Gustavus Conyngham
Encyclopedia
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, and was a merchant sea captain, officer in the Continental Navy
Continental Navy
The Continental Navy was the navy of the United States during the American Revolutionary War, and was formed in 1775. Through the efforts of the Continental Navy's patron, John Adams and vigorous Congressional support in the face of stiff opposition, the fleet cumulatively became relatively...
and a privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
.
Conyngham’s story begins in a typical fashion for the era. Born in County Donegal in 1745, he came to America in 1763 seeking a better life. Conyngham immigrated to Philadelphia in order to work for his cousin Redmond Conyngham in the shipping industry. He abandoned school at a young age, sensing that his destiny lay not in the academic world, but on the oceans. Here he learned and perfected his seamanship skills, becoming an apprentice to Captain Henderson, who became a surrogate father to the young Gustavus. Eventually Conyngham progressed enough to be given charge over his own craft, the Charming Peggy. When the Revolutionary War began in 1775, he immediately sailed to Europe to try to procure supplies needed for the war effort.
Escape From the British
Because EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
was patrolling for any arms deals, he had arranged a transaction with Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
traders in order to safely transfer the goods. However, he was caught in becalmed winds for too long – the British were able to find him based on a tip from a mutinous
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
sailor. Andrew Frazer
Andrew Frazer (lieutenant-colonel)
Andrew Frazer , was a lieutenant-colonel of engineers.Frazer was the son of George Frazer, a deputy surveyor of excise in Scotland, was probably employed on the works at Fort George after the Scottish rebellion of 1745–6. He was appointed practitioner engineer, with rank of ensign in the train, on...
, the English official in charge of Conyngham’s arrest, placed a guard onboard the Charming Peggy and ordered her to set sail for England as soon as the winds prevailed. However, once the weather turned, Conyngham and his crew overpowered the guard and made a daring escape. Despite their best efforts though, the wind died shortly after, leaving them stranded once again. This time, instead of waiting to be captured, Conyngham sold the Charming Peggy to the Dutch government in order to be able to purchase a new ship when under less suspicion. However, due to corruption
Corruption
Corruption usually refers to spiritual or moral impurity.Corruption may also refer to:* Corruption , an American crime film* Corruption , a British horror film...
and embezzlement
Embezzlement
Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....
within the government itself, he was never given any profits from the sale of his ship, and was forced to find another way to accomplish his mission.
Obtaining the Surprise
After the loss of his ship, Conyngham headed to FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, hoping to connect with an ally to the United States. It was there he met Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
, a man who would help him in his adventures many times in the future. They formed a lasting relationship, and Conyngham eventually awarded Franklin the nickname “the Philosopher” for his intellectual fortitude and resourcefulness . Franklin had been entrusted with several commissions of the Continental Navy, and on March 1, 1777 Conyngham was appointed as Captain of the lugger Surprise. He quickly went to work, heading towards the narrow English Channel and capturing the Prince of Orange and the Joseph within a week. The Prince of Orange was holding mostly mail, so he sent it to Dunkirk to be unloaded, but the Joseph was holding more valuable cargo such as wine and oranges, and was sent to France as a prize. Unfortunately for Conyngham, France had a treaty with England that forbade the selling of commandeered
Commandeering
Commandeering is an act of appropriation by the military or police whereby they take possession of the property of a member of the public.-External links:*"" at Straight Dope, 25 April 2006*"" at Urban Legends Reference Pages, 6 August 2001...
good in French ports, and when Lord Stormont, an English official, heard of Conyngham’s actions he demanded that France return the Joseph and arrest him. Not ready to commit to a war with England, French officials bowed to Lord Stormont’s demands, turning over the Joseph and calling for Conyngham’s arrest. He was sent to a French prison under charges of piracy.
Success aboard the Revenge
Again, it was Conyngham’s friend “The Philosopher” that came to his rescue. Recognizing that Conyngham was a talented sailor from his clever elusion of the British within their own channel, Franklin set about obtaining a new ship for him. However, this was no easy task in Europe at the time – England was watching the construction of new ships and was prepared to burn any vessel they felt was being built to aid the American cause. Therefore, the ship was built as the Greyhound, and Franklin had installed false buyers in order to further confound the English. One of the buyers, Richard Hodge, then sailed the ship into the ocean, where Conyngham boarded it and took command, renaming the vessel RevengeUSS Revenge (1777)
The second USS Revenge was a Cutter in the Continental Navy and later a privateer.Revenge was purchased at Dunkirk, France, for Continental service in the spring or summer of 1777 by William Hodge, an agent of the American commissioners to France, Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane.The British...
.
