Early Life; Service During The War of 1812
Gregory was born in Norwalk, Connecticut. While in the American merchant marine, he was impressed by the British in an incident typical of those which led in part to the War of 1812. After escaping, Gregory was appointed a midshipman on January 16, 1809, by President Jefferson and reported to the Revenge, commanded by Oliver Hazard Perry.
In March, 1809, Gregory was transferred to the Gulf Squadron at New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1811, while serving in the Vesuvius and as acting captain of Gun Boat 162, Gregory participated in three notable actions. On August 7, off Pensacola, Midshipman Gregory attacked and crippled the pirate schooner La Franchise. On August 10, off Mobile, he attached and captured the pirate schooner Santa Maria. On September 11, between Brassa and Barataria, Louisiana, midshipman Gregory and his crew captured the pirate ship La Divina, and the schooners La Sophie and Le Vengeance.
During the War of 1812, he served on Lake Ontario under Commodore Isaac Chauncey and participated in attacks on Toronto, Kingston, and Fort George. In August, 1814, Gregory was captured by the British; refused parole, he was sent to England and remained there until June, 1815, months after the end of hostilities.
Read more about this topic: Francis Gregory
Famous quotes containing the words early, service and/or war:
“Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not; it is the first lesson that ought to be learned; and however early a man’s training begins, its probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)
“We too are ashes as we watch and hear
The psalm, the sorrow, and the simple praise
Of one whose promised thoughts of other days
Were such as ours, but now wholly destroyed,
The service record of his youth wiped out,
His dream dispersed by shot, must disappear.”
—Karl Shapiro (b. 1913)
“The truth is, the whole administration under Roosevelt was demoralized by the system of dealing directly with subordinates. It was obviated in the State Department and the War Department under [Secretary of State Elihu] Root and me [Taft was the Secretary of War], because we simply ignored the interference and went on as we chose.... The subordinates gained nothing by his assumption of authority, but it was not so in the other departments.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)