Joseph Tarbell (16 September 1773 – 24 November 1815) 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 ...

during 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 ...

and 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 ...

Early life

Tarbell was born in

Groton, Massachusetts Groton is a town in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, within the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The population was 11,315 at the 2020 census. It is home to two prep schools: Lawrence Academy at Groton, founded in 17 ...

on 16 September 1773.COMMODORE JOHN CASSIN, U. S. N". ''Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia'', vol. 22, no. 2, 1911, pp. 103–105. ''JSTOR'', www.jstor.org/stable/44208155. Accessed 10 April 2020. He was married to Elizabeth Ann Cassin, daughter of Commodore

John Cassin John Cassin (September 6, 1813 – January 10, 1869) was an American ornithologist from Pennsylvania. He worked as curator and Vice President at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences and focused on the systemic classification of the Acade ...

and sister of

Stephen Cassin Stephen Cassin (16 February 1783 – 29 August 1857) was an officer in the United States Navy during the First Barbary War and the War of 1812. Early life and military career Born in Philadelphia, the son of naval officer John Cassin, Cassin en ...

Military career

Tarbell 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 board of USS ''Constitution'' in the United States Navy on 5 December 1798. Tarbel became an officer in the rank of

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 sub ...

on 25 August 1800.

First Barbary War

He served in ''Constitution'' and other ships of the Mediterranean Squadron from 1800 to 1804, at the height of America's war with Tripoli. Under Commodore

Edward Preble Edward Preble (August 15, 1761 – August 25, 1807) was a United States naval officer who served with great distinction during the First Barbary War, 1st Barbary War, leading American attacks on the city of Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli and formin ...

's command, he took part in the 1804 blockade of Tripoli and was among those honored by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

for services rendered during that action.

Between the wars

On 3 March 1805 Tarbell 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 ...

. In 1808, he married Elizabeth Ann Cassin, who was Commodore John Cassin's daughter and

's sister. After the war, in 1806, Tarbell was appointed master of the Washington Naval Yard. In 1811-1812 (maybe even until 1813), he was commanding the controversial repair of USS ''John Adams''.

War of 1812

In 1813, Tarbell temporarily was appointed to command USS ''Constellation''. He also was the commanding officer of the Gosport gunboat flotilla. From 19 to 23 June 1813 Tarbell commanded a boat expedition against the British squadron off Craney Island and in the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

. On the 20th his flotilla of fifteen gunboats had a 45-minute engagement with the British frigate ''Junon''. The other British frigates joined the engagement forcing the American gunboats to retire. The British and American accounts of this particular engagement differ greatly. On 22 June 1813, Tarbell commanded USS ''Constellation'' in the

battle of Craney Island The Battle of Craney Island was a victory for the United States during the War of 1812. The battle saved the city of Norfolk, and the adjacent city of Portsmouth, from British invasion. Especially important to Virginia and northeastern North ...

, which was won by the Americans. He was commended by his superior, Commodore

, and by the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

officers ashore (Lt Col Henry Beatty) for his gallantry and assistance in the defense of Craney Island. On 23 July 1813, James Madison nominated Tarbell for the rank of captain effective 24 July 1813.

Death and legacy

Captain Tarbell died at Norfolk or Washington D.C., on 24 November 1815 and is buried at the Catholic burying ground of St. Patrick's Church. USS ''Tarbell'' (DD-142) was named for him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarbell, Joseph 1773 births 1815 deaths United States Navy officers American military personnel of the First Barbary War United States Navy personnel of the War of 1812 Military personnel from Norfolk, Virginia