John Edward Jennings was an American historical novelist, author of many best-selling novels of American history and seagoing adventure. He also wrote several nonfiction books on history.

John Edward Jennings, Jr., was born in Brooklyn, New York and studied engineering and literature at Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

. He had his first experience of seafaring at age 19 as a hand aboard a tramp steamer in the Black Sea and eastern Mediterranean. In World War II he served as a lieutenant commander in the US Navy and was the head of the US Naval Aviation History Unit.

He first wrote short stories and travel narratives. His first novel, Next to Valour was published in 1939 and became a best-seller, translated into seven languages. It concerned life along the Merrimack River

Merrimack River

The Merrimack River is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Massachusetts, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport...

 during the French and Indian War

French and Indian War

The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...

. His most popular novel was The Salem Frigate, a romantic adventure set on the US frigate Essex

USS Essex (1799)

The first USS Essex of the United States Navy was a 36-gun or 32-gun sailing frigate that participated in the Quasi-War with France, the First Barbary War, and in the War of 1812, during which she was captured by the British in 1814 and served as HMS Essex until sold at public auction on 6 June...

. Other seafaring adventures included The Sea Eagles, about the early days of the US Navy

History of the United States Navy

The history of the United States Navy divides into two major periods: the "Old Navy", a small but respected force of sailing ships that was also notable for innovation in the use of ironclads during the American Civil War, and the "New Navy", the result of a modernization effort that began in the...

, and Chronicle of the Calypso, Clipper about a clipper

Clipper

A clipper was a very fast sailing ship of the 19th century that had three or more masts and a square rig. They were generally narrow for their length, could carry limited bulk freight, small by later 19th century standards, and had a large total sail area...

 race. Banners Against the Wind (1954) was a biographical novel

Biographical novel

The biographical novel is a genre of novel which provides a fictional and usually entertaining account of a person's life. This kind of novel concentrates on the experiences a person had during his lifetime, the people he met and the incidents which occurred are detailed and sometimes...

 about the pioneering doctor Samuel Gridley Howe

Samuel Gridley Howe

Samuel Gridley Howe was a nineteenth century United States physician, abolitionist, and an advocate of education for the blind.-Early life and education:...

.

Selected bibliography

Novels

• Next to Valour (1939)
• The Shadow and the Glory (1943)
• The Salem Frigate (1946)
• River to the West: A Novel of the Astor Adventure (1948)
• The Sea Eagles (1950)
• Banners Against the Wind (1954)
• Chronicle of the Calypso, Clipper (1955)
• The Raider (1963) - World War I naval warfare

Nonfiction

• Boston, Cradle of Liberty, 1630-1776 (1947)
• Clipper Ship Days: The Golden Age of American Sailing Ships (1952)
• Tattered Ensign (1966) - the launching of the USS Constitution
  USS Constitution
  USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. Named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America, she is the world's oldest floating commissioned naval vessel...
  
  , and the early US Navy