William Howard Allen

William Howard Allen (July 8, 1790 – November 9, 1822) was a United States naval officer. He was born in Hudson, New York in 1790, attended school at the Hudson Academy for Boys, appointed midshipman in 1808, became a Second Lieutenant in 1811. During the War of 1812, he served aboard USS Argus and was captured by the British on August 14, 1813, during a battle with a British sloop-of-war, where he sustained a leg injury which required amputation.[1] His capture lasted 18 months, while he was kept interned in Ashburton, England. Later he commanded the Alligator, which was sent to the West Indies to fight pirates as part of the West Indies Squadron. He died while attacking three pirate vessels in 1822.[2] A monument to his memory has been erected in Hudson, New York.[3]