Richard Dale Richard Dale ( – ) fought in the Continental Navy under John Barry and was first lieutenant for John Paul Jones during the naval battle off of Flamborough Head , England against the " Serapis " in the celebrated engagement of . He became one of the six original commodores of the permanent United States Navy , and commanded a blockade of Tripoli in 1801 during the First Barbary War of Thomas Jefferson ' s presidency . Early years . Richard Dale was born in Portsmouth parish , Norfolk County , Virginia , the eldest son of Winfield Dale , shipwright and merchant , and Ann Sutherland . His father died when Dale was ten years old . Two years later , Dale signed on with a merchant vessel owned by an uncle that took him to Liverpool , England . Upon his return to Virginia , Dale became apprenticed to a ship - owner , through whom he made several journeys to the West Indies . Within five years , he achieved the rank of chief mate on a valuable brig . He remained in the merchant service until the spring of 1776 . Revolutionary War . Dale ' s record during the Revolutionary War proved eclectic . After departed the merchant service in 1776 he signed on as a lieutenant in the navy of the colony of Virginia . His tenure proved brief , since he was captured shortly thereafter by a tender of the frigate " Liverpool " . He knew many of the men in the ship ' s crew from his time as a merchant , and they persuaded Dale to sign up for the British cause . He served for Lord Dunmore , the royal governor of Virginia . While fighting for the British , Dale received his first battle wounds when he was caught in a confrontation with American pilot boats . During his convalescence in Norfolk , Virginia , he determined that he would return to the patriot cause at his first opportunity . En route to Jamaica , the British vessel upon which Dale traveled was captured by the American Captain John Barry on his ship " Lexington " . Dale volunteered to serve on the American ship , and entered their service with the rank of Midshipman . He continued on with the " Lexington " after Barry was replaced as captain by William Hallock , who promoted Dale to Master ' s Mate . Unfortunately for Dale , the ship was captured by the British frigate " HMS Pearl " . Select officers from the " Lexington " were taken onto the " HMS Pearl " as prisoners , Dale included , although a sudden gale permitted the rest of the America crew to escape . In January 1777 , Dale was released in a prisoner exchange and returned to the " Lexington " , now under yet another captain , Henry Johnston . The " Lexington " joined a squadron that caused some destruction on the coast of Ireland , which compelled the British to chase and , eventually , capture the brig and its crew . They were taken to Plymouth , England and the crew imprisoned in Mill Prison in September 1777 . Mill Prison . Charged with high treason against the crown , Johnston , Dale and the rest of the crew were treated harshly in the prison . A lack of sufficient food compelled them at one point to kill and eat a dog for survival . Their conditions improved only after sympathetic British civilians collected enough money to supply them with the bare necessities for sustenance . Still , the American sailors were unprepared to wait out the remainder of the war in prison , and dug a tunnel under the wall through which they attempted to make their escape . Dale and a colleague were re - captured as they attempted to board a ship from London to Dunkirk , and were returned to Mill Prison . As punishment for their escape attempt , they were both subjected to forty days of solitude in the " Black Hole . " While in prison , Dale obtained a journal wherein he used his time constructively . He continued the education he had not completed in his youth . He taught himself the multiplication table , different weights and measures , multiplication and division , as well as fractions . He also examined the rules of barter , stocks and interest , and created a glossary of different naval commands necessary to captain a ship . After a captivity at Mill Prison that lasted over a year , Dale finally managed to successfully escape in February , 1779 . He walked out of the prison gates without creating suspicion , wearing the uniform of a British officer . He never recorded how he had obtained the uniform . He also obtained the necessary papers in London to leave England and make his escape to L ' Orient , France . " Bon Homme Richard " . In L ' Orient , Dale signed on as Master ' s Mate with John Paul Jones on the French privateer , " Bonhomme Richard " . He received a promotion to First Lieutenant in short order . The ship cruised along the west coast of Ireland and brought the war into British waters . Through the capture or destruction of many vessels , he contributed to the disruption of British trade , and made many residents impatient for the war to end . On September 23 , 1779 , the " Bon Homme Richard " met the " HMS Serapis " off the coast of Flamborough Head , near Yorkshire . Described as being somewhat reckless in his bravery , Dale commanded the forward guns in the close fighting of the battle . When rumors that the " Bon Homme Richard " was sinking reached him from below decks , and that the crew was prepared to surrender , Dale went to ascertain the damage . Upon his assessment that the ship would not yet sink , he inspired the crew to