JFK Library Lends the Famous Cutlass of Commodore John Barry to the Musuem of the American Revolution in Philadelphia

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John Barry Statue at Independence Hall, Philadelphia. 
Image courtesy of National Park Service


The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston is lending one of its priceless artifacts - a cutlass belonging to Revolutionary Naval Hero Commodore John Barry - to the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. The sword goes on display on September 13, the anniversary of Barry’s death in 1803 through July 2024, part of the museum’s War at Sea exhibit. 


Commodore Barry's Cutlass and Flag

President John F. Kennedy was a great admirer of Commodore Barry. In addition to sharing a love of the sea and sailing, both men traced their lineage to County Wexford. JFK displayed Barry’s sword and flag in his office at the White House, and nearby was a portrait of Commodore Barry, painted by Gilbert Stuart in Cross Hall.  See more Barry artifacts at the JFK Library. 


President Kennedy lays a wreath at the Barry Memorial in Wexford, Ireland

When visiting Ireland in 1963, President Kennedy visited the Town of Wexford on June 27, 1963, where Mayor Thomas Byrne and local officials named him an Honorary Freeman, and presented him with a Freedom of Wexford chest.  President Kennedy spoke before the assembled guests and also placed a wreath at the John Barry Memorial on Crescent Quay.  

Commodore John Barry (March 25, 1745 – September 13, 1803) was a naval hero of the American Revolutionary War. Born in Tacumshane, County Wexford in 1745, Barry emigrated to Philadelphia in 1760. He joined the American forces at the outbreak of the war and was the first Catholic appointed to command a vessel by the Continental Congress. Barry's ship, Lexington, was the first to capture a British vessel under the American flag. 

After the Revolutionary War Barry settled in Philadelphia and died there on September 13, 1803. He is buried at Old St. Mary’s Cemetery. A larger-than-life sized statue of Barry stands outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia.


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