Stephen Moylan earned his spot in the pantheon of American heroes for being the first person to write the words “United States of America.”
Born in Cork in 1737, Stephen was the son of a Catholic businessman who sent him to the European continent for his education. After establishing himself as a shipping merchant in Lisbon, he left for Philadelphia in 1767. Stephen worked in shipping in the city and was actively socially, belonging to the Gloucester Fox Hunting Club and elected as the first president of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in 1771.
When war broke out, Moylan offered his service, becoming an aide to General George Washington. On January 2, 1776, he wrote the letter that would secure his place in history.
It was the day after Washington had raised the first American flag, which had 13 stripes and the crosses of England and Scotland in the corner where the star would later go.
Moylan thought the colonies should appoint an emissary to the powerful country of Spain to seek support for the patriots’ cause. From the Continental Army’s headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he wrote a letter to the Colonel Joseph Reed, Washington’s aide-de-camp, saying that he would offer his own services, no doubt drawing on his years of experience living and working in Lisbon.
“I should like to go with full and ample powers from the United States of America to Spain”
This is the earliest use the has been found of that name for the emerging nation.
Philadelphia Fields: The Ballad of Stephen Moylan
Sources and Further Reading:
Stephen Moylan: The Irishman Who Coined ‘United States of America’ – New England Historical Society
Who Coined the Phrase ‘United States of America’? You May Never Guess
IrishAmerica250.org 