Having more tonnage, maneuverability, and firepower than the Surprise, Conyngham immediately set to work terrorizing British shipping with twice the ferocity of before. It was here that he earned his nickname “the Dunkirk Pirate”, ignoring his written orders to proceed directly to the American coastline for logistical support and resupply and instead heading directly to Dunkirk to begin his cruise against the British. In his first cruise, he averaged one ship every three days, sinking or capturing over twenty ships during his two month stay in the Baltic
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
and North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
. He then sailed to Cap Ferrol in order to resupply and replace his crew. He then headed to the West Indies, continuing to use Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
as his primary base of operations. Over the next eighteen months he captured or sunk sixty ships, causing a 28% rise in British shipping insurance cost. This brought the expenses associated with shipping to their all time highest level, outpacing their rates even during England’s wars with France and Spain. Dozens of merchants resorted to paying French and Dutch ships to carry their goods for fear of the Dunkirk Pirate’s vengeance. It was reported that the King of England himself said that it would give him great pleasure to be present at the hanging of Conyngham, if he could only catch him. Even the weather could not contain him. When his ship was badly damaged by a storm in English waters, he disguised the Revenge and sailed into an English port to be repaired, reverting to his native Irish tongue to maintain anonymity. When Conyngham was offered a seventy-four gun Spanish vessel for protection against two small British ships that planned to ambush him, he “thanked him for his offer, but told him he was not afraid of fifty of their boats, all he wished is that they might make the attempt, and if they did, they would never live to make another.”
Conyngham’s reign of destruction off of the English coastline only ended when he captured a ship carrying valuable wartime supplies, which he deemed worthy of an escort to American shores. He arrived in Philadelphia on 21 February 1779 with his goods in tow. It was then that his luck began to turn sour.
First Return to America and Imprisonment
It is ironic that the first friendly port Conyngham had seen in years would treat him so poorly. Though the local papersNewspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
hailed him as a returning war hero, the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
was less than pleased with his disobedience to orders and his loss of his original commission, which had been confiscated by the French during his brief stay in their prison. Adding to this, as Conyngham was not the owner of the Revenge, it was sold at a private auction. However, because Conyngham had been so successful as her captain, he was again given command with orders to raid British shipping for a private profit. However, during one of his first cruises he was unable to outrun the British warship Galatea, and was taken aboard as a prisoner. As his notoriety had grown since his last capture, the British treated him very poorly. Since he did not have a commission at the time, and he was arrested for piracy and sent to the English prison at Pendennis Castle
Pendennis Castle
Pendennis Castle is a Henrician castle, also known as one of Henry VIII's Device Forts, in the English county of Cornwall. It was built in 1539 for King Henry VIII to guard the entrance to the River Fal on its west bank, near Falmouth. St Mawes Castle is its opposite number on the east bank and...
, where he escaped, only to be caught again and transferred to Mill Prison, Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
. By his own report he was kept in irons until he reached prison, and was given no more than a “cold plank as my bed, a stone for a pillow”. Additionally, he was not fed properly, causing him to lose fifty pounds while imprisoned on the ship en route to his English prison. He was kept in irons continuously at both Pendennis Castle and Mill Prison. In fact, it was only by the watchful hand of Benjamin Franklin that Conyngham was kept from the gallows
Gallows
A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging, or by means to torture before execution, as was used when being hanged, drawn and quartered...
. Franklin wrote to General Washington about Conyngham’s missing commission, and Washington wrote to the British saying that if Conyngham met with the noose, he would hang six of the British officers he had captured. However, despite these conditions, he refused to accept the invitation to leave prison by joining the British Navy. In fact, while in prison he aided in the creation of a document stating that each member who signed would not leave the American cause regardless of how terrible the conditions became. Conyngham was placed on trial for high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
, but before his sentence was determined and carried out he escaped. Conyngham and eleven other prisoners had broken into the prison vault allowing them to use tools to dig a tunnel extending “a considerable distance” underneath the outer wall of the prison . Had a boy’s arm not been broken during the scramble for the exit, alerting the sentries, hundreds more prisoners may have escaped with him.
Escape and Return to America
After his escape, Conyngham fled to Texel IslandTexel
Texel is a municipality and an island in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the biggest and most populated of the Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea, and also the westernmost of this archipelago, which extends to Denmark...
in the Netherlands to try to find a way back to America where he could potentially receive a new ship. His spirits were high – he reported later that he was amused by the portrayals of himself as a monster that he saw displayed all over London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
while in disguise. He planned on making his way back to France where he could again enlist the help of his friend Benjamin Franklin, but instead met with a stroke of luck. While he was resting in Texel, John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones was a Scottish sailor and the United States' first well-known naval fighter in the American Revolutionary War. Although he made enemies among America's political elites, his actions in British waters during the Revolution earned him an international reputation which persists to...
arrived in port after his battle with the Serapis
HMS Serapis (1779)
HMS Serapis was a Royal Navy two-decked, Roebuck-class fifth rate. Daniel Brent built her at Greenland South Dockyard, Rotherhithe and launched her in 1779. She was armed with 44 guns . Serapis was named after the god Serapis in Greek and Egyptian mythology...
