Kennedy, John P.

John P. (1795-1870), an American novelist. He was a native of Baltimore. While a mere lad he served in the War of 1812. In 1816 he was admitted to the bar and was considered a successful lawyer. He served three terms in Congress, and in 1852 became secretary of the navy. He is remembered, however, chiefly as a writer. In 1832 he published Swallow Barn, or Sojourn in the Old Dominion. This tale described plantation life in old Virginia and was well received. Kennedy's reputation rests, however, on Horseshoe Robinson, A Tale of the Tory Ascendency. It is a story of the Revolutionary War. It appeared in 1835. Kennedy was a friend of Thackeray; in fact, he may be called "the American friend of the novelist." He assisted him in the preparation, if, indeed, he did not compose, the fourth chapter of the second volume of The Virginians. See Simms; Lanier