Thomas ap Catesby Jones (1790–1858) was a
U.S. Navy officer during the
War of 1812 and the
Mexican-American War.
Early Life
Jones was
born in Westmoreland County
, Virginia
.
(Note: "ap" is a Welsh indication for "son of". Thomas ap Catesby
Jones is Thomas, son of Catesby Jones.)
War of 1812
Thomas ap
Catesby Jones began his naval career during the War of 1812,
receiving honors for bravery at the Battle of Lake Borgne, Louisiana
, delaying the British before the Battle of New
Orleans
.
Between Wars
In 1826,
he signed a treaty with King Kamehameha III of the Sandwich Islands
. Jones was the origional commander of the
United States
Exploring Expedition, but he resigned before it could be
launched in 1838.
Commodore Jones
commanded the United States
Pacific
Squadron from 1841 to 1844 and again from 1848 to 1850.
In 1842,
mistakenly thinking that war had begun between the United States
and Mexico
, he seized
Monterey
, California
for one day before returning control. In
1843, Jones returned a young deserter,
Herman Melville, from the Sandwich Islands
to the United States. Later, Melville modeled "Commodore J" in
Moby-Dick and the commodore in
White-Jacket after Jones. As
Jones had a ship severely damaged in an attack by a whale in 1827,
Moby-Dick may have been partially inspired by stories told
of Jones.
Mexican War
In 1848,
Jones arrived in Mazatlán
just at the
end of the Mexican-American
War, maintaining order until he could transport those who had
aided the United States in that war to Monterey.
Later Career
For the next two years, during the chaotic
Gold Rush days, Jones provided a U.S.
Navy
presence in the San
Francisco
area while
the United States debated what to do with the newly acquired
California
Territory.
In 1850, in a politically-charged
court-martial shortly after
White-Jacket was published, Jones was found guilty on
three counts mostly related to "oppression" of junior officers and
relieved of command for two and a half years. In 1853, President
Millard Fillmore reinstated him and
in 1858, the
United States
Congress restored his pay.
See also
References
- Gene A. Smith, Thomas ap Catesby Jones, Commodore of
Manifest Destiny (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2000)
ISBN 1-55750-848-8
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