Jordi Farragut George Farragut , born Jordi Farragut , also known as Jorge Farragut ( born September 29 or September 30 , 1755 , – June 4 , 1817 ) , was a United States Navy officer during the American Revolutionary War . He also fought with the Continental infantry in battles in the South . After commanding a Spanish trading ship in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean , he had joined the South Carolina Navy as a lieutenant when the war broke out . He anglicized his Catalan name ( Jordi ) to George Farragut when he joined the South Carolina Navy . Early life . Jordi Farragut Mesquida was born to Antoni Farragut and Joana Mesquida in Ciutadella , Minorca ( Spain ) . He first went to sea at the age of 10 , and left Minorica as a young man to join the Spanish merchant marines . He commanded a small vessel that traded goods between Veracruz , Mexico , New Orleans ( under French and Spanish rule ) , and ports in the Caribbean , namely Havana , Cuba . American War of Independence . He joined his new country at the beginning of the American Revolution , initially as a lieutenant in the South Carolina Navy , and anglicized his first name to George . Farragut fought the British at Savannah and was captured in the Siege of Charleston in 1780 . After being released in a prisoner exchange , he fought as a volunteer at the Battle of Cowpens and at Wilmington . Marriage and family . After the war , Farragut married Irish - American Elizabeth Shine ( 1765 - 1808 ) from North Carolina . They moved west to Tennessee , where their son David Farragut ( born James Glasgow Farragut ) was born in 1801 . They had several children . After President Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana territory , people were needed to staff the new U . S . port at New Orleans . Many residents of the former French and Spanish city distrusted Anglos ; Jefferson ’ s policy favored staffing New Orleans with officials who spoke French or Spanish . East Tennessee native William C . C . Claiborne , a good friend of Farragut ’ s , became the territory ’ s first U . S . governor . His recommendation of Farragut resulted in the offer of a new job . In 1805 , Farragut rode to New Orleans , and his family followed , in a 1 , 700 - mile flatboat adventure aided by hired rivermen , the six - year - old James Farragut ’ s first voyage . The family was still living in New Orleans in 1808 . There Farragut met David Porter Sr . , another navy officer who had served in the Revolution and was living with his son , also named David Porter , on active duty with the Navy as an officer . The senior Porter was brought to their house one day suffering from sunstroke , and , despite Elizabeth ' s care , he died . The same day , Elizabeth died of yellow fever . George , age 53 , made plans to place his young children with friends and family who could better care for them . He was visited by the younger Porter , who thanked him for his wife ' s care of his father and expressed sympathy for his loss . Porter offered to adopt James and introduce him to a career in the Navy . James and his father agreed . Soon after , George Farragut bought a large piece of property outside of town on the Pascagoula River , and spent his final years there . Death . Jordi Farragut Mesquida died in Pascagoula , Mississippi on June 4 , 1817 , at age 62 . He was described . . . " " as a short , chunky man ; very brave and a funny genius . " " - George W . Siever