Isaiah Robinson
Isaiah Robinson (unknown – c. 1781) was a captain in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War.
BiographyEdit
Robinson, probably born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was a member of the Philadelphia Ship Masters' Association and served as a lieutenant on the Template:USS with Joshua Barney.<ref name=rob2>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He later commanded the 10-gun Continental sloop-of-war Template:USS, fitted out by the Marine Committee shortly after Admiral Esek Hopkins' fleet sailed for New Providence in 1776, and captured a six-gun British letter of marque off the Virginia Capes.<ref name=rob2/>
Appointed captain in the Continental Navy on 10 October 1776, he assumed command of the 14-gun brig Template:Ship. One of the more important smaller boats of the Continental Navy, the brig sailed under orders of the Secret Committee, dated 17 October 1776, for the Dutch island of Sint Eustatius to take on a cargo of military stores.<ref name=rob2/> When the Andrew Doria entered the harbor at Sint Eustatius on 16 November, it received one of the first gun salutes rendered to the American flag).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:See also Upon the return voyage in late November, he captured the British 12-gun sloop-of-war Template:HMS after a two-hour engagement near Puerto Rico.<ref name=rob2/>
The following year, Captain Robinson cruised against enemy shipping off Cape May, but was finally blockaded in the Delaware River.<ref name=rob2/> During the defense of Philadelphia, and following the destruction of Fort Mifflin on 15 November 1777, he was forced to burn Andrew Doria to prevent the vessel from falling into enemy hands.<ref name=rob2/> He commanded the 12-gun Pennsylvania privateer Pomona in 1779 and succeeded in taking several British privateers.<ref name=rob2/>
The date of his death is unknown, but his will, dated 12 August 1777, was probated in the city of Philadelphia on 25 September 1781.<ref name=rob2/>
LegacyEdit
The destroyers Template:USS and Template:USS were named in his honor.
Robinson appears in John Edward Jennings' 1950 historical novel The Sea Eagles.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
ReferencesEdit
- File:PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.{{#if:|{{#if:| The entries can be found [{{#if:1|{{{1}}}}} here] and [{{#if:1|{{{2}}}}} here].| The entry can be found [{{#if:1|{{{1}}}}} here].}}}}
