Monroe, James (1758-1831) [Appointment of Thomas Ap Catesby Jones to Master Commandant in U.S. Navy]
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04739 Author/Creator: Monroe, James (1758-1831) Place Written: Washington, D.C. Type: Document signed Date: 28 March 1820 Pagination: 1 p. ; 43.3 x 34.5 cm. Order a Copy
This document is a record of the appointment of Thomas Ap Catesby Jones, signed by James Monroe as President and countersigned by Smith Thompson as Secretary of the Navy and John H. Sherburne as "Registered." Document says President Monroe has nominated and the Senate has consented to the appointment of Thomas Ap Catesby Jones to Master Commandant in the United States Navy. Paper seal of the United States Navy at bottom of recto.
In the War of 1812 Jones made a desperate and unsuccessful effort to halt the fleet carrying the British army to New Orleans from crossing Lake Borgne (1814). In 1826 he made a visit to Hawaii that increased U.S. prestige in those islands. In 1842, acting upon a rumor that the United States and Mexico were at war, he captured Monterey, California. For this action he was removed from command but not otherwise censured. He served as Herman Melville's model for "Commodore J" in his novel White Jacket.
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