Isaac Chauncey (20 February 1779 – 27 January 1840) was an officer in the
United States NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
.
Biography
Chauncey, born in
Black Rock-Places:Australia:* Black Rock, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne* South Black Rock , small island off north-west TasmaniaCanada:* Blackrock Mountain, Alberta* Black Rock, Nova ScotiaChina:* Black Rock Peak, Hangzhou, Zhejiang ProvinceIreland:...
,
ConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and New York to the west and south ....
, 20 February 1779, was appointed a Lieutenant in the Navy from 17 September 1798. He fought with gallantry in the West Indies during the
Quasi-WarThe Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought almost entirely at sea between the United States and France from 1798 to 1800. In the United States, the conflict was sometimes also referred to as the Franco-American War, the Undeclared War with France, the Undeclared Naval War, the Pirate Wars, or the...
with
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
; in the Mediterranean during the
First Barbary WarThe First Barbary War , also known as the Barbary Coast War or the Tripolitan War, was the first of two wars fought between the United States of America and the North African states known collectively as the Barbary States...
; and commanded
John AdamsThe first John Adams was a frigate in the United States Navy from 1800 to 1867. Named for President John Adams, she fought in the Quasi-War, the Barbary Wars, the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War....
(1804–5),
HornetThe third USS Hornet was a brig-rigged sloop-of-war in the United States Navy. Later, however, she was re-rigged as a ship.Hornet was launched on 28 July 1805 in Baltimore and commissioned on 18 October...
(1805–6),
WashingtonThe fourth USS Washington was a ship of the line of the United States Navy.The ship was authorized by the United States Congress on 2 January 1813 and was laid down in May of that year at the Portsmouth Navy Yard under a contract with the shipbuilders, Hart and Badger. The ship was launched on 1...
and the
Mediterranean SquadronThe Mediterranean Squadron, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was part of the United States Navy in the 19th century.As early as 1801, prior to the First Barbary War, ships serving in the Mediterranean Sea were organized into a squadron commanded by a captain who carried the title of Commodore...
(1815–1820).
Perhaps his most outstanding service was during the
War of 1812The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , lasted from 1812 to 1815. It was fought chiefly on the Atlantic Ocean and on the land, coasts and waterways of North America.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S...
when he commanded the naval forces on
Lake OntarioLake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. The lake is bounded on the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south by Ontario's Niagara Peninsula and by the U.S. state of New York...
, conducting amphibious operations in cooperation with the
ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
, and containing the large
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
fleet under the command of Sir James Yeo stationed there.
His last service was as member, and, for four years, President, of the Board of Navy Commissioners. Commodore Chauncey died in Washington 27 January 1840.