Samuel Nicholson
Samuel Nicholson (1743 – December 28, 1811) was an officer in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War and later in the United States Navy. Along with shipwright George Claghorn he oversaw the building of USS:Cons*ution ("Old:Ironsides"), and Nicholson was that ship's first commander.
Contents
- 1 Personal life
- 2 Service in American Revolution
- 3 Post revolution service
- 4 First commander of USS Cons*ution
- 5 Later life
- 6 Namesakes and honors
- 7 Notes
- 8 References
- 9 Bibliography
- 10 External links
Personal life
The son of Joseph and Hannah Scott Nicholson, Samuel Nicholson was born in Chestertown, Maryland. He married Mary Dowse, sister of Edward Dowse, on February 9, 1780, and had "a large family of children". They lived in Dedham, M*achusetts, and at least three of their daughters were baptized in the Episcopal Church there.
Service in American Revolution
Nicholson was a captain in the Continental Navy. He served as a lieutenant aboard Bonhomme Richard under John Paul Jones who at the time was commander of Deane, which was used to capture three British sloops-of-war. Nicholson also commanded Dolphin in 1776.
Post revolution service
By the time the American Revolution was finally won there were few ships to speak of in the young American Navy. The navy, like the army, was largely disbanded, with many naval vessels being sold or turned into merchantman vessels. Now that America had won its independence it no longer had the protection of the British navy and had to defend its own interests abroad. The idea of an American Navy was the subject of much debate between the Federalists who favored a strong navy and the anti-federalists who felt the money required for a navy would be better spent elsewhere. However the repeated threats from France and the Barbary states of North Africa had given cause to now consider resorting to more forceful measures to procure the security of American shipping interests.
First commander of USS Cons*ution
USS:Cons*ution was one of six frigates authorized by act of Congress which was approved on March 27, 1794. Nicholson was commissioned as one of the first six captains in the reborn United States Navy on June 10, 1794.
The vessel was designed by Joshua Humphreys, and built at Hartt's Shipyard in Boston, M*achusetts, under the supervision of master shipwright George Claghorn. Nicholson was the naval inspector who also oversaw her construction.
Upon her completion Cons*ution was launched at Boston on September 27, 1797, under the command of Nicholson. His 1st Lieutenant was Charles Russel.
President John Adams ordered all Navy ships to sea in late May 1798 to patrol for armed ships of France, and to free any American ship captured by them. Cons*ution was still not ready to sail, and eventually had to borrow sixteen 18-pound (8.2:kg) cannons from Castle Island before finally being ready.
Cons*ution put to sea on the evening of 22 July 1798, commanded by Captain Nicholson, with orders to patrol the Eastern seaboard between New Hampshire and New York. A month later she was patrolling between Chesapeake Bay and Savannah, Georgia, when Nicholson found his first opportunity for capturing a prize: off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina, on 8 September, she intercepted Niger, a 24-gun ship sailing with a French crew en route from Jamaica to Philadelphia, claiming to have been under the orders of Great Britain. Perhaps not understanding his orders correctly, Nicholson had the crewmen imprisoned, placed a prize crew aboard Niger, and brought her into Norfolk, Virginia. Cons*ution sailed south again a week later to escort a merchant convoy, but her bowsprit was severely damaged in a gale; she returned to Boston for repairs. In the meantime, Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert determined that Niger had been operating under the orders of Great Britain as claimed, and the ship and her crew were released to continue their voyage. The American government paid a res*ution of $11,000 to Great Britain.
After departing from Boston on 29 December, Nicholson reported to Commodore John Barry, who was flying his flag in United States, near the island of Dominica for patrols in the West Indies. On 15 January 1799, Cons*ution intercepted the English merchantman Spencer, which had been taken prize by the French frigate L'Insurgente a few days prior. Technically, Spencer was a French ship operated by a French prize crew; but Nicholson, perhaps hesitant after the affair with Niger, released the ship and her crew the next morning.
Upon joining Barry's command, Cons*ution almost immediately had to put in for repairs to her rigging due to storm damage, and it was not until 1 March that anything of note occurred. On this date, she encountered HMS:Santa Margarita, the captain of which was an acquaintance of Nicholson. The two agreed to a sailing duel, which the English captain was confident he would win. But after 11 hours of sailing Santa Margarita lowered her sails and admitted defeat, paying off the bet with a cask of wine to Nicholson.
Resuming her patrols, Cons*ution managed to recapture the American sloop Neutrality on 27 March and, a few days later, the French ship Carteret. Secretary Stoddert had other plans, however, and recalled Cons*ution to Boston. She arrived there on 14 May, and Nicholson was relieved of command.
Later life
Nicholson was an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati, and the first commandant of the Boston Navy Yard when it was established in 1800. He remained on active duty with the Navy for the remainder of his life. Nicholson died at Charlestown, M*achusetts in 1811, and is buried in the crypt of the Old North Church in Boston.
Namesakes and honors
The U.S. Navy ships named USS:Nicholson were named for him and other members of his family who served as naval officers: his elder brother, James Nicholson, his younger brother John Nicholson, his nephew, William Nicholson and his grandson James W. Nicholson.
Notes
References
Bibliography
- Allen, Gardner Weld (1909). Our Naval War With France. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin. OCLC:1202325.
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) . Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev.:ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN:978-1-86176-281-8.
- Cooper, James Fenimore (1856). History of the navy of the United States of America.
Stringer & Townsend, New York. OCLC:197401914. Url - Hagan, Kenneth J. (1992). This People's Navy: The Making of American Sea Power.
The Free Press, New York. ISBN:0-02-913471-4. Url - Hollis, Ira N. (1900). The frigate Cons*ution the central figure of the Navy under sail.
Houghton, Mifflin and Company, Boston and New York; The Riverside Press, Cambridge. Url - Jennings, John (1966). Tattered Ensign The Story of America's Most Famous Fighting Frigate, U.S.S. Cons*ution. Thomas Y. Crowell. OCLC:1291484.
- Martin, Tyrone G. (1997). A Most Fortunate Ship: A Narrative History of "Old Ironsides". Naval Ins*ute Press. ISBN:978-1-55750-588-0. OCLC:243901224.
- Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. St. Paul: Seaforth / MBI. ISBN:978-1-84415-700-6. OCLC:216617748.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
External links
- The Society of the Cincinnati
- The American Revolution Ins*ute
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