Samuel Shaw (October 2, 1754 – May 30, 1794) was an

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...

army officer and diplomat, who served as the first United States

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states th ...

to China. Shaw was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

to Francis and Sarah (Burt) Shaw. In 1775 he joined the militia during the

Siege of Boston The siege of Boston (April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776) was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War. New England militiamen prevented the movement by land of the British Army, which was garrisoned in what was then the peninsular tow ...

, and in December of that year was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Continental Artillery, and commanded at Fort Washington in 1776. From 1779 to 1783 he served as aide-de-camp to General

Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving as chief of artillery in most of Washington's campaigns. Following the ...

, chief of the Continental Artillery, in 1780 becoming captain of the 3rd Artillery, and serving in a staff role at the

Battle of Trenton The Battle of Trenton was a small but pivotal American Revolutionary War battle on the morning of December 26, 1776, in Trenton, New Jersey. After General George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River north of Trenton the previous night, ...

Battle of Monmouth The Battle of Monmouth, also known as the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was fought near Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey on June 28, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War. It pitted the Continental Army, c ...

, and

Battle of Yorktown The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...

. In 1784, after war's end, he sailed on the ''Empress of China'' as an American diplomat to inaugurate the China trade, and from 1786 to 1789 served as consul at Canton. He returned to the United States in 1792 but sailed again for China when reappointed by President George Washington. There he remained until the final year of his life; he died near the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is ...

on his return voyage to the United States.

References

* * ''The United States in Asia: A Historical Dictionary'', David Shavit, page 447.
Oxford Index
American diplomats 1754 births 1794 deaths Consuls General of the United States in Guangzhou {{US-diplomat-stub