George Little (10 April 1754 – 22 July 1809) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

officer. He served in the

Massachusetts State Navy The Massachusetts Naval Militia (at first called the Massachusetts Colonial Navy and later the Massachusetts State Navy), was a naval militia active during the American Revolutionary War. It was founded December 29, 1775, to defend the interests ...

during the Revolutionary War and in the United States Navy during the

Quasi-War The Quasi-War (french: Quasi-guerre) was an undeclared naval war fought from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic, primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States. The ability of Congres ...

with France.

Military career

At age 25, Little was appointed

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

of Massachusetts ship ''

Protector Protector(s) or The Protector(s) may refer to: Roles and titles * Protector (title), a title or part of various historical titles of heads of state and others in authority ** Lord Protector, a title that has been used in British constitutional l ...

'' in 1779, and was aboard in 1781 when she fought a running battle with the British ship ''Thames''. In a later engagement, he was captured, imprisoned, but later escaped. He was given command of Massachusetts ship ''Winthrop'' which captured two British

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

s, armed

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

''Meriam'', and a number of other vessels. Commissioned captain, USN, 4 March 1799, Little was given command of the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

''Boston'', which was still under construction. At the end of June, Capt. Little served as member of the first U.S. Navy

court martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

, that of John Blake Cordis, second lieutenant of the ''Constitution'' and brother-in-law of Little's first lieutenant,

Robert Haswell Robert Haswell (November 24, 1768 – 1801?) was an early American maritime fur trader to the Pacific Northwest of North America. His journals of these voyages are the main records of Captain Robert Gray's circumnavigation of the globe. Later du ...

. The ''Boston'' sailed 24 July, on the first of two cruises down the American coast to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. The next year saw a second cruise, which culminated with the capture of the French

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

''Le Berceau'' and seven other ships. On their return, Little found himself in the middle of a political firestorm, the capture of ''Le Berceau'' having taken place two weeks after the signing of the Treaty of Mortefontaine had ended the Quasi-War. He and his fellow officers faced a court martial for the alleged looting of the personal possessions of the French officers, of which they would be acquitted but not without Little being dismissed by the Navy in 1801. This was not his only legal fight, as a challenge to the legitimacy of the taking of the Danish trader, the ''Flying Fish'', would result in a legal case which, as '' Little v. Barreme'', was heard by the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

in 1804, the ruling going against Little. Little also fought in court over an agreement with

Silas Talbot Captain Silas Talbot (January 11, 1751June 30, 1813) was an American military officer and slave trader. He served in the Continental Army and Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War, and is most famous for commanding from 1799 to ...

to split the

prize money Prize money refers in particular to naval prize money, usually arising in naval warfare, but also in other circumstances. It was a monetary reward paid in accordance with the prize law of a belligerent state to the crew of a ship belonging to t ...

for ''Les Deux Anges'', taken by the ''Boston'' in January 1800. This case, ''Talbot v. Little'', also reached the Supreme Court, but was eventually dismissed without hearing, leaving Little and his crew the victors.

Namesakes

Two

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s have been named USS ''Little'' in his honor.

References

* Leiner, Frederick C., "Anatomy of a Prize Case: Dollars, Side-Deals, and ''Les Deux Anges''", ''American Journal of Legal History'', vol. 39, pp. 215–234. * Preble, George Henry, "Ships of the Nineteenth Century, Part I", ''The United Service'', vol. 10 (1884), pp. 517–518. : {{DEFAULTSORT:Little, George (Naval Officer) 1754 births 1809 deaths United States Navy personnel of the American Revolution People of Massachusetts in the American Revolution People from Marshfield, Massachusetts People from Weymouth, Massachusetts American military personnel of the Quasi-War United States Navy officers