1783 – James Biddle born. Mr. Biddle was a United Stated naval officer, and nephew of Captain Nicholas Biddle, of the Continental Navy, was born in Philadelphia. James was the son of Charles and Hannah (m. Shepard) In 1800 James was appointed a midshipman in the Navy. His early training was under Thomas Truxtun on the frigate “President.” Retained in 1801, when the Navy was reduced, Biddle served on the “Constellation” in the Mediterranean in 1802. He had the misfortune to be on the “Philadelphia” when that frigate ran on the rocks off Tripoli, and spent 19 months in prison there with William Bainbridge, David Porter and other officers. Following the Barbary Wars, he secured leave and made a voyage as a mate in the China Trade. Upon his return he was promoted to lieutenant, and was second in command of the “Wasp” when that vessel took the “Frolic” in one of the famous single-ship actions of the War of 1812. When a British 74-gun ship captured the “Wasp” and retook the “Frolic,” Biddle had a second experience as a prisoner of war. When he was exchanged, in 1813, he found himself a master commandant and in command of the brig “Hornet.” In this vessel he engaged the “Penguin,” of equal weight of metal, and, on April 27, 1815, escaped an enemy ship-of-the-line for the last naval engagement of the war. In 1817, Biddle, serving in the Pacific, took formal possession of the Oregon territory. Subsequently he served in the South Atlantic, Mediterranean and Gulf of Mexico. In 1846 he negotiated the first treaty with China, and during the Mexican War was in command of the Pacific coast. He died at Philadelphia on Oct. 1, 1848. A transport ship was named after him, AP-15.
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