RALEIGH RODGERS. 187 



V 1, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, a famous navigator and explorer. VI 2, Mary Fulford. VI 

 3, Bridget Fulford. VI 4, Arthur Champernoun, was "no less fond of adventure, and endowed 

 with no less mental capability, than his ancestors." He was the owner of many vessels and in 

 voyages became widely acquainted with New England. In 1636 secured a large grant of land in 

 Maine. VI 6, Sir John Gilbert. VI 7, Captain Raleigh Gilbert, one of the leaders in the great 

 enterprise of making settlements in North America, especially to the Kennebec river, 1607. Child 

 of Propositus: VI 8, Walter Raleigh, was killed in Guiana. 



VII 1, Francis Champernoun (1614-1687), one of the early settlers of Maine. "He seems 

 to have had a fondness for maritime life and adventure and to have held some position in the 

 Royal Navy." Child's child of Propositus: VII 2, Carew Raleigh. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



DE SELINCOURT, H. 1908. Great Raleigh. London: Methuen & Co. xiii + 310 pp. 

 EDWARDS, E. 1868. The Life of Sir Walter Raleigh. 2 vols. London: Macmillan & Co. 

 STEELING, W. 1891. Sir Walter Raleigh. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, xii + 413 pp. 

 TUTTLE, C. 1889. Captain Francis Champernowne, The Dutch Conquest of Acadie and 

 other historical papers. Boston: J. Wilson & Son. xvi + 426 pp. 



56. JOHN RODGERS. 



JOHN RODGEES was born in Harford county, Maryland, in 1773. He 

 attended village school and at about the age of 13 years ran away to Baltimore 

 "to see square-rigged ships," and refused to return home with his father; conse- 

 quently the latter bound him out for five years as an apprentice to Captain Ben- 

 jamin Folger, leaving him with an injunction never to touch strong drinks, an 

 injunction he ever followed. Young Rodgers's steady habits, willingness to assume 

 responsibility, and skill as a sailor soon won for him the favorable appreciation 

 of his captain. Before he was 18 years of age he became first mate of the Harmony. 

 His apprenticeship completed, his master recommended him, in 1793, to the com- 

 mand of a fine merchant vessel, the Jane, 300 tons, plying to European ports. As 

 master of the Jane, Rodgers exacted absolute obedience from his crew, who early 

 learned to fear and respect him. In all his career he never lost a vessel or ran one 

 aground. When the United States naval vessel Constellation was launched in 1798, 

 Rodgers was appointed her first lieutenant and executive officer (1799). He served 

 under Truxton, displayed great gallantry in the fight (February 9, 1799) with the 

 French frigate L'Insurgente, was promoted to the rank of captain, given command 

 of the Maryland, a 20-gun sloop, and ordered to watch for enemy (French) vessels 

 at Surinam. When Jefferson (1801) decided upon reducing the size of the American 

 navy, Rodgers's status was for a time uncertain, and during this period he took 

 a schooner of goods to Santo Domingo. Thus he happened to be present at the 

 burning of Cristophe by the natives to keep it from falling into the hands of the 

 French, and he there played no insignificant part in saving life and property. 

 By the following year it had been decided to retain Rodgers, and he was sent, 

 in command of the John Adams (of 28 guns), to cooperate with Commodore Rich- 

 ard V. Morris against Tripoli. Here he secured an important treaty with the 

 emperor of Morocco and was for a time acting commodore of the Mediterranean 

 squadron. After a trip to the United States, he returned to the Mediterranean, 

 where he soon assumed command, and concluded, with the aid of Consul Tobias 

 Lear, an honorable treaty of peace with the pasha of Tripoli and the release of the 

 prisoners taken from the Philadelphia. In the summer of 1805, by taking a bold 

 and spirited position, he secured a favorable treaty with the Bey of Tunis, 



