Isaac Hull

Infobox Military Person
name= Isaac Hull
born= birth date|1773|3|9
died= death date and age|1843|2|13|1773|3|9


caption= Captain Isaac Hull
nickname=
placeofbirth= Derby, Connecticut
placeofdeath= Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
allegiance= United States of America
branch= United States Navy
serviceyears= 1798–1843
rank= Commodore
unit=
commands= USS|Constitution
battles= USS "Constitution" "vs". HMS|Guerriere 1812
awards=
relations=
laterwork=

Isaac Hull (March 9, 1773 – February 13, 1843), was a Commodore in the United States Navy. [cite web
url=http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-h/i-hull.htm
title=Online Library of Selected

publisher=Department of the Navy — Naval Historical Center
date=February 25, 2003
accessdate=2007-09-19]

Biography

Isaac Hull was born in Derby, Connecticut (some sources say Huntington, now Shelton, Connecticut, see postcard picture). [cite encyclopedia
url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761558627/Isaac_Hull.html
title=Isaac Hull
publisher=MSN Encarta Encyclopedia
accessdate=2007-09-18
date=2007] [cite web
url=http://www.congressionalgoldmedal.com/IsaacHullStephenDecaturJacobJones.htm
title=Congressional Gold Medal Recipients Isaac Hull, Stephen Decatur and Jacob Jones
publisher=Congressional Gold Medal.com
accessdate=2007-09-19] [cite web
url=http://www.electronicvalley.org/shelton/historyquiz.html
title=Shelton History Quiz
publisher=The Electronic Valley
date=1998
accessdate=2007-09-18] Early in life he joined his mariner father, Joseph, on local voyages and longer trips to the West Indies. After his father died while still young, Isaac was adopted by his uncle William Hull, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War. [cite web
url=http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/hull_isaac.htm
title=Biographies in Naval History — Captain Isaac Hull, USN (9 March 1773 - 13 February 1843)
publisher=Naval Historical Center
date=April 27, 2007] [cite web
url=http://www.ci.newton.ma.us/jackson/descriptions/hull.htm
title=Hull Family Papers, 1825-1998
publisher=The Jackson Homestead Manuscript and Photograph Collection
author=prepared by Katherine Benson
date=1998]

During the mid-1790s, the young Hull commanded several merchant vessels, losing some to French privateers. He was commissioned a Lieutenant in the newly-formed United States Navy in March 1798 and distinguished himself during the next two years while serving on board the frigate "Constitution" in the Quasi-War with France.

When troubles with the Barbary states heated up in 1802, he went to the Mediterranean as First Lieutenant of the frigate "Adams". Hull later commanded the schooner "Enterprise" and the brig "Argus", receiving promotion to the rank of Master Commandant in 1804 and to Captain in 1806. During the next few years, he supervised the construction of gunboats and, in 1809 and 1810, was successively given command of the frigates, "Chesapeake", "President" and "Constitution".

Captain Hull's time on the "Constitution" was eventful. He took the ship on a European cruise in 1811–1812, returning home before the War of 1812 broke out between the United States and Great Britain. An enemy squadron closely pursued his ship off the East Coast in July, but Hull skillfully evaded them. On August 19, 1812, "Constitution" encountered the British frigate HMS "Guerriere" at sea and pounded her to a wreck in an action that electrified the Nation and demonstrated that the small U.S. Navy was a worthy and dangerous opponent for Britain's otherwise overwhelming maritime might.

Hull commanded the Portsmouth Navy Yard at Kittery, Maine, for the rest of the War of 1812, then briefly served on the Board of Navy Commissioners in Washington, D.C. before taking over leadership of the Boston Navy Yard. During 1823–1827, he commanded the Pacific Squadron operating out of South America. Commodore Hull's next assignment, as Commandant of the Washington Navy Yard, ran from 1829 until 1835. Between 1839 and 1841, he commanded the Mediterranean Squadron.

Rendered unfit for further service by age and ill health, he spent the next two years on leave. Commodore Isaac Hull died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Namesakes and honors

The U.S. Navy has named five ships in honor of Isaac Hull, including: USS "Commodore Hull" (1862-1865); USS "Hull" (Destroyer #7); USS "Hull" (DD-330); USS "Hull" (DD-350); and USS "Hull" (DD-945).

The Commodore Isaac Hull Memorial Bridge spanning the Housatonic River between Derby and Shelton, Connecticut is named after him.

Further reading

* London, Joshua E. "Victory in Tripoli: How America's War with the Barbary Pirates Established the U.S. Navy and Shaped a Nation". New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005. ISBN 0-471-44415-4
*cite book
last = Maloney
first = Linda M.
title = The Captain from Connecticut: The Life and Naval Times of Isaac Hull
origyear = 1986
origmonth = July
publisher = Northeastern University Press
id = ISBN 0-930350-79-0

ee also

References

External links

* [http://seacoastnh.com/navyyard/isaachull.html How Isaac Hull Built the USS "Washington"]
* [http://www.seacoastsearch.com/nhlinks/people/isaachull/ New Hampshire History Online — Isaac Hull]