. Jones took him aboard, and they cruised together for several months until Conyngham left the Alliance at a Spanish port in order to board a ship headed for American shores. However, it was here that Conyngham’s luck ran out once again. While aboard the Experiment en route to America, he was recaptured by the British on 17 March 1780, and sent back to Mill Prison in Plymouth. He remained there until his release due to a political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
exchange. This time, he headed for Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
, where he obtained the armed vessel Layona, which he prepared to go cruising in once again. However, he received news of a treaty, and instead boarded the Hannibal
HMS Hannibal (1779)
HMS Hannibal was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Adams of Bucklers Hard and launched on 26 December 1779. She was subsequently captured by the French ship Héros off Sumatra, on 21 January 1782....
, which was on its way back to his hometown of Philadelphia.
Later Service and Death
In many ways, his second return to the United States earned him a colder welcome than the last. The Continental Congress refused to pay him properly for his work because of his inability to produce his commission, which had been confiscated from him by the French almost three years ago. Because Benjamin Franklin had given him an official commission, he was not merely a privateer, but an actual Captain in the United States NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. As such, he was entitled to two-twentieths of the value of the ships he took as prizes. As he could not produce his commission, and Benjamin Franklin passed on before he could give proper testimony of Conyngham’s commissioning, the Continental Congress refused to pay him what he was due, and instead treated him as a common privateer during his earliest and most successful raids. However, despite his quarrels with the government, he still continued to serve his country. During the Quasi-War
Quasi-War
The Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought mostly at sea between the United States and French Republic from 1798 to 1800. In the United States, the conflict was sometimes also referred to as the Franco-American War, the Pirate Wars, or the Half-War.-Background:The Kingdom of France had been a...
with the French, he captained the Maria, an armed merchant vessel, bringing much needed supplies to the front lines. Towards the end of his life, he was elected to the Common Council of Philadelphia, and managed to raise thirty thousand dollars in loans from the population in order to defend the city during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. He never allowed his quarrels with politicians come between his commitment to his country. He died quietly in his home on 27 November 1819, to far less fanfare than an American hero of his caliber deserved.
Legacy
Three ships in the United States NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
have been named USS Conyngham
USS Conyngham
USS Conyngham may refer to one of these United States Navy ships named in honor of Gustavus Conyngham:, a Tucker-class destroyer, commissioned in 1915, served in World War I, decommissioned in 1922, transferred to the United States Coast Guard as CG-3, returned to the Navy and scrapped in 1934, a...
for him.
Conyngham Borough
Conyngham, Pennsylvania
Conyngham is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,958 at the 2000 census.- History :The Lehigh-Susquehanna Turnpike traveled through the middle of modern-day Main Street in Conyngham and at least one of the tollgates was situated near the village...
, Luzerne County
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
- Demographics :As of the 2010 census, the county was 90.7% White, 3.4% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 3.3% were of some other race, and 1.5% were two or more races. 6.7% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino ancestry...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
was named in his honor.
Sources
- Augur, HelenHelen AugurHelen Augur was an American journalist and historical writer. She was a cousin of Edmund Wilson.Augur was born in Albert Lea, Minnesota and educated at Barnard College. She became a journalist in Chicago, leaving for a while after the war to become a correspondent for the Chicago Tribune in...
. The Secret War of Independence. First ed. Chicago: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1955. - Boatner, Mark Mayo. Cassell's Biographical Dictionary of the American War of Independence. St. John's Hill, London: Littlehampton Book Services Ltd, 1973.
- Bowen-Hassell, E. Gordon, Dennis Michael Conrad, and Mark L. Hayes. "Gustavus Conyngham." In: Sea Raiders of the American Revolution: The Continental Navy in European Waters. Washington: Naval Historical Center, 2003. 16 - 41.
- Cooper, J. Fenimore. History of the Navy of the United States of America. First ed. Mead & Company: G. P. Putnam & Co, 1853.
- (Ed.), Robert Wilden Nesser. Letters and Papers Relating to the Cruises of Gustavus Conyngham, a Captain of the Continental Navy, 1777-1779. First ed. New York City: Naval History Society, 1915.
- Franklin, Benjamin. The Works of Benjamin Franklin: Containing Several Political and Historical Tracts Not Included in Any Former Edition, and Many Letters, Official and Private, Not Hitherto Published [v. 9] [1882]. New York City: Cornell University Library, 1882.
- Hazard, Samuel. Hazard's Register of Pennsylvania. v. 15, 1835 Jan-July, Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Library, 2009.
- Historical Society of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography (Volume XXII, 1898). Philadelphia: Historical Society Of Pennsylvania, 1898.
- Jones, Charles Henry. Captain Gustavus Conyngham: a sketch of the services he rendered to the cause of American independence. New York City: The Pennsylvania society of Sons of the revolution, 1903.
- Wyoming Historical and Geological Society. Proceedings and Collections of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society, For the Years 1923-1924(Volume VIII). Harvard University: The Society, 1904.
External links
- Gustavus Conyngham at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...
- Naval History at American RevolutionAmerican RevolutionThe American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...