John Shaw (177317 September 1823) was an Irish-born American
officer
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...
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 ...
.
Personal life
A third-generation
Anglo-Irishman, John Shaw's father and father's father were both officers of the
British Armed Forces. The family of his mother—Elizabeth Barton—were also English emigrants to Ireland. John Shaw himself was born in
Mountmellick
Mountmellick or Mountmellic () is a town in the north of County Laois, Ireland. It lies on the N80 national secondary road and the R422 and R423 regional roads.
Name
''Mountmellick'', sometimes spelt ''Montmellick'' or ''Montmellic'', is a ...
,
Kingdom of Ireland in 1773. In 1790, 17-year-old Shaw and his brother left Ireland for the fledgling
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, arriving in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
before heading to the nation's capitol of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
.
On 9 August 1798,
Shaw married the Philadelphia
Quaker, Elizabeth Palmer, with whom he had two surviving daughters: Elizabeth Shaw married
Francis Gregory
Francis Hoyt Gregory (October 9, 1789 – October 4, 1866) was an officer in the United States Navy during the War of 1812 through to the Civil War, serving then as a rear admiral.
Early life
Gregory was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, the son of ...
and had seven children; her younger sister Virginia married
William F. Lynch
Captain William Francis Lynch (1 April 1801 – 17 October 1865) was a naval officer who served first in the United States Navy and later in the Confederate States Navy.
Personal life
William F. Lynch was born in Virginia. On 2 June 1828, on ...
and bore two children.
After the death of Elizabeth,
Shaw wedded Mary Breed of
Charleston, Massachusetts
Charlestown is the oldest neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Originally called Mishawum by the Massachusett tribe, it is located on a peninsula north of the Charles River, across from downtown Boston, and also adjoins t ...
in her hometown on 13 October 1820.
Shaw died from illness in Philadelphia on 17 September 1823 at the age of 50.
Pre-Naval work
Having discovered a taste for life on the ocean, Shaw sailed from the US in 1791 and worked aboard ships, making four round-trips to
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
through 1797. During his second trip to
Qing-ruled China, Shaw was on aboard the ship ''Sampson'' when it repelled an attack by
British Malayan
proa
Proas are various types of multi-hull outrigger sailboats of the Austronesian peoples. The terms were used for native Austronesian ships in European records during the Colonial era indiscriminately, and thus can confusingly refer to the ...
s in the
Bangka Strait; on his third voyage, he served as
third officer, and by his fourth excursion to East Asia, Shaw was his ship's
first officer.
Shaw was one of several-hundred members of the
Macpherson's Blues irregular military
Irregular military is any non-standard military component that is distinct from a country's national armed forces. Being defined by exclusion, there is significant variance in what comes under the term. It can refer to the type of military orga ...
; Shaw was a Blues
private in the 1794 suppression of the
Whiskey Rebellion
The Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) was a violent tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax impo ...
, and didn't return to Philadelphia until the end of the year.
Naval sailing
Quasi-War
In late 1797, Shaw was the
sailing master of a
brig that traveled 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 Greate ...
and returned to the States in spring 1798, having been harassed by
French Naval ships in the lead-up to 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 Congress ...
. Having suffered these, and with the support of
Brigadier General
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
Samuel Smith, the 25-year-old Shaw applied for a commission with the nascent
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 ...
.
Shaw was appointed a
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
on 3 August 1798, and his first assignment was , patrolling the West Indies from November 1798 through October 1799 under
Alexander Murray. On 20 October 1799, was placed under his command.
The
schooner ''Victory'' was laden with "valuable cargo from
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
", and had been sailing under the French flag for five days when Shaw recaptured the ship for the United States. Two days later he recaptured the brig ''Androscoggin'', which had been under French control for six days.
In spring 1800, Lieutenant Shaw sparred with an
Imperial Spanish brig, captured two French
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 (''Citoyenne'' and the schooner ''Seine''), and a
French Naval lugger
A lugger is a sailing vessel defined by its rig, using the lug sail on all of its one or several masts. They were widely used as working craft, particularly off the coasts of France, England, Ireland and Scotland. Luggers varied extensively ...
carrying a
divisional general of the
French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...
. On his own initiative, Shaw traded the French general for two American mariners held prisoner in
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
.
Mid-1800 saw Shaw's ''Enterprise''
capture: the French brig ''Flambeau''; the French privateers ''l'Aigle'', ''Cygne'',
and ''Pauline'' (the latter carrying the French consul to Puerto Rico); the French
letter-of-marque ''Guadaloupéenne'' with the same French divisional general as had been captured that spring;
and eleven further captured American ships.
Unwell, Shaw heeded his medics in autumn and requested to be
relieved of command to seek treatment. After his replacement by
Andrew Sterett, Shaw returned to the US aboard in November 1800.
Shaw's one-year tenure as ''Enterprise'' skipper made the schooner "one of the famous vessels of the Navy";
the two together captured more French privateers than any other American ship in the West Indies.
