James Nicholson (naval officer)

James Nicholson (1737 – 2 September 1804) was an officer in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War.

James Nicholson
Born	1737 Chestertown, Maryland
Died	September 2, 1804 New York City, New York
Allegiance	Great Britain  United States
Service/branch	Royal Navy Continental Navy
Rank	Senior captain
Commands held	USS Virginia and USS Trumbull
Battles/wars	Blockade of Baltimore; Battle of Trenton
Relations	John Nicholson (brother) Samuel Nicholson (brother) William Nicholson (nephew) Rear Admiral James Nicholson (grand-nephew)

Early life

Nicholson was born in 1737 in Chestertown, Maryland. He was born into the prestigious Nicholson family of Maryland, a son of Joseph Nicholson (1709–1787) and Hannah (née Smyth) Nicholson (1708–1767).[1] Among his siblings were younger brothers Samuel and John Nicholson, who were also officers in the Continental Navy during the Revolutionary War[2] He was also uncle to William Nicholson, an officer in the United States Navy during the War of 1812 and the American Civil War and grand-uncle to Rear Admiral James Nicholson, an officer in the U.S. Navy during the Mexican–American War and the Civil War.[1]

Career

Nicholson began his career by serving in the colonial Navy with the British in the assault on Havana in 1762, and was commissioned Captain in the Continental Navy 10 October 1776. He commanded Defense, Trumbull, and Virginia, and when blockaded at Baltimore, Maryland, took his men to join George Washington at the Battle of Trenton to aid in that key victory.[3]

Made the senior captain in the Continental Navy due to political influence, he nevertheless had an undistinguished career, never winning a victory or capturing a prize. He lost his first command, the frigate Virginia, while trying to run past the British squadron blockading the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. He ran the ship aground and rather than fight the approaching British ships, fled to shore in a boat, leaving the Virginia and her crew to be captured. The next day he approached the captured ship under a flag of truce and asked for his personal effects.[4][5]

Nicholson styled his flight as an "escape" in his report to Congress, and with the only witnesses confined to British prisons, he was eventually given command of Trumbull. That command he lost to HMS Iris when his crew refused to fight.[6]

Later career

After the War, Nicholson moved to New York City and became a United States Commissioner of Loans. His home there became a meeting place for New York Democratic-Republican politicians, including followers of Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr.[7] Nicholson greatly opposed Josiah Ogden Hoffman, including in relation to the Jay Treaty,[8] and Alexander Hamilton, who challenged him to a duel in 1795, and his policies.[9]

On July 4, 1788, Nicholson was invited to attend the Society of Cincinnati as a member and at the meeting, naval officers of similar rank were determined to be entitled to be members of the New York Society.[10]

Personal life

In 1763, Nicholson was married to Frances Witter (1744–1832), the daughter of Mary (née Lewis) Witter and Thomas Witter.[11] Witter's father Thomas was born in Bermuda and became a successful merchant in New York.[12] Together, they were the parents of six children, one son and five daughters, including:[13]

• Catherine "Kitty" Nicholson (1764–1854), who married William Few Jr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Senator from Georgia.[14]
• Hannah Nicholson (1766–1849), who married Albert Gallatin, a U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, Secretary of the Treasury, and U.S. Minister to France and the United Kingdom.[12]
• Frances "Fanny" Nicholson (1771–1851), who married Joshua Seney, a U.S. Representative from Maryland.[15]
• James Witter Nicholson (1773–1851), who married Ann Griffin, daughter of Isaac Griffin, a U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania.[16]
• Maria Nicholson (1775–1868), who married John Montgomery, a U.S. Representative and Attorney General of Maryland.[7][17]
• Jehoiadden Nicholson (1783–1828), who married James Chrystie.[18][19]

Nicholson died on September 2, 1804, at his home in New York City. He was buried at Trinity Church in lower Manhattan.

Legacy

The ships named USS Nicholson were named for him, his younger brothers, John Nicholson and Samuel Nicholson, his nephew, William Nicholson and his grandnephew, James W. Nicholson.[1]

The town of Nicholson Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania was named in honor of Nicholson's son, James Witter Nicholson.[20]

References

1. London, J. Phillip (2012). "Captain Samuel Nicholson A Monograph" (PDF). history.navy.mil. CACI International Inc. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
2. USS Constitution Museum
3. Sheppard, John Hannibal (1868). The Life of Samuel Tucker, Commodore in the American Revolution. A. Mudge and Son. p. 54. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
4. McGrath, Tim (2014). Give Me a Fast Ship: The Continental Navy and America's Revolution at Sea. Penguin. ISBN 9781101591574. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
5. Daughan, George C. (2008). If By Sea: The Forging of the American Navy--from the Revolution to the War of 1812. Basic Books. ISBN 9780786731930. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
6. Leepson, Marc (2011). Lafayette: Lessons in Leadership from the Idealist General. St. Martin's Press. p. 86. ISBN 9780230115651. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
7. McKenney, Janice E. (2012). Women of the Constitution: Wives of the Signers. Scarecrow Press. pp. 59-60. ISBN 9780810884991. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
8. Hamilton, Alexander (1974). The Papers of Alexander Hamilton. Columbia University Press. p. 44. ISBN 9780231089197. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
9. "From Alexander Hamilton to James Nicholson, 20 July 1795". founders.archives.gov. Founders Online, National Archives. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
10. "The New York State Society of the Cincinnati". www.nycincinnati.org. Society of the Cincinnati. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
11. York (State), New (1968). New York Marriages Previous to 1784. Genealogical Publishing Com. p. 280. ISBN 9780806302591. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
12. Dungan, Nicholas (2010). Gallatin: America's Swiss Founding Father. NYU Press. pp. 51–52. ISBN 9780814721117. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
13. "New York (N.Y.)--Social life and customs--19th century". archivesspace.library.nd.edu. University of Notre Dame Specialized Collections. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
14. Johnson, Dale T. (1990). American Portrait Miniatures in the Manney Collection. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 183. ISBN 9780870995972. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
15. Revolution, Daughters of the American (1921). Lineage Book. The Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. p. 73. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
16. "James Witter Nicholson letters, 1792–1834". www.columbia.edu. Columbia University. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
17. Brown, Charles Brockden (2013). Collected Writings of Charles Brockden Brown: Letters and early epistolary writings. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 598. ISBN 9781611484441. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
18. Roosevelt, Hall; McCoy, Samuel Duff (1939). Odyssey of an American family: an account of the Roosevelt and their kin as travelers, from 1613 to 1938. Harper & brothers. p. 216. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
19. Library, Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript (1992). A guide to the manuscript collections in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Columbia University. G.K. Hall. pp. 180, 309. ISBN 9780816105168. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
20. Jordan, John Woolf; Hadden, James (1912). Genealogical and Personal History of Fayette and Greene Counties, Pennsylvania. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 645. Retrieved 1 April 2019.

External links

• James Nicholson at Find a Grave
• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.