Captain John Shaw

Alfred Webb

A Compendium of Irish Biography

1878

Shaw, John, Captain, United States Navy, was born at Mountmellick in 1773. He received but an ordinary education, accompanied an elder brother to America in 1790, adopted a sea-faring life, and became a lieutenant in the United States Navy in 1798, on the breaking out of hostilities with France. In the course of 1800, in command of the schooner Enterprise he took no fewer than eight privateers and letters-of-marque, and fought five spirited actions, two with vessels of superior force. He cruised in the Mediterranean in the George Washington in 1801; was appointed a captain in 1807; served in the war of 1812 against the United Kingdom; and in 1816 and 1817 commanded a squadron in the Mediterranean. Subsequently he had charge of the navy yards of Boston and Charleston. He died in Philadelphia, 17th September 1823, aged about 50.

Sources

37a. Biographical Dictionary—American Biography: Francis S. Drake. Boston, 1876.

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