The following January, he was personally thanked for his service by
US President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...
and
Secretary of War
The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
Samuel Dexter
Samuel Dexter (May 14, 1761May 4, 1816) was an early American statesman who served both in Congress and in the Presidential Cabinets of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Dexter was an 1881 graduate of Harvar ...
. Shaw was promised command of the captured French
corvette,
''Berceau'', but was brought up short when the
Convention of 1800
The Convention of 1800, also known as the Treaty of Mortefontaine, was signed on September 30, 1800, by the United States of America and France. The difference in name was due to Congressional sensitivity at entering into treaties, due to dispute ...
ended the conflict, and ''Berceau'' was repatriated to the
French First Republic. With the end of hostilities, Shaw's exceptional service commanding ''Enterprise'' kept him in the service at his then-current rank, even in the face of 70–75% reductions in Naval manning.
1801–1811
Taking command of on 4 May 1801, Shaw sailed the vessel to deliver tribute to
Algiers, and repatriated Americans who had been captured by the
dey
Dey (Arabic: داي), from the Turkish honorific title ''dayı'', literally meaning uncle, was the title given to the rulers of the Regency of Algiers (Algeria), Tripoli,Bertarelli (1929), p. 203. and Tunis under the Ottoman Empire from 1671 o ...
s there.
When he returned to the US after his tour abroad, new laws reduced his monthly pay to . Taking a furlough from the US Navy, Shaw mastered an
East Indiaman for 18 months: from the US to
Isle de France to Guangdong and back to the US. When he returned to the Navy in September 1804, pursuant a new 22-May law, Shaw was promoted to
master commandant
Master commandant was a rank within the early United States Navy. Both the Continental Navy, started in 1775, and the United States Navy created by the United States Congress, in 1796, had just two commissioned ranks, lieutenant and captain. Maste ...
. The following May, Shaw was given to serve US interests in the
First Barbary War
The First Barbary War (1801–1805), also known as the Tripolitan War and the Barbary Coast War, was a conflict during the Barbary Wars, in which the United States and Sweden fought against Tripolitania. Tripolitania had declared war against Sw ...
, but he arrived after the declaration of peace; Shaw returned ''Adams'' to
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
in December 1805.
Shaw was assigned to
in January 1806, instructed to commission a
gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-ste ...
flotilla
A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' ( fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet.
Composition
A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same clas ...
to patrol the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...
. Before the year's end, Shaw learned of the
Burr conspiracy
The Burr conspiracy was a plot alleged to have been planned by Aaron Burr in the years during and after his term as Vice President of the United States under US President Thomas Jefferson. According to the accusations against Burr, he attempted to ...
, and pushed for the construction of more gunboats—to stand against Burr's revolution, should it come to pass—without instruction to do so. In February 1807 at
Natchez, Mississippi, Shaw mustered 61 guns, 448 US Military men, and the
ketch
A ketch is a two- masted sailboat whose mainmast is taller than the mizzen mast (or aft-mast), and whose mizzen mast is stepped forward of the rudder post. The mizzen mast stepped forward of the rudder post is what distinguishes the ketch fr ...
es ''Ætna'' and ''Vesuvius'' to capture the former
vice president of the United States
The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...
(VP). After Burr's capture, Shaw testified against him in
Richmond, Virginia.
In the aftermath of the
''Chesapeake''–''Leopard'' affair, Shaw sat on the
court-martial of
Commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore''
* Air commodore ...
James Barron
James Barron (September 15, 1768 – April 21, 1851) was an officer in the United States Navy. He served in the Quasi-War and the Barbary Wars, during which he commanded a number of famous ships, including and . As commander of the frigate , h ...
.
On 27 August 1807, Shaw was promoted to
captain, and from March 1808 to July 1810, he served at the
Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
On 7 July 1810, Shaw was made commander of the New Orleans naval station—an assignment that was "proof of
the Department
''The Department'' is a satirical comedy on BBC Radio 4 about a secret organisation with the power to influence every aspect of your life.
Chris Addison, John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman star as Research Team 32, an eccentric three-man think-t ...
's confidence, as he had given satisfaction when there before, and was very acceptable to the inhabitants."
This assignment placed Captain Shaw under
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
James Wilkinson, the commander of all
United States Armed Forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...
in the
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...
since 1803. Wilkinson had been part of the Burr conspiracy before betraying the former VP, and though repeatedly acquitted, Shaw disliked serving under the man; his protestations to the
Navy Department earned him naught but an order to cooperate with the senior Army officer.
Before the 1812 outbreak of war with Great Britain, Shaw assisted in suppressing an "insurrection of the blacks."
War of 1812
When the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...
broke out with the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Grea ...
, of the 14
gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-ste ...
s vital to the defense of New Orleans, Shaw only had ten operational. Also under his command were the brigs , , and USS ''Enterprise''; Shaw also purchased the commercial vessel ''Remittance'' on behalf of the Navy to become , a ship "criticized for her rotten condition,
'Louisiana'' gavea good account of at the
Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Frenc ...
."
