Nicholas Biddle

2013-02-24T04:30:48Z

199.180.110.187: /* Final words */ There was an error in the final words, Biddle said "what if I was named admiral" and on here it didn't have "named"

{{Era|AC3|Templars}}
{{WP-REAL|Nicholas Biddle (naval officer)}}
{{Spoilerhd}}
{{Character Infobox
|image = Nicholas Biddle.png
|birth = 10 September 1750<br>[[Philadelphia]], {{Wiki|British America}}
|death = 17 March 1778 (aged 27)<br>Atlantic Ocean
|faction = [[Templars]]<br>[[British Army|British Navy]]<br>[[Continental Army|Continental Navy]]
|voice = [[Fred Tatasciore]]
|appear = ''[[Assassin's Creed III]]''}}
'''Nicholas Biddle''' (1750 – 1778) was a member of [[Templars|Templar Order]] and one of the first captains of [[Continental Army|Continental Navy]] during the [[American Revolutionary War|American Revolution]].

==Biography==
===Early life===
Nicholas was born in Philadelphia in the year 1750 to William Biddle and Mary Scull. At the age of thirteen, he journeyed on a voyage to the West Indies, during which he was stranded on a desert island for two months. In 1770, Biddle joined the British Royal Navy, where he served as a junior officer. During his time under the British Crown, Biddle met with [[Robert Faulkner]].

[[File:ACIII-HardWay 6.png|thumb|left|250px|Connor confronting Church and Biddle.]]
Later, while in Martha's Vineyard, an inn on the coast of Nantucket, Biddle was talking with [[Benjamin Church]], who intended to recruit him into the [[Templars|Templar Order]]. As the meeting progressed, Biddle first encountered [[Ratonhnhaké:ton|Connor]], an Assassin, where he quickly exchanged an insult with Faulkner, before the developing argument was cut short by [[Amanda Bailey]].

In 1773, Biddle resigned his commission to join the Continental Navy at the beginning of the [[American Revolutionary War]]. Following this, Biddle was given command of a schooner vessel, the ''Franklin'', and patrolled the naval convoy routes.

===Reign of the East Coast===
Biddle devised a plan with his Templar co-conspirators in the British Navy, ultimately aiming to strengthen and expand the Continental Navy under his command for the Templar cause. Biddle sent Templar ships to attack merchant vessels in Nantucket and to occupy [[Fort Phoenix]], despite its lack of strategic value.

From there, Biddle pleaded and tricked the Continental Congress into believing that the British Navy was a threat to the Colonial coast. As a result, the Congress commissioned more ships for the Continental Navy, and by 1776, the Congress made Biddle the captain of a frigate, the ''Randolph''.

Biddle continued patrolling the Colonial coast and naval trade routes while orchestrating British attacks with his Templar co-conspirators. The ''Randolph'' attacked Nantucket, claiming it was a British Loyalist post when it had actually sided with the Continental Army, in an attempt to further convince the Congress that more ships were needed. Biddle also planned to boost his reputation and service record in order to be promoted to the rank of Admiral over the entire Continental Navy fleet.

[[File:ACIII-Frenchinvolvement 10.png|thumb|250px|Biddle aboard the ''Randolph''.]]
Soon after, the ''Randolph'' was assigned to escort ''La Belladonna'', a French ship providing aid to the Continental war drive. However, the ''Randolph'' abandoned ''La Belladonna'' to be attacked and seized by Templar ships. The ''[[Aquila]]'', captained by Connor, came to ''La Belladonna'''s defense before the ships attacked. The two vessels then destroyed the formation of Templar ships, while Biddle observed the battle safely from a distance.

In 1778, in order to remove Connor as a threat to his plans, Biddle patrolled the Caribbean coast, successfully luring the ''Aquila'' into a trap. In this encounter, the ''Randolph'' attacked the ''Aquila'' with the aid of two ''Men-of-War''. However, the ''Aquila'' destroyed the ''Men-of-War'' and successfully disabled the ''Randolph'''s mast with a single broadside of chained cannonballs.

Following this, Connor and the ''Aquila'''s crew boarded and attacked the ''Randolph'', during which Connor confronted Biddle on the bridge, causing both crews to cease fighting and watch as the two captains dueled.

===Death===
{{Quote|Wait. Let the Randolph die with me. Don't take her as a prize. Please. Please. I want no quarter, just to sink with my ship.|Biddle's final words to Connor.|Assassin's Creed III}}
[[File:ACIII-Biddlehideout 5.png|thumb|left|250px|Biddle dueling Connor.]]
At first, Connor gained the upper hand, until Biddle fired a shot at a gunpowder keg, causing both of them to fall below deck. The two soon continued their duel, with Connor emerging victorious and wounding Biddle. While dying, Biddle justified his actions by claiming that he benefited and empowered the Continental Navy. He rebuked the Assassins, calling Connor a fool for not understanding or accepting his goals.

With his final words, Biddle asked Connor not to take the ''Randolph'' as a prize, instead allowing him to die and sink with his ship. Connor granted this request and left, igniting several barrels of gunpowder behind him, destroying the ''Randolph''.

==Personality==
Biddle was a capable, experienced, brave and proud individual, which showed itself in his nautical achievements. He also viewed himself as a "man of vision", and was ambitious, charismatic and arrogant to the point that he saw himself as becoming Admiral of the entire Continental Navy.

Despite this, Biddle was a well admired and respected captain, in that not only did he lead successful campaigns, he kept morale and his crew's efficiency high by fairly sharing the spoils of victory and through not using corporal punishment.

==Final words==
[[File:ACIII-Biddlehideout 7.png|thumb|250px|Biddle's final moments.]]
*'''Connor:''' ''Your reign over the colonial coast has come to an end.''
*'''Nicholas:''' ''Is that why you hunted me? Because you thought me an enemy to the cause? You're every bit the fool I was told.''
*'''Connor:''' ''You brought pain and suffering upon innocent people for nothing but personal gain.''
*'''Nicholas:''' ''Pain. Suffering. I set them free. Weeded out the dissenters and empowered the Patriots. So what if I was named admiral? The Revolution needs one and I was the best man for the job. The only man. If not for me, the Continental Navy would remain but a handful of rafts. For all your vision, you Assassins are blind to the truth.''
*'''Connor:''' ''Enough.''
*'''Nicholas:''' ''Wait. Let the Randolph die with me. Don't take her as a prize. Please. Please. I want no quarter, just to sink with my ship.''

==Trivia==
*Out of all the targets' portraits in the [[Davenport Homestead]] manor, Biddle's was not crossed out after his death.
*While Biddle's assassination did not take place within the main storyline of ''Assassin's Creed III'', the naval sequence in which he featured was required for the full [[synchronization]] of Connor's memories.
*Biddle's first vessel was a schooner, the ''Franklin'', which had been named after [[Benjamin Franklin]].

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="180" spacing="small" position="center" captionalign="center">
ACIII-HardWay 7.png|Nicholas and Faulkner's argument, interrupted by Amanda Bailey.
</gallery>

==Reference==
*''[[Assassin's Creed III]]''
{{AC3}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biddle, Nicholas}}
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed III characters]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed III assassination targets]]
[[Category:Continental Army]]
[[Category:Templars]]
[[Category:Historical characters]]

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Nicholas Biddle