American Privateer. Born to a wealthy planter family on East Neck Island, Maryland, his family owned a shipyard and engaged in trade between the American colonies and Britain. With the coming of the Revolution, Wickes was appointed to the Continental navy on December 22, 1775. Designated as number 11 on the Continental Navy's seniority list, Wickes was given command of the 16-gun brig Reprisal. In the summer of 1776 Wickes was ordered to proceed to the West Indies where he successfully took several prizes. In October 1776, Reprisal was ordered to take Benjamin Franklin, who had been appointed a commissioner to France, to his post; and afterwards to cruise in the English Channel in search of British shipping. Reprisal sailed in November and delivered Franklin at Auray. Wickes then took the Reprisal, apparently the first vessel of the Continental Navy to arrive in European waters, on the second leg of his mission. They set sail again about the middle of January 1777 joined by two other American vessels, the Dolphin under Captain Nicholson and the Lexington under Captain Johnson, and led a cruise of the waters around Ireland. The squadron took almost twenty prizes in five months. The squadron attracted notice throwing British shipping into an uproar. In June 1777 Wickes recorded sighting what turned out to be a 74-gun British war ship, after a running battle, the squadron escaped to retire to friendly ports for refitting. With the refit of his ship complete in September, Reprisal left France for the United States. Approaching friendly waters, the Reprisal foundered in a storm off the shore off Newfoundland. Captain Wickes and all but one of his crew were lost. Benjamin Franklin, who knew him well, said of him, "He was a gallant officer, and a very worthy man."