James Fenimore Cooper - Service in The Navy

Service in The Navy

In 1806, at the age of seventeen, Cooper joined the crew of the merchant ship Sterling as a common sailor. At the time, the Sterling was commanded by the young John Johnston from Maine where Cooper served as a common seaman before the mast. His first voyage, taking some forty stormy days at sea, brought him to an English market in Cowes with a cargo of flour. There Cooper saw his first glimpses of England. After passing through the Strait of Dover and arriving at Cowes the Sterling dropped anchor. Because England was in the midst of war with Napoleon's France at this time their ship was immediately approached by an English Man-of-war and was boarded by some of its crew. They seized one of the Sterling's best crew members and impressed him into the English Royal Navy.

Their next voyage would take them to the Mediterranean at points along the coast of Spain, including Águilas and Cabo de Gata where they picked up cargo to be taken back to America. Their stay in Spain lasted several weeks and greatly impressed the young sailor, the accounts of which Cooper would later refer to in his Mercedes of Casatile, a novel about Columbus.

After serving aboard the Sterling for eleven months, Cooper joined the United States Navy on January 1, 1808 when he received his commission as a midshipman. Because Cooper had conducted himself well as a sailor, his father, a former U.S. Congressman, easily secured a commission for his son through his long standing connections with various politicians and naval officials. The warrant for Cooper's commission as midshipman was signed by President Jefferson and mailed by Naval Secretary Robert Smith, reaching Cooper on February 19. Along with the warrant was a copy of naval rules and regulations, a description of the required naval uniform along with an oath that Cooper was to sign in front of a witness and to be returned with his letter of acceptance. Cooper signed the oath and had it notarized by New York attorney William Williams, Jr. who previously certified the Sterling's crew. After Williams had confirmed Cooper's signature, Cooper mailed the document to Washington. On February 24 he received orders to report to the naval commander at New York City. Joining the United States Navy fulfilled an aspiration Cooper had kept since his youth.

Cooper's first naval assignment came in March 21, 1808 aboard the USS Vesuvius, an 82 foot bomb ketch that carried twelve guns and a thirteen inch mortar. For his next assignment Cooper served under Lieutenant Woolsey near Oswego on Lake Ontario building the brig USS Oneida for service on the lake. The vessel was intended for use in a war with England which at the time had yet to commence. The vessel was completed, armed with sixteen guns and launched in Lake Ontario in the spring of 1809. Here is where Cooper learned shipbuilding, ship yard duties and frontier life. During his leisure time Cooper would venture through the forests of New York state and explore the shores of Lake Ontario. He also took frequent cruises among the Thousand Islands where he often spent time fishing. His experiences during his naval service here would later inspire his various writings like his Indian story The Pathfinder.

After completion of the Oneida in 1809 Cooper accompanied Woolsey to Niagara Falls later that year and was then ordered to Lake Champlain to serve aboard a gun-boat up until the winter months when the lake froze over. On November 13 of the same year he was assigned to the USS Wasp under the command of Captain James Lawrence who was also from Burlington and Cooper's personal friend. Aboard this ship Cooper met his lifelong friend William Branford Shubrick who was also a midshipman at the time. Cooper would later dedicate The Pilot, Red Rover and other of his writings to this friend.