| The War of 1812 included some of the great sea | | | | and as the clouds of war with England gathered, he |
| battles of the wooden ship era. On one side was the | | | | was given the rank of Master Commandant and |
| mighty British Empire who boasted the world's largest, | | | | command of the USS Wasp. This was not his first |
| best equipped, and most feared navy. The United | | | | command but it would be the ship that made him |
| States' Navy was much smaller is size and lacked the | | | | famous. |
| heavy firepower of their former colonial masters. | | | | In October of 1812 the USS Wasp was patrolling the |
| However, the field was leveled by the Crown's | | | | Atlantic for British merchant ships to sink and/or |
| marginal commitment to the war (the Empire was also | | | | capture. On the 13th they took damage while capturing |
| embroiled in a war with Napoleon and their own | | | | the HMS Dolphin off the Carolina coast; the USS |
| colonial commitments throughout Africa and the East | | | | Wasp then made sail to the south east and the heavily |
| Indies) and the ingenuity of American sea | | | | trafficked Caribbean shipping corridor. It was there that |
| commanders. | | | | they spotted a flotilla of British merchantmen protected |
| The causes of the war were numerous, but the | | | | by the feared sloop HMS Frolic. |
| specific bugaboo to the US Navy was the British | | | | The HMS Frolic was commanded by Thomas |
| Empire's practices of impressment. This loathsome | | | | Whinyates, who hoped to lure the USS Wasp into a |
| naval tactic involved capturing the crew of a | | | | trap by flying Spanish colors from the mast (at the |
| non-military American vessel and force the crew into | | | | time Spain was an ally to the US Navy). Jacobs would |
| service on a British ship; typically the impressed crew | | | | not be fooled, at on the morning of September 17, 1812 |
| was treated poorly and were on some occasions | | | | the USS Wasp opened up on the HMS Frolic with all |
| forced into battle with their own countrymen. As the | | | | guns at a range of less than 100 yards. The battle |
| war escalated on sea and on land, America's second | | | | lasted less than 30 minutes and resulted in both ships |
| generation of war heroes would have to step forward. | | | | sustaining heavy damage. The turning point in the battle |
| One such hero was Jacob Jones of the United States | | | | was the second broadside where US gunners shot |
| Navy. | | | | the British below the waterline while the HMS Frolic |
| Jacob Jones was born in Smyrna, Delaware and | | | | attempted to aim high and hit the sails. Though the |
| studied medicine as a young adult. He began practicing | | | | vessels were equally armed and crewed, the |
| at the age of 24 in Kent County, Delaware; he had a | | | | American accuracy on the cannons won the day. |
| young bride and dreams of prosperity in the New | | | | The casualties were all British though; 90 of 100 hands |
| World. Unfortunately his wife passed away in | | | | lost including all officers. The USS Wasp reported only |
| Delaware, prompting a grief-stricken Jones to join the | | | | 10 casualties. The victory would be short-lived |
| Navy in 1799 as a lowly midshipman. | | | | however, as a passing British Ship of the Line detained |
| He was 31 years old at the time and due to his | | | | the Americans and captured the USS Wasp. The |
| advanced age he moved through the enlisted ranks | | | | prisoners, included Jacob Jones, were returned to the |
| quickly. According to naval records he was promoted | | | | US in a prisoner exchange in early 1813. The USS |
| to lieutenant in February of 1801. Eight months later he | | | | Wasp was repaired and saw brief service in the |
| would be taken prisoner and held by the British for four | | | | Royal Navy until it was destroyed in 1814. |
| years. He returned to naval service after his release | | | | |