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Thomas Truxtun
Thomas Truxtun (or Truxton) (February 17, 1755 – May 5, 1822) was an American naval officer after the Revolutionary War, when he served as a privateer, who rose to the rank of commodore in the late eighteenth century and later served in the Quasi-War with France. He was one of the first six commanders appointed to the new US Navy by President Washington. During his naval career he commanded a number of famous U.S. naval ships, including and . Later in civilian life he became involved with politics and was also elected as a sheriff. Early life and education Truxtun was born near Hempstead, New York, on Long Island, the only son of an English country lawyer. Toll, 2006, p. 120. He lost his father at a young age and was taken to Jamaica on Long Island with relatives and placed under the care of a close friend, John Troup. Having little chance for a formal education, he joined the crew of the British merchant ship ''Pitt'' at the age of 12, against his father's previous wishes for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hempstead (village), New York
Hempstead is a village located in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 53,891 at the 2010 census, but by 2019 had reached 55,113 according to the U.S. Census Bureau estimate; it is both the most densely populated and the most populous village in New York. The Incorporated Village of Hempstead is the site of the seventeenth-century "town spot" from which English and Dutch settlers developed the Town of Hempstead, the Town of North Hempstead, and ultimately Nassau County. It is the largest community by population in both the Town of Hempstead and Nassau County. Hofstra University is partially located in Hempstead. Etymology Hempstead may have been named after Hemel Hempstead in the English county of Hertfordshire, where village founder John Carman was born. Another theory regarding the origin of the village's name is that it is derived from the town of Heemstede in the Netherlands, as this was an area from whic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Impressment
Impressment, colloquially "the press" or the "press gang", is the taking of men into a military or naval force by compulsion, with or without notice. European navies of several nations used forced recruitment by various means. The large size of the British Royal Navy in the Age of Sail meant impressment was most commonly associated with Great Britain and Ireland. It was used by the Royal Navy in wartime, beginning in 1664 and during the 18th and early 19th centuries as a means of crewing warships, although legal sanction for the practice can be traced back to the time of Edward I of England. The Royal Navy impressed many merchant sailors, as well as some sailors from other, mostly European, nations. People liable to impressment were "eligible men of seafaring habits between the ages of 18 and 55 years". Non- seamen were sometimes impressed as well, though rarely. In addition to the Royal Navy's use of impressment, the British Army also experimented with impressment from 1778 to 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
