Samuel Barron (September 25, 1765 – October 29, 1810) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

officer. He was an older brother of Commodore James Barron, also a US Navy officer.

Early life

Samuel Barron was born in

Hampton, Virginia Hampton is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 137,148 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, seve ...

, the son of a merchant captain named James Barron who became Commodore of the tiny Virginia State Navy during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. Barron studied at the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...

, and received his early training at sea from his father. He became a midshipman on the frigate ''Dragon'' and served in the Virginia Navy during the latter part of the Revolutionary War. After a number of years as a merchant captain, he joined the fledgling

Military career

In 1798, Barron took part in the

Quasi-War The Quasi-War was an undeclared war from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic. It was fought almost entirely at sea, primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States, with minor actions in ...

with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He became Captain of the new built brig USS Richmond, originally planned to a merchantman to be called Aurora, in December, 1798. He became Captain of USS Baltimore mid-March 1799. With the resignation of Capt. Thomas Truxton from the Navy he was notified of becoming Captain of the USS Constellation in a letter from Navy Secretary Benjamin Stoddert dated 2 August, 1799. He became Captain of USS Chesapeake in May, 1800. During the

First Barbary War The First Barbary War (1801–1805), also known as the Tripolitan War and the Barbary Coast War, was a conflict during the 1801–1815 Barbary Wars, in which the United States fought against Ottoman Tripolitania. Tripolitania had declared war ...

, he commanded the and relieved Edward Preble near Tripoli. During the winter of 1804-1805, yellow fever left Barron laid up. In November 1804, he was transferred to recover on shore but, at his request, retained his command in the hopes of recovering. On 22 May, 1805 he sent a letter to John Rodgers, turning over command of his squadron, and one to the Secretary of the Navy informing him of the change. He returned to the United States due to poor health. He was then assigned command of the Gosport Shipyard in Virginia. His health never fully recovered and on 29 October 1810 Lt. Robert Henley, his executive officer, reported to the Secretary of the Navy "I have the painful duty to inform you of the death of Commodore Samuel Barron. In apparent good health, he was attacked while at dinner yesterday in Hampton with an apoplectic fit and expired about 10 o'clock this morning." Commodore Barron was buried at Hampton Virginia age 45. Samuel Barron's son, Samuel Barron (1809–1888), served with distinction in the United States Navy, until he resigned his commission in April 1861 to join the

Confederate States Navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the Navy, naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the Amer ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barron, Samuel 1765 births 1810 deaths People from Hampton, Virginia United States Navy officers United States Navy commodores College of William & Mary alumni