As the nation pauses on Tuesday to celebrate the birth of our nation, it is important to remember that many of those who fought for our freedom later settled down to live their lives in Marietta. Many of those men’s final resting places are in Marietta and the surrounding communities. Around 90 people who fought in the Revolutionary War are in cemeteries around Washington County.

Commodore Abraham Whipple was a pivotal figure in the young nation’s efforts to control the high seas against a much stronger British navy. He would later use his sailing skills to help jump start a new business in Marietta as he settled into retirement in the new town. He is one of the officers of the war who is buried in Mound Cemetery.

Whipple was born near Providence, R.I. in 1733. As an adult he became an accomplished sailor and began a career as both a merchant — which at least once, included transporting slaves — and as a privateer.

In 1772, in what was one of the first acts of defiance against the British, he led a group of men to attack, board and burn the Gaspee. The ship had run aground while chasing another ship near Warwick, R.I.

He was commissioned a captain in the Continental Navy in December 1775 and was given command of the gunship Columbus. He thus began an incredible era of navel service that lasted until he was captured during a four-month siege in Charleston. He remained a prisoner until the end of the war.

He later became the first American captain to fly the United States flag on England’s River Thames. He then settled into a land based life as a farmer, first near Cranston, R.I., and then as a member of the Ohio Company in Marietta. The government paid many officers for their war service by giving them land and this is how Whipple ended up here.

Whipple at first lived with his daughter Sarah and his son-in-law Col. Ebenezer Sproat until he moved to a small farm north of Marietta. Because he was land rich, but cash poor, he struggled financially until he finally got a pension from the government in 1811. He took different jobs to make ends meet, some of which helped shape the early town.

In 1800 Marietta went into the ship building business by constructing the 110-ton brig, the St. Clair. Funded by Harman Blennerhassett and Dudley Woodbridge, the ocean ship was a long way from any open water when it was ready to sail in April of 1801. Whipple was hired to sail the ship from Marietta, down the Ohio to the Mississippi to New Orleans.

Sailing ships are meant to be sailed in straight lines, not around the thousands of curves of the nation’s rivers. The ship must have been an odd sight making its way down the river. The most foreboding challenge on the trip was the Falls of the Ohio near Louisville, Ky. Now tamed by locks and dams, the spot was a 12-foot drop in the river then. Whipple turned the ship around and dragged a pair of kedge anchors behind him to allow some degree of control. Successfully past the danger, he made way for New Orleans where he sold the cargo on the ship and purchased a load of sugar and set sail for Cuba and then finally Philadelphia where he not only sold the sugar, but also the ship.

He returned to Marietta expecting to be paid well for his trouble, however, he had to sue the owners for payment and got just $478.17 for his troubles. He would never make a significant journey again. The success of his journey meant that ship building was a viable business for Marietta. Eventually nearly 30 ships were built and launched from here.

He later took a job helping to survey the areas around Marietta. While in Fearing Township he attempted to cross a small stream by using a tree as a bridge. He fell in and nearly drowned. The unnamed stream was described after that as the “run Whipple fell in” and was later shortened to simply Whipple’s Run. The stream is still there, and it is still called Whipple Run. It is of course near the community of Whipple. A photo of the creek where it flows under an old railroad bridge is on page two of today’s Times. A historical market near the fountain at Front and Greene streets pays tribute to Whipple’s service.

Whipple’s skills as a sailor not only helped win the Revolutionary War, but it also helped jump start an industry for a small Ohio town just getting started. He died at his farmhouse in 1819 and is buried at a place of honor on the north side of the mound. A mural featuring Whipple was recently painted on a barn and will be dedicated July 5 along Ohio 821.

Art Smith is online manager of The Times. His column appears each Saturday. You can reach him at asmith@mariettatimes.com.