Samuel Nicholson (1743 – December 28, 1811) was an officer in theContinental Navy during theAmerican Revolutionary War and later in theUnited States Navy.^[1] Along withshipwrightGeorge Claghorn he oversaw the building ofUSS Constitution ("Old Ironsides"), and Nicholson was that ship's first commander.

The son of Joseph and Hannah Scott Nicholson, Samuel Nicholson was born inChestertown, Maryland.^[1] He married Mary Dowse, sister ofEdward Dowse, on February 9, 1780, and had "a large family of children".^[2] They lived inDedham, Massachusetts, and at least three of their daughters were baptized in the Episcopal Church there.^[2]

Nicholson was acaptain in theContinental Navy. He served as alieutenant aboardBonhomme Richard underJohn Paul Jones who at the time was commander ofDeane, which was used to capture three Britishsloops-of-war.^[3] Nicholson also commandedDolphin in 1776.^[4]

By the time theAmerican Revolution was finally won there were few ships to speak of in the young American Navy. The navy, like the army, was largely disbanded, with many naval vessels being sold or turned intomerchantman vessels.^[5] Now that America had won its independence it no longer had the protection of the British navy and had to defend its own interests abroad. The idea of an American Navy was the subject of much debate between the Federalists who favored a strong navy and the anti-federalists who felt the money required for a navy would be better spent elsewhere. However the repeated threats from France and the Barbary states of North Africa had given cause to now consider resorting to more forceful measures to procure the security of American shipping interests.^[6]

USS Constitution was one of sixfrigates authorized byact of Congress which was approved on March 27, 1794. Nicholson was commissioned as one of the first six captains in the reborn United States Navy on June 10, 1794.

The vessel was designed by Joshua Humphreys, and built at Hartt's Shipyard inBoston, Massachusetts, under the supervision of master shipwrightGeorge Claghorn. Nicholson was the naval inspector who also oversaw her construction.

Upon her completionConstitution waslaunched at Boston on September 27, 1797, under the command of Nicholson. His first Lieutenant was Charles Russel.^[7][8][9]Upon her completionConstitution waslaunched at Boston on September 27, 1797, under the command of Nicholson. His 1st Lieutenant was Charles Russel.^[10][11][12]PresidentJohn Adams ordered all Navy ships to sea in late May 1798 to patrol for armed ships of France, and to free any American ship captured by them.Constitution was still not ready to sail, and eventually had to borrow sixteen 18-pound (8.2 kg) cannons fromCastle Island before finally being ready.^[13]

Constitution put to sea on the evening of 22 July 1798, commanded by Captain Nicholson, with orders to patrol the Eastern seaboard betweenNew Hampshire andNew York. A month later she was patrolling betweenChesapeake Bay andSavannah, Georgia, when Nicholson found his first opportunity for capturing aprize: off the coast ofCharleston, South Carolina, on 8 September, she interceptedNiger, a 24-gun ship sailing with a French crew en route fromJamaica toPhiladelphia, claiming to have been under the orders of Great Britain.^[14] Perhaps not understanding his orders correctly, Nicholson had the crewmen imprisoned, placed aprize crew aboardNiger, and brought her intoNorfolk, Virginia.Constitution sailed south again a week later to escort a merchant convoy, but her bowsprit was severely damaged in a gale; she returned to Boston for repairs. In the meantime, Secretary of the NavyBenjamin Stoddert determined thatNiger had been operating under the orders of Great Britain as claimed, and the ship and her crew were released to continue their voyage. The American government paid a restitution of $11,000 to Great Britain.^[15][16]

After departing from Boston on 29 December, Nicholson reported to CommodoreJohn Barry, who was flying his flag inUnited States, near the island ofDominica for patrols in theWest Indies. On 15 January 1799,Constitution intercepted the English merchantmanSpencer, which had been taken prize by the French frigateL'Insurgente a few days prior. Technically,Spencer was a French ship operated by a French prize crew; but Nicholson, perhaps hesitant after the affair withNiger, released the ship and her crew the next morning.^[17][18]

Upon joining Barry's command,Constitution almost immediately had to put in for repairs to her rigging due to storm damage, and it was not until 1 March that anything of note occurred. On this date, she encounteredHMS Santa Margarita,^[19][20] the captain of which was an acquaintance of Nicholson. The two agreed to a sailing duel, which the English captain was confident he would win. But after 11 hours of sailingSanta Margarita lowered her sails and admitted defeat, paying off the bet with a cask of wine to Nicholson.^{[21][Note 1]}

Resuming her patrols,Constitution managed to recapture the American sloopNeutrality on 27 March and, a few days later, the French shipCarteret. Secretary Stoddert had other plans, however, and recalledConstitution to Boston. She arrived there on 14 May, and Nicholson was relieved of command.^[22]

Nicholson was an original member of theSociety of the Cincinnati,^[23] and the first commandant of theBoston Navy Yard when it was established in 1800.^[1] He remained on active duty with the Navy for the remainder of his life. Nicholson died atCharlestown, Massachusetts in 1811, and is buried in the crypt of theOld North Church in Boston.

The U.S. Navy ships namedUSS Nicholson were named for him and other members of his family who served as naval officers: his elder brother,James Nicholson, his younger brotherJohn Nicholson, his nephew,William Nicholson and his grandsonJames W. Nicholson.

• Allen, Gardner Weld (1909).Our Naval War With France. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin.OCLC 1202325.
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969].Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing.ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Cooper, James Fenimore (1856).History of the navy of the United States of America.
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• Hagan, Kenneth J. (1992).This People's Navy: The Making of American Sea Power.
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• Jennings, John (1966).Tattered Ensign The Story of America's Most Famous Fighting Frigate, U.S.S. Constitution. Thomas Y. Crowell.OCLC 1291484.
• Martin, Tyrone G. (1997).A Most Fortunate Ship: A Narrative History of "Old Ironsides".Naval Institute Press.ISBN 978-1-55750-588-0.OCLC 243901224.
• Winfield, Rif (2007).British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. St. Paul: Seaforth / MBI.ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.OCLC 216617748.
•  This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

• The Society of the Cincinnati
• The American Revolution Institute

• 1743 births
• 1811 deaths
• Continental Navy officers
• United States Navy officers
• People from Chestertown, Maryland
• Military personnel from Dedham, Massachusetts
• Commanders of the USS Constitution

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• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships