Linkedin Long-Form Post #8

James Francis Smith

Irish in the American Revolution’s only Fictional Character

I decided to create fictional Mary Carr in order to smoothly include such historical characters as Patrick Carr, Benjamin Franklin, and Paul Revere.
There wasn’t much I knew about Patrick Carr, except he emigrated from Ireland only to be killed in the Boston Massacre. By providing a fictional sister, I described in depth the massacre, had Paul Revere befriend Mary and employ her as a messenger for the colonials.
During the British occupation, when things got to hot for Mary to remain in Boston, I had her join Ben Franklin, utilizing the same conveyances he had taken when traveling years earlier from Boston to Philadelphia, to illustrate the difficulty our colonial forefathers had in traveling between cities.
Once in the city of brotherly love, Irish-Catholic Mary linked up with such Irish paragons as General Stephen Moylan and Commodore John Barry.
During her time as the publisher of Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette, Mary allowed a British turncoat reside in her abode to emphasize that many switched sides during the conflict. She knew of Franklin’s establishing a “Letter of Marque” fleet, sailing under the fearless Irishman, Luke Ryan.
Mary resided in Philadelphia during Benedict Arnolds’ short reign as the city’s governor. In her role at the paper she witnessed or wrote about battles and events, when I would have had to invent characters to participate. These included:
Boston under siege
Clinton’s evacuation of Philadelphia
Benedict Arnold’s reign
Port Royal Island, SC
Kaskaskia, IL
Fort Vincennes, IN – better known as the Siege of Fort Sackville
Kettle Creek, GA
Briar Creek, SC
Stony Point, NY
Verplank, NY
The epic Irish in the American Revolution’s includes 59 historical characters, 35 land battles, numerous naval engagements, as well the political aspects of the Continental Congress.
I believe the reader will find the involvement of fictional Mary Carr to be a worthwhile investment of their time.