While combat eschewed the Gulf until the war's waning years, and Shaw worked to prepare coastal defenses (including a
blockship
A blockship is a ship deliberately sunk to prevent a river, channel, or canal from being used. It may either be sunk by a navy defending the waterway to prevent the ingress of attacking enemy forces, as in the case of at Portland Harbour in 1914 ...
),
he also had to contend with "extensive"
piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
and
smuggling on his coast.
Pirate ship
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
s were duplicitously flying the flags of the newly independent
United Provinces of New Granada
The United Provinces of New Granada was a country in South America from 1810 to 1816, a period known in Colombian history as '' la Patria Boba'' ("the Foolish Fatherland"). It was formed from areas of the New Kingdom of Granada, roughly corres ...
and
Captaincy General of Venezuela
The Captaincy General of Venezuela ( es, Capitanía General de Venezuela), also known as the Kingdom of Venezuela (), was an administrative district of colonial Spain, created on September 8, 1777, through the Royal Decree of Graces of 1777, t ...
, and illegal attacks on Spanish ships were coming from a pirate base in Louisiana's
Barataria Bay
Barataria Bay (french: Baie de Barataria), also Barrataria Bay, is a bay of the Gulf of Mexico, about 15 miles (24 km) long and 12 miles (19 km) wide, in southeastern Louisiana, in Jefferson Parish and Plaquemines Parish, United Stat ...
. In March 1813, Shaw commanded the naval component of General Wilkinson's seizure of the Imperial Spanish city of
Mobile
Mobile may refer to:
Places
* Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city
* Mobile County, Alabama
* Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S.
* Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Mobile ( ...
. When he left in October 1813, Shaw was succeeded at New Orleans by his second-in-command,
Daniel Patterson.
In spring 1814, Shaw was given command of a
squadron
Squadron may refer to:
* Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies
* Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...
of
blockade
A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force.
A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are leg ...
d ships (,
USS ''Macedonian'', and ) in
Connecticut's Thames River; ''Hornet'' escaped and captured , but Shaw's ''United States'' and ''Macedonian'' remained stuck until March 1815.
1815–1823
With the declaration of the
Second Barbary War
The Second Barbary War (1815) or the U.S.–Algerian War was fought between the United States and the North African Barbary Coast states of Tripoli, Tunis, and Algiers. The war ended when the United States Senate ratified Commodore Stephen ...
, Shaw captained ''United States'' and left for Algiers. When he arrived at
Málaga in September 1815 with Commodore
William Bainbridge
William Bainbridge (May 7, 1774July 27, 1833) was a Commodore in the United States Navy. During his long career in the young American Navy he served under six presidents beginning with John Adams and is notable for his many victories at sea. ...
, the conflict was already over. Bainbridge therefore took the bulk of US Naval forces back to the states, leaving Shaw in command of the US Naval assets in the Mediterranean: ''United States'', , , , and . When he was relieved by Commodore
Isaac Chauncey
Isaac Chauncey (February 20, 1772 – January 27, 1840) was an American naval officer in the United States Navy who served in the Quasi-War, The Barbary Wars and the War of 1812. In the latter part of his naval career he was President of th ...
in autumn 1816, Shaw remained in-theater until the following November when he left for the US commanding ''Constellation'', which was in need of repair; Shaw arrived at
Hampton Roads on 26 December 1817, ending his deployment after 28 months.
In April 1818, Shaw was placed in charge of the
Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Hampt ...
through the following July when he stepped down on account of poor health. Shaw took command of on 2 October 1819, and captained that ship based out of
Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States.
History
...
for over two years. Excepting his 20 March20 September suspension by
court-martial for "unofficer like conduct", Shaw remained in
Greater Boston
Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern a ...
until requesting transfer to a warmer climate on 26 May 1823. On 23 August, he was offered command of
Charleston Navy Yard
Charleston Naval Shipyard (formerly known as the Charleston Navy Yard) was a U.S. Navy ship building and repair facility located along the west bank of the Cooper River, in North Charleston, South Carolina and part of Naval Base Charleston.
H ...
,
"a station rather of honor, however, than of active duty."
Shaw accepted the assignment on 26 August, but died 22 days later in Philadelphia.
Legacy
The first US Naval ship named for Shaw was , commissioned on 9 April 1917 with
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...
(LCDR) Milton S. Davis in command. The second was , commissioned on 18 September 1936 with LCDR
E. A. Mitchell
Edward Archibald Mitchell (December 2, 1910 – December 11, 1979) was an American businessman and World War II veteran who served as one term a U.S. Representative from Indiana from 1947 to 1949.
Early life and career
Born in Binghamton, New ...
in command.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, John
1773 births
1823 deaths
18th-century American naval officers
19th-century American naval officers
American military personnel of the Quasi-War
Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923)
Irish people of British descent
Irish sailors in the United States Navy
military personnel from Philadelphia
people from Mountmellick
people of the Whiskey Rebellion
United States Navy commodores
United States Navy personnel of the War of 1812
United States Navy personnel who were court-martialed