, against the British naval attacks.

Barney's autobiography was posthumously published in 1832.

Death and Burial

An acclaimed hero of both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, Commodore Joshua Barney died on 1 December 1818 in Pittsburgh, PA. He is buried at Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh.