John Gwinn

John Gwinn III (June 11, 1791 – September 1, 1849) was a United States Navy officer born in Maryland.[1] During the War of 1812, he was a POW after the Royal Navy had captured Frolic in 1814 and he later commanded Vandalia.[2]

Grave at Arlington National Cemetery

As Captain of USS Constitution, Gwinn sailed on December 9, 1848 and arrived at Tripoli on January 19, 1849. While transporting U.S. ambassador Daniel Smith McCauley and his family to Egypt, McCauley's wife gave birth to a son, who was named Constitution Stewart McCauley. At Gaeta on August 1 Gwinn received on board King Ferdinand II and Pope Pius IX. This would be the first time a Pope had set foot on American territory. At Palermo on September 1, 1849, Captain Gwinn died of chronic gastritis and was buried near Lazaretto on the 9th, ending a 40-year Navy career.[3] Gwinn's body was moved to Glenwood Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania a few years later and remained there until 1931 when his body was moved to Arlington National Cemetery.[1]

References
  1. Patterson, Michael Robert (January 2, 2008). "John Gwinn, Captain, United States Navy". Arlington National Cemetery Website. Retrieved October 19, 2008.
  2. "Commanders of the USS Constitution". Timonier. 2002. Archived from the original on October 11, 2008. Retrieved October 19, 2008.
  3. Martin 1997, pp. 291–299

Bibliography
  • Martin, Tyrone G. (1997). A Most Fortunate Ship: A Narrative History of "Old Ironsides". Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-588-8. OCLC 243901224.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.