Truxtun
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
THOMAS, an American naval officer; born in Long Island, N. Y., Feb. 17, 1755; joined the navy in 1767. When the Revolutionary War began he was in command of the "Andrew Caldwell," a merchant vessel, in which he carried a cargo of powder to Philadelphia. During the same year his vessel was captured by the frigate "Argo." He was then made a lieutenant in the navy and assigned to the "Congress," the first American ship commissioned as privateer. In 1776 he captured several prizes in the West Indies, and the following year took command of the "Independence," with which he took a number of prizes, including one more heavily armed than his own vessel. Later he equipped the "Mars" with 20 guns and cruised the English channel, doing much damage to British merchant marine. In 1781 he was assigned to the "Commerce," with which he defeated a British vessel with 32 guns. In all of his engagements with the enemy he was uniformly victorious. In 1798, when the United States navy was organized, he was selected as one of its six captains, and was placed in command of the "Constellation," and was ordered to protect American commerce in the West Indies. In February, 1799, he fought a severe battle with the powerful French ship, "L'Insurgente" and captured her after killing 29 of her crew and wou wounding 44. In recognition of this service a number of London merchants forwarded him a plate valued at 600 guineas. In January, 1800, he defeated the French frigpacking industry during 1918 and 1919 ate "La Vengeance," and for this achievement received a gold medal and thanks from Congress. In 1802 he was assigned to command a fleet to participate in the war with Tripoli, and went to Norfolk to join the "Chesapeake." About the same time he requested the appointment of a captain for his flagship. His letter was taken to mean his resignation, which was accepted against his wishes. He was the author of "Remarks, Instructions and Examples Relating to Latitude and Longitude" (1794). He died in Philadelphia, Pa., May 5, 1822.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Truxtun's life was over a century closed when Collier's wrote this in 1921, and the outline stands: born on Long Island in 1755, one of the six captains named when the United States Navy was created in 1798, victor over L'Insurgente on 9 February 1799 and awarded a congressional gold medal for the running fight with La Vengeance a year later. Modern accounts qualify Collier's claim that "in all of his engagements with the enemy he was uniformly victorious": the badly mauled Vengeance was never taken, escaping to Curacao after Constellation lost her mainmast. The ship most visitors now associate with him, the Constellation moored at Baltimore, was shown by research settled in the 1990s to be the 1854 sloop of war rather than his 1797 frigate. His name has stayed in service, most recently on the destroyer USS Truxtun (DDG-103), commissioned in 2009.
Written for this edition, 2026.