Elijah Cobb (July 4, 1768 – November 21, 1848[1]) was an American sea captain who was captured by the French in 1794 and was released by order of Maximilian Robespierre.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Captain_Elijah_Cobb.png/220px-Captain_Elijah_Cobb.png)
Captain Cobb was born in Harwich, Massachusetts, on July 4, 1768. His father died at sea, leaving his mother with six children.[2] In 1794, his ship was captured by the French, but Captain Cobb managed to get a private audience with Maximilian Robespierre, the French leader at the time. Captain Cobb was among the 1,000 people who watched his execution by guillotine 10 days later.[3][4] Captain Cobb was later captured during the War of 1812 and imprisoned in Canada.[4] He retired in 1820 and spent the rest of his life on his Brewster, Massachusetts, farm until he died in 1848.[2] His home was later visited by Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan and they may have posed for a photograph in the backyard.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Captain Cobb House". Brewster Historical Society. Archived from the original on 2016-01-21. Retrieved 2022-01-23.
Elijah Cobb was born in Brewster July 4, 1768.
- ^ a b "Elijah Cobb (1768-1848) - Find A Grave Memorial". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ "Cape Cod Captain Elijah Cobb Meets the French Guillotine and Lives to Tell Of It - New England Historical Society". www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com. 23 March 2016. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ a b "Storied Captain Elijah Cobb House A House with History | Page 2 of 5 | Cape Cod LIFE". Cape Cod LIFE. 2016-11-14. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ "Helen Keller's Cape Connection". blogs.capecodonline.com. Retrieved 2018-08-23.