Samuel Hambleton (1777 – 1851) 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 served with distinction 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 ...

Early life

Samuel Hambleton was born in 1777 in

Talbot County, Maryland Talbot County is located in the heart of the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 37,526. Its county seat is Easton, Maryland, Easton. The county was named ...

at "Martingham", an estate granted to his great-great-grandfather, William Hambleton, by Lord Baltimore in 1657.

Career

Entering the Navy and quickly becoming a

Purser A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. ...

of the Navy on 6 December 1806, he served as Acting Lieutenant in ''Lawrence'' during the

Battle of Lake Erie The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, on Lake Erie off the shore of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of the Briti ...

in the

. A detailed and avid journalist and letter-writer, Hambleton's wartime journal, housed at the

Maryland Historical Society The Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC), formerly the Maryland Historical Society (MdHS), . founded on March 1, 1844, is the oldest cultural institution in the U.S. state of Maryland. The organization "collects, preserves, and inte ...

, has become one of the most-used primary sources by historians researching the Battle of Lake Erie. West Martingham, St

Samuel Hambleton, being eight years older than

Oliver Hazard Perry Oliver Hazard Perry (August 23, 1785 – August 23, 1819) was an American naval commander, born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. The best-known and most prominent member of the Perry family naval dynasty, he was the son of Sarah Wallace A ...

, became Perry's most trusted officer and confidant. In July, 1813, when Perry suggested to Hambleton that he needed a signal flag to let his fleet know when to engage their British counterparts, it was Samuel Hambleton who suggested using the words of Captain

James Lawrence James Lawrence (October 1, 1781 – June 4, 1813) was an officer of the United States Navy. During the War of 1812, he commanded in a single-ship action against , commanded by Philip Broke. He is probably best known today for his last words, ...

, "Don't Give Up The Ship." Perhaps not sure if reminding his men of Lawrence's death and the loss of his ship ''

Chesapeake Chesapeake often refers to: *Chesapeake people, a Native American tribe also known as the Chesepian * The Chesapeake, a.k.a. Chesapeake Bay *Delmarva Peninsula, also known as the Chesapeake Peninsula Chesapeake may also refer to: Populated plac ...

'' would be inspiring or demoralizing, Perry slept on the idea before agreeing to it the next day. Hambleton had the flag sewn by women of Erie, Pennsylvania and it was presented to Perry's captains the evening before the Battle of Lake Erie, and to his men aboard ''Lawrence'' on the day of the Battle. DONT GIVE UP THE SHIP flag

During the battle, Perry's next-in-command, Captain Jesse Elliott, failed to bring his brig "Niagara" into range to engage the British fleet. As a result, Perry's brig, "Lawrence" sustained damage until it was a floating wreck. Perry and Hambleton together worked the last working gun aboard "Lawrence" until it, too, failed. With most of his men dead or wounded, Perry called for someone to lower the battle flag that Hambleton had designed, and then had his men row him through constant sniper fire (reportedly shooting one oar in half) back to the "Niagara", when he relieved Elliott of duty and took command. After sailing the fresh ship back into battle, he defeated the British fleet. He sent home the message penciled on the back of an envelope, "We have met the enemy, and they are ours...." Commodore

commended Hambleton for gallant conduct in encouraging his men and personally working the last operable gun aboard against the enemy. Hambleton was severely wounded by a cannonball falling from the rigging, but continued fighting. He continued working in the days following the Battle without seeking medical attention until the infection became so severe that the wound was lanced, discharging pieces of broken bone from his shoulder blade. A piece of the bone was sent home to his mother in a letter, and is currently displayed with the letter at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. Following the Battle of Lake Erie, Hambleton returned home to St. Michaels, Maryland and built a home which he named Perry Cabin after his friend Oliver Hazard Perry. It was eventually expanded by subsequent owners into

Inn at Perry Cabin Inn at Perry Cabin is a hotel in St. Michaels, Maryland, USA. The building dates back to the colonial era and the site was one of the original land grants from the English Crown to the New World. The original Inn, built in 1816, (now the north w ...

, a well-known luxury hotel and spa. He named the adjoining farmland Navy Point after the branch of service he loved. Navy Point today contains the 18-acre campus of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. Samuel Hambleton's trunk, with his initials and ornate metalwork on the lid, was discovered in the home of his great niece in the "Hambleton House" in Easton, Maryland in the 1960s. The trunk included his personal papers as well as Hambleton's Congressional Medal commemorating his service at the Battle of Lake Erie. It is currently held in the collection of the Historical Society of Talbot County. Until 1832 Purser Hambleton served actively in the Navy, attached to ''Java'' and ''Columbus'' during

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

cruises and to ''John Adams'' and ''Erie'' in 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 ...

. With the exception of a tour of duty at the

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the cit ...

from 1843 to 1845, Hambleton remained on leave or waiting order from 1832 until his death.

Death

Hambleton died on 17 January 1851 in Talbot County. He was buried in the family cemetery at Old Martingham.

Namesake

In 1941, the

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 ...

USS ''Hambleton'' (DD-455) was named in his honor.

References

External links