persist in the fight . He compelled his British prisoners to man the pumps to keep the ship afloat while the battle continued above . After Captain Richard Pearson of the " Serapis " struck his flag and declared the battle an American victory , Dale , as second in command of the " Bon Homme Richard " , was the first American to board the British vessel . He then arranged for Pearson to meet with Jones to arrange the surrender of the " Serapis " . Once his duties had been fulfilled , Dale realized that he had been wounded in the melee . A large splinter had resulted in a serious injury to Dale ' s foot and ankle . The pain from the wound caused him to collapse and faint . When the damage done to the " Bon Homme Richard " proved irreparable , the Americans boarded the HMS " Serapis " and departed the scene . Although he required some time to convalesce , Dale remained as Jones ' first lieutenant for two more years , first on the " Alliance " , then on the " Ariel " . When the " Ariel " arrived at the port of Philadelphia on the 14th of April , 1781 , it was the first time Dale stepped foot on American soil in four years . The rank of first lieutenant that Jones bestowed upon Dale was , to this point , recognized only by the French government that had financed Jones ' privateer ventures . In recognition for his services , the American Continental Congress now officially recognized his rank as well , and made him a first lieutenant in the Continental Navy . Continental Navy . When Congress appointed John Paul Jones as commander of the not - yet - built frigate " America " , Jones asked Dale to remain in his service . Dale declined Jones ' offer , concerned that he would be kept away from sea too long during construction of the ship . His decision proved astute , since Congress ultimately gave the ship to the French government in payment of a debt , rather than to Jones to captain . Instead , Dale signed on as lieutenant for Captain Nicholson of the " Trumbull " , for the Continental Navy . Almost immediately after its departure from Philadelphia , the " Trumbull " was confronted by a British frigate during a severe storm . Dale was wounded , then captured in the ensuing fight and taken to New York City . New York had been occupied by British forces since 1776 , and Dale was again a prisoner of war . This time , his imprisonment was comparatively short . Continental agents negotiated an early release for Dale . Within two months ' time , he was free again . He signed on as the first officer on the American privateer " Queen of France " , a large merchant ship for which the Continental Congress approved a letter of marque . This gave the " Queen of France " the authority to attack British vessels in the name of the Continental Navy . When Dale received command of the ship , he was able to use it to advantage and captured a number of the enemy ' s vessels . Dale returned to Philadelphia in February 1783 . When the war officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in September of that year , the Continental Navy was officially disbanded . Along with all the other Continental officers , Dale ' s commission ended and he became a civilian for the first time in eight years . In 1783 , Dale became an original member of the Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati . Merchant and family . Dale got involved in the China Trade after the war , both as an investor and as a seaman . He became a successful captain and merchant during his commercial ventures between the United States and seaports in the Far East , in both China and India . When he was stateside , he often found himself in Philadelphia , the capital of the new country during the years 1790 through 1800 . He used this time to visit his former commander and lifelong friend , John Barry . On one visit , Dale met the cousin of Barry ' s wife Sarah , Dorethea Crathorne . Richard and Dorethea were married on September 15 , 1791 , at Christ Church in Philadelphia . Their first child was born the next year , while they lived at their first home together at 49 Pine Street . Seven more children were to follow . During their lives together in Philadelphia , the Dales also lived at 69 Pine , 271 Chestnut , 69 Spruce , and 296 Walnut Streets . The first ten years of their marriage often found Dale at sea as the captain of different vessels , either commanding merchant ships or in the newly established United States Navy . United States Navy . In 1794 , President George Washington established the United States Navy through order of Congress , ostensibly to protect American merchant vessels from the threat of privateers from the Barbary Nations , who took advantage of the new country ' s lack of a strong military presence in the Mediterranean Sea . Secretary of War Henry Knox selected six men , the elite of the country ' s naval command , to become the first commanders in the new branch of the American military . Richard Dale was selected as one of those six . Dale accepted the appointment and traveled to Norfolk , Virginia , for his first assignment : to supervise construction on the frigate " Chesapeake " . Due to the signing of a peace treaty with Algiers , one of the Barbary nations , which created some stability in the Mediterranean , construction on the frigate was halted . Dale requested and received a temporary furlough from the Navy and resumed business in the China trade . He was called back into the Navy in 1796 because of tensions that had developed between the United States and France , in what was known as the Quasi - War . As captain of the modified merchant ship " USS Ganges " , which was hastily equipped for military service , Dale gained the distinction of being the first man to command a ship at sea on behalf of the United States Navy . The " Ganges " was used to protect the American coastline during the conflict and did not see any fighting . A conflict of another kind caused Dale to request a second furlough after hostilities with France were redressed . Dale and some of the other five naval leaders became engaged in a dispute over their proper ranks . While government officials considered their concerns , Dale resumed the Far East trade . Upon his return to Philadelphia , the issue had been settled to his satisfaction , and Dale accepted his orders . He was to command a small fleet assigned to protect American merchant ships in the Mediterranean Sea . American ships were no longer safe against the privateers of the North African nation - states . Barbary War . During the First Barbary War with North Africa Commodore Dale sailed in the flagship USS " President " with Captain James Barron and a fleet of four other ships . In 1801 , President Thomas Jefferson assigned them to blockade the city of Tripoli , where government - sanctioned pirates seized European and American merchant ships and enslaved their crews . The United States government reluctantly paid tribute to the leaders of Tripoli , Tunis and Algiers for a number of years to ensure the protection of American interests . Regardless , the Barbary pirates continued to sporadically seize American property and sailors . During the years 1801 and 1802 , while Dale and his fleet regulated these waters , American ships remained unthreatened . Dale maintained the blockade until a lack of provisions and rampant illness among the crews of his ships compelled him to return to his base in Virginia . Dale received new orders to return to the Mediterranean after his return to the States ; however , he was dissatisfied with the conditions of his assignment . He resigned his commission in the United States Navy when he discovered that there would be no captain on his flagship . He considered it a dishonor for him to assume the responsibilities of a captain while serving as a commodore . Instead . he returned to Philadelphia as a civilian , and lived the remainder of his life on land , with his wife and family . Retirement and death . Dale had done well for himself as a merchant seaman . Upon his return to Philadelphia , he changed the focus of his career and became a director of the Insurance Company of North America . Six months later , he shifted allegiance to the Union Insurance Company , and remained there as one of its directors for over twenty years . He served as its president from September 1824 to July 1825 . Back in 1785 , George Washington signed a certificate that admitted Dale into the Society of the Cincinnati , which honored officer veterans of the Revolutionary War . Dale remained an active member for the rest of his life , and became involved in the effort to construct a monument dedicated to George Washington in Philadelphia , which ultimately never materialized . He was also active in the Society for the Relief of Poor and Distressed Masters of Ships , Their Wives and Children ( est . 1765 ) , and served in the Washington Benevolent Society of Pennsylvania . During the War of 1812 , he was a member of the General Committee , formed to protect Philadelphia from potential attack by the British military . A Protestant Episcopalian , he devoted himself to the religious affairs of the church in Philadelphia . In 1816 , he served as president of the Marine Bible Association of the City of Philadelphia , founded by the Philadelphia Bible Society with the intention to further the spiritual welfare of American merchant seamen . He was a co - founder of the Mariner ’ s Church , a non - denominational church located right off the docks of the city port to cater to traveling seamen . Designed by William Strickland , it was one of the largest churches in the city at the time . He also served as a member of the Standing Committee of the Diocese , a Trustee of the Episcopate Fund , and participated in various conventions dedicated to the perpetuation of the Episcopalian message . He closely followed the construction and affairs of the St . Stephens Church in Philadelphia during its construction and until his death . Dale was sixty - nine when he died in Philadelphia . Originally laid to rest in the Christ Church Burial Ground , and followed by Dorethea with her death four years later , they were both reinterred in the Laurel Hill Cemetery , located in the then - suburbs of the city , in 1888 . Ships . During the course of his career , Dale served on many different ships under a variety of national flags and in various capacities . His final mission , in the capacity of Commodore of the United States Navy , found him serving at the head of a small fleet of ships . Many of the ships upon which Dale served are as follows : privateer endorsed by the Continental Congress . Final vessel served on during the conflict with England . After this , he was discharged from the Continental Navy Namesakes . See USS " Dale " for a list of ships named in his honor .