Abraham Whipple (26 September 1733 - 27 May 1819) was an American revolutionary naval commander. Whipple was born near Providence, Rhode Island and chose to be a seafarer early in his life. He embarked upon a career in the lucrative West Indies trade, working for Moses and John Brown. In the French and Indian War period, he became a privateersman and commanded privateer Game Cock from 1759 to 1760. In one six-month cruise, he captured 23 French ships. He sunk the first British ship of the American Revolution. The first to unfurl the Star Spangled Banner in London, he was also the first to build and sail an ocean-going ship 2000 miles down river from Ohio to the Caribbean, opening trade to the Northwest Territory.