Commodore Arthur Sinclair (28 February 1780 – 7 February 1831) was an early American naval hero, who served in the U.S. Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 during the Quasi-War

Quasi-War

The Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought mostly at sea between the United States and French Republic from 1798 to 1800. In the United States, the conflict was sometimes also referred to as the Franco-American War, the Pirate Wars, or the Half-War.-Background:The Kingdom of France had been a...

 with France, the First Barbary War

First Barbary War

The First Barbary War , also known as the Barbary Coast War or the Tripolitan War, was the first of two wars fought between the United States and the North African Berber Muslim states known collectively as the Barbary States...

 and in the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

. His three sons also served in the Navy; they resigned in 1861, however, to serve in the Confederate Navy.

Sinclair was the great-grandfather of novelist Upton Sinclair

Upton Sinclair

Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. , was an American author who wrote close to one hundred books in many genres. He achieved popularity in the first half of the twentieth century, acquiring particular fame for his classic muckraking novel, The Jungle . It exposed conditions in the U.S...

, author of the novel The Jungle

The Jungle

The Jungle is a 1906 novel written by journalist Upton Sinclair. Sinclair wrote the novel with the intention of portraying the life of the immigrant in the United States, but readers were more concerned with the large portion of the book pertaining to the corruption of the American meatpacking...

(1906).

Biography

Born in Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, Sinclair entered the Navy as Midshipman

Midshipman

A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...

 in 1798. He served as Midshipman in Constellation

USS Constellation (1797)

USS Constellation was a 38-gun frigate, one of the six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794. She was distinguished as the first U.S. Navy vessel to put to sea and the first U.S. Navy vessel to engage and defeat an enemy vessel...

 during the capture of the French frigate L'Insurgente on 9 February 1799. He was attached to the Mediterranean Squadron from June 1804 to July 1806, participating in the attacks on Tripoli

Tripoli

Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...

 on board Essex

USS Essex (1799)

The first USS Essex of the United States Navy was a 36-gun or 32-gun sailing frigate that participated in the Quasi-War with France, the First Barbary War, and in the War of 1812, during which she was captured by the British in 1814 and served as HMS Essex until sold at public auction on 6 June...

.

He then sailed Gunboat No. 10 to the United States. On 13 December 1811, he was ordered to the command of Argus

USS Argus (1803)

The first USS Argus was a brig in the United States Navy during the First Barbary War and the War of 1812.Argus was laid down as Merrimack on 12 May 1803 at Boston, Massachusetts, by Edmund Hartt; renamed Argus on 4 June 1803; and launched on 21 August 1803.-First Barbary War:Though no document...

; and, between 12 October and 17 December 1812, cruised in Argus with the North Atlantic Squadron

North Atlantic Squadron

The North Atlantic Squadron was a section of the United States Navy operating in the North Atlantic. It was renamed as the North Atlantic Fleet in 1902. In 1905 the European and South Atlantic Squadrons were abolished and absorbed into the North Atlantic Fleet. On Jan...

 and took a number of prizes. During the cruise, he became separated from the squadron and was chased for three days and nights by an enemy squadron before his superior ship handling enabled him to escape. On 18 May 1813, he was ordered to duty in the squadron on Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...

 and commanded General Pike

USS General Pike (1813)

USS General Pike was a corvette in the United States Navy, which took part in the Engagements on Lake Ontario during the Anglo-American War of 1812...

 in the engagement on 28 September 1813. In 1814, he commanded Niagara

USS Niagara (1813)

The US Brig Niagara or the Flagship Niagara, is a wooden-hulled brig that served as the relief flagship for Oliver Hazard Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. It is one of last remaining ships from the War of 1812. The Niagara is usually docked behind the Erie Maritime Museum in...

 on Lake Huron

Lake Huron

Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...

 and Lake Superior

Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...

 and directed the naval squadron in the Battle of Mackinac Island

Battle of Mackinac Island

The Battle of Mackinac Island was a British victory in the War of 1812. Before the war, Fort Mackinac had been an important American trading post in the straits between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron...

 and the Engagement on Lake Huron

Engagement on Lake Huron

The series of minor Engagements on Lake Huron left the British in control of the lake and thus of the Old Northwest for the latter stages of the War of 1812.-Background:...

.

Promoted to Captain in 1813, he commanded Congress

USS Congress (1799)

USS Congress was a nominally rated 38-gun wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She was named by George Washington to reflect a principal of the United States Constitution. James Hackett built her in Portsmouth New Hampshire and she was launched on 15 August 1799...

 in 1817; served in Washington

USS Washington (1814)

The fourth USS Washington was a ship of the line of the United States Navy.The ship was authorized by the United States Congress on 2 January 1813 and was laid down in May of that year at the Portsmouth Navy Yard under a contract with the shipbuilders, Hart and Badger...

 in 1818; and, in 1819, was placed in command of the Norfolk Station where, in 1821, he established a naval school on the schoolship Guerriere

USS Guerriere (1814)

The first USS Guerriere was the first frigate built in the United States since 1801. The name came from a fast 49-gun British frigate captured and destroyed in a half-hour battle by 19 August 1812. This victory was the United States' first success in the War of 1812.She was built at the...

.

Captain Sinclair died at Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

on 7 February 1831.