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522:, and others. He took large amounts for his own private use. He took at least 2.6 million in specie during his trip. He so angered his associates, whom he kept busy counting money under poor conditions, that one of his midshipmen, William Rodgers, resigned from the Navy after coming ashore from this three-year voyage. He cited not being able to "do what I joined this man's Navy to do. Not being able to serve my country but to simply be serving for the monetary good of Captain Downes". Captain Downes had so much specie aboard that he was able to bribe
628:
February 7, Downes sent a detachment of marines and three detachments of seamen (a total of 282 men) with orders to take four Malay forts along the coast. They divided into three parties, attacked the forts in a combination of hand-to-hand combat and bombardment from the ship's 30-pound cannons. In five hours, the forts were taken, reportedly with all 150 of the defenders, including the local chieftain, fighting to the death. On
February 9, the ship bombarded the village itself, which caught on fire. The action resulted in another 300 dead.
606:, every American on board was killed before the pirates ransacked the ship and took its cargo. The captain however, had been on shore with four of his crew. He returned to the ship, fled and received help from other American ships also trading on the coast. They returned to Salem, the headquarters of much of America's trade with the East at that time, and also reported that the local chieftain denied any knowledge of the attack in his harbor. President
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The ship arrived at
Quallah Battoo on February 5, 1832. Although Downes was told to attempt to negotiate first, he relied on the advice of a native who seemed to be friendly and who advised that the local chieftain was unlikely to negotiate "except with a very sharp knife on his gullet." Early on
610:, along with many Americans, was outraged and vowed retribution. If there was a regular government that Downes could deal with, he was authorized to negotiate with it, if not, he was to "inflict chastisement" on any "band of lawless pirates" responsible for the atrocity. Downes, in command of the
677:
On returning home, Downes was severely criticized for his harsh actions, but
Jackson supported him, saying the fighting would deter future aggression. Yet the action wasn't absolutely successful – in August 1838 another American merchant ship, the
513:
in 1818 and set forth on a three-year show of power for
America to South America and beyond. On this trip, he decided to use the ship for his own enrichment and became a banking ship, giving protection, passage, and banking service to
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shows the same island but with no name assigned to it. A note on the chart states that the island is “... situated agreeably to the reports of several
Whalemen, and corresponds to the position in which it was seen by Lieut.
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for the island now known as
Genovesa/Tower. This chart also identifies the present Isla Santa Cruz as Porters Isle, so it is clear that Fyffe knew of David Porter's earlier visit on the United States Frigate
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is also known as "Tower Island", believed to be result of a string of corruptions of Downes's surname. Downes recorded the island's position in 1813 and the name
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reported the position of this island to
Captain Porter, and if so he may have assigned the Lieutenant's name (but mis-spelled as “Dowers”) to the island.
1138:
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In
February 1831, the American merchant ship arrived at the harbor of Quallah Battoo on the Pedir coast of Sumatra to take on a cargo of pepper. A
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665:, an American explorer and author, joined the expedition as the commodore's private secretary for the trip and wrote a book about the experience,
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under
Commander William B. Finch) to circumnavigate the globe. The ship was also the first to host sitting royalty –
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boat arrived, but as the pepper was loaded the Malays, on signal, attacked the officers and crew. According to
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Gold braid and foreign relations : diplomatic activities of U.S. naval officers, 1798–1883
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appeared in 1815, presumably in misspelled reference to Downes, and—after passing through
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477:. After the conclusion of peace with Algiers, Decatur transferred Downes to his own ship,
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at the "American
Studies at the University of Virginia" Web site. Retrieved May 2, 2009.
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Gold Braid and Foreign Relations: Diplomatic Activities of U.S. Naval Officers, 1798-1883
289:(December 23, 1784 – August 11, 1854) was an officer in the United States
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Downes was promoted to master commandant in 1813, and two years later commanded the
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In March 1807, he was made a lieutenant and served as executive officer for Captain
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then proceeded around the world, becoming the second U.S. naval vessel (after the
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to assist in building America's first military base in the Pacific. Among the
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left New York harbor August 28, 1831 bound for Quallah Battoo by way of the
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Las Encantadas: Human and Cartographic History of the Galápagos Islands
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453:. On June 17, 1815 he, in concert with the rest of Decatur's squadron,
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776:. He therefore may have also known that Lieutenant John Downes of the
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The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans
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The 1815 Fyffe chart... displays the first appearance of the name
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and classified as a sloop-of-war, with twenty guns, named the
293:, whose service covered the first half of the 19th century.
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From 1837 to 1842, and from 1850 to 1852, he commanded the
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June 1, 1802. He rendered distinguished service during the
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The Hooker chart in the second edition of David Porter's
826:. Vol. III. Boston: American Biographical Society
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Three ships in the United States Navy have been named
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American military personnel of the First Barbary War
820:
Johnson, Rossiter; Brown, John Howard, eds. (1906).
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in Boston Harbor. He died there on August 11, 1854.
669:. Downes' sea service terminated with this cruise.
570:His next assignment (1832–1834) was to command the
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465:and three of the smaller vessels of the squadron
906:Sejarah Melayu: A History of the Malay Peninsula
1134:United States Navy personnel of the War of 1812
765:
999:"The Romantic History of Jeremiah N. Reynolds"
574:. In 1832, Downes was ordered to the coast of
938:. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. pp.
