Nicholas Biddle (naval officer)

This article is about the Continental Navy captain. For his nephew, the last president of the Second Bank of the United States, see Nicholas Biddle.

Nicholas Biddle
Captain Nicholas Biddle by Orlando S. Lagman
Born	September 10, 1750 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, British America
Died	March 7, 1778(1778-03-07) (aged 27) Atlantic Ocean
Allegiance	Great Britain United States
Service / branch	Royal Navy Continental Navy
Years of service	1770–1773 (GB) 1775–1778 (US)
Rank	Midshipman (GB) Captain (US)
Commands	USS Randolph
Battles / wars	American Revolutionary War Battle of Nassau Battle of Block Island Battle of Barbados †

Nicholas Biddle (September 10, 1750 – March 7, 1778) was one of the first five captains of the Continental Navy, which was raised by the Continental Congress during the American Revolutionary War. Biddle was born in Philadelphia in 1750. He began sailing at the age of 13 and joined the Royal Navy when he was 20. In 1773, he sailed the Arctic with Constantine Phipps and Horatio Nelson. When the Revolutionary War began in 1775, Biddle joined the Continental Navy and commanded several ships. In 1778 off the coast of Barbados, Biddle confronted HMS Yarmouth, a 64-gun British warship. After a twenty-minute battle, Biddle's ship Randolph suddenly exploded, killing him and most of his men. Four ships of the U.S. Navy have been named in his honor.

Early life

Nicholas Biddle was born in Philadelphia in 1750, one of nine children to William Biddle (1698–1756) of the Biddle family, and Mary Scull (1709–1789). Biddle went to sea at the age of thirteen, as a ship's boy aboard a merchant vessel trading in the West Indies. In 1770, he joined the Royal Navy and served three years until resigning in 1773 to accompany Captain Constantine Phipps on his expedition to the Arctic Sea. While on this voyage, Biddle became acquainted with Horatio Nelson, the future British admiral and fellow member of Phipps' expedition.

American Revolutionary War

In 1775, Biddle, sympathizing with those who considered British rule oppressive and unjust, returned to North America to offer his services to the State of Pennsylvania. With the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety placed Biddle in command of the armed galley Franklin. In December 1775, Biddle was commissioned into the newly established Continental Navy and made captain of the 14-gun brig Andrew Doria.

Biddle participated in the expedition against New Providence and fought in the Continental Navy's action with HMS Glasgow on April 6, 1776. Biddle was highly critical of the action, noting that the lack of signaling by his superior, Commodore Esek Hopkins, led to a "helter skelter" action. Biddle quickly developed a reputation as an able captain by capturing numerous vessels, including British army transports, on later cruises.

One of his most exceptional campaigns occurred during a cruise of the Newfoundland Banks; Biddle's crew was so successful in the taking of ships that by the time they returned to port, only five sailors were steering Biddle's flagship; the rest were crewing the prizes taken during the cruise.

On June 6, 1776, Biddle was appointed by the Continental Congress to command Randolph, a 32-gun frigate then being built in Philadelphia as part of a plan to drastically expand the size and power of the American naval fleet. She was launched near the close of the year and sailed early in 1777. In September 1777, Randolph attained her first success by capturing HMS True Briton and her three-ship convoy.

On March 7, 1778, off Barbados, Randolph engaged the British 64-gun ship of the line HMS Yarmouth. Rather than trying to flee from the more heavily armed opponent, Randolph sailed into battle so the merchant fleet it was escorting could escape. An eyewitness reported the frigate held her own in the twenty-minute engagement, appearing, "to fire four or five broadsides to the Yarmouth's one." After Biddle was wounded, Randolph blew up suddenly, killing all but four of the 305 souls on board, including Biddle. The loss of Randolph was a serious blow to the fledgling Continental Navy. His body was lost at sea and never recovered.

His brother, Edward Biddle, was a staunch advocate for American independence, and his nephew, Nicholas Biddle, was an esteemed banker.

Four ships of the United States Navy have been named USS Biddle in his honor.

Cyrus Townsend Brady's book For Love of Country is based partly on the life of Nicholas Biddle, in particular the action between the Randolph and the Yarmouth.

In popular culture

Nicholas Biddle appears in the video game Assassin's Creed III as the primary target of the "Naval Missions". A secret member of the Templar Order, Biddle is revealed to be conspiring with fellow Templars in the Royal Navy to stage attacks on American shipping near Nantucket as a means of pressuring Congress to name him an Admiral, thus giving the Templars further control over the nation's fledging naval service. As per historical record, he dies aboard the USS Randolph in 1778 after being bested in combat by Connor Kenway. Biddle demands the right to go down with his ship and is subsequently killed when the Randolph is destroyed in an explosion of its gunpowder stores. He is voiced by Fred Tatasciore.

Bibliography

• Allen, Gardner Weld (1913). A naval history of the American Revolution. Vol. 1. Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 600.
• McGrath, Tim (August 2015). "I Fear Nothing". Naval History. 29 (4). United States Naval Institute.