John Rowe was appointed midshipman in the Navy on 2 December 1799. He volunteered for Lieutenant Stephen Decatur's expedition into Tripoli Harbor during the First Barbary War. On 16 February 1804, 's crew boarded and set fire to , destroying the frigate, which had fallen into enemy hands. He was commissioned lieutenant on 21 March 1807 and resigned from the Navy on 27 August 1808.