8:
966:Joyce S. Goldberg (February 1990). "Review:
1082:Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
856:Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
815:
813:
811:
667:Voyage of the United States Frigate Potomac
473:with twenty-two guns and 180 men off
324:from September 9, 1800, and was appointed
31:
20:
550:, and from 1828 to 1829 he commanded the
1076:This article incorporates text from the
1048:"Part III: Island and Other Place Names"
902:"The United States attack on Kuala Batu"
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373:during her cruise in the Pacific in the
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411:, "which Captain Porter fitted as a
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861:Naval History & Heritage Command
578:to avenge an attack on the American
388:during the capture of three British
686:, which had a more lasting effect.
498:. He became captain in March 1817.
445:, in the squadron employed against
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1124:People from Canton, Massachusetts
1139:Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery
1069:
273:
407:many prizes was the whale ship
381:, Downes was in command of the
179:Second Battle of Tripoli Harbor
1119:Military personnel from Boston
972:The American Historical Review
392:. He also participated in the
1:
1085:. The entry can be found
834:– via Internet Archive.
1027:. August 14, 1854. p. 3
254:Peruvian War of Independence
1129:United States Navy officers
1035:– via Newspapers.com.
926:Long, David Foster (1988).
738:—it was finally written as
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684:Second Sumatran Expedition
563:
486:Downes also served on the
70:Charlestown, Massachusetts
1024:The Fayetteville Observer
1004:October 24, 2019, at the
566:First Sumatran Expedition
469:the Algerine brig of war
394:action off Charles Island
242:First Sumatran Expedition
208:Action off Charles Island
30:
425:, and the conversion of
308:John Downes was born in
247:Battle of Quallah Battoo
1019:"Commodore John Downes"
657:When Downes arrived at
506:Downes took command of
379:action off James Island
312:on December 23, 1784.
203:Action off James Island
790:
556:in the Mediterranean.
548:Mediterranean Squadron
538:Mediterranean Squadron
720:Galapagos Archipelago
691:Charlestown Navy Yard
502:Tour of South America
461:. Two days later the
457:the Algerian frigate
310:Canton, Massachusetts
235:Battle off Cape Palos
174:Action of 27 May 1803
169:Action of 22 May 1803
89:Years of service
53:Canton, Massachusetts
1046:Woram, John (2016),
663:Jeremiah N. Reynolds
589:Salem, Massachusetts
320:He served as acting
230:Battle off Cape Gata
218:Battle of Valparaiso
970:by David F. Long".
785:Journal of a Cruise
560:Sumatran Expedition
530:to pass Cochrane's
865:United States Navy
526:into allowing the
433:, 28 March 1814."
396:before sailing to
225:Second Barbary War
213:Nuku Hiva Campaign
83:United States Navy
708:in honor of him.
659:ValparaĂso, Chile
650:and queen of the
618:Cape of Good Hope
330:First Barbary War
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164:First Barbary War
50:December 23, 1784
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572:Pacific Squadron
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1029:. Retrieved
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909:. Retrieved
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427:Essex Junior
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418:Essex Junior
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365:David Porter
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316:Barbary Wars
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157:Battles/wars
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118:Essex Junior
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65:(1854-08-11)
18:
1109:1854 deaths
1104:1784 births
604:Pirate Wind
600:Owen Rutter
580:merchantman
375:War of 1812
359:War of 1812
287:John Downes
186:War of 1812
25:John Downes
1098:Categories
798:References
673:Later life
584:Friendship
528:Macedonian
516:privateers
510:Macedonian
475:Cape Paios
347:in a boat
326:midshipman
322:midshipman
304:Early life
132:Macedonian
46:1784-12-23
1031:March 14,
911:March 14,
830:March 14,
803:Citations
749:in 1841.
643:Vincennes
544:commodore
508:USS
480:Guerriere
398:Nuku Hiva
386:Georgiana
377:. In the
284:Commodore
270:Signature
148:USS
141:USS
130:USS
112:Georgiana
101:Commodore
92:1800–1852
1002:Archived
958:87034879
846:Atlantic
788:Downes.”
769:Dowers's
728:Dowers's
648:the king
620:and the
532:blockade
467:captured
463:Epervier
459:Mashouda
455:captured
442:Epervier
409:Atlantic
353:feluccas
344:New York
338:Congress
125:Epervier
107:Commands
77:Service/
984:2163133
744:British
736:Tower's
716:Ecuador
680:Eclipse
638:Potomac
613:Potomac
576:Sumatra
546:of the
520:pirates
489:Ontario
471:Estedio
447:Algiers
429:into a
413:cruiser
390:whalers
367:on the
334:frigate
195:vs HMS
150:Potomac
1074:
982:
956:
946:
870:May 2,
848:. See
734:, and
732:Dowers
705:Downes
697:Legacy
449:under
431:cartel
405:'s
349:attack
79:branch
980:JSTOR
940:207ff
778:Essex
774:Essex
753:Notes
742:on a
740:Tower
596:Malay
587:, of
423:Essex
402:Essex
383:sloop
370:Essex
197:Alert
193:Essex
1087:here
1033:2022
954:LCCN
944:ISBN
913:2022
872:2009
832:2022
703:USS
636:The
553:Java
492:and
438:brig
299:Life
291:Navy
191:USS
143:Java
123:USS
97:Rank
72:, US
60:Died
55:, US
40:Born
844:Or
718:'s
714:in
602:'s
1100::
1050:,
1021:.
976:95
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952:.
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880:^
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810:^
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44:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.