James Butler Sigourney (about 1790 – 14 July 1813) was an officer in the

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 ...

who was killed during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

Biography

Sigourney was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and was appointed

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

on 16 January 1809. He served in ''Wasp'' and then became

sailing master The master, or sailing master, is a historical rank for a naval officer trained in and responsible for the navigation of a sailing vessel. The rank can be equated to a professional seaman and specialist in navigation, rather than as a military ...

of the brig, ''Nautilus''. He was captured with his ship shortly after the outbreak of the War of 1812; and, after his exchange had been effected, he was placed in command of ''Asp'', a

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

fitted out to defend the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

. On 14 July 1813, ''Asp'' was attacked by three

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

barges but succeeded in driving them off. On a second attack, however, ''Asp'' was boarded, and Sigourney was killed at his post on deck.

Namesakes

Two U.S. Navy ships have been named USS ''Sigourney'' in his honor.

References

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Sigourney, James 1790s births 1813 deaths United States Navy officers Military personnel from Boston United States Navy personnel of the War of 1812 American military personnel killed in the War of 1812 War of 1812 prisoners of war held by the United Kingdom