John M . Gamble Lieutenant Colonel John Marshall Gamble ( 1791 – 11 September 1836 ) was an officer in the United States Marine Corps during the early 19th century . He was the first , and remains the only , U . S . Marine to command a U . S . Navy ship , commanding the " Greenwich " and the " Sir Andrew Hammond " during the War of 1812 . Biography . Born in Brooklyn , New York , Gamble was appointed Second Lieutenant on 16 January 1809 . He held the rank of captain and was stationed in the South Sea during the War of 1812 . He distinguished himself in many enterprises , including encounters with people of the Marquesas Islands during the absence of frigate " Essex " in 1813 , and sailing a prize of " Essex , " with only a four - man crew and without benefit of a chart in a 17 - day voyage to the Hawaiian Islands . Captain Gamble is remembered in history as one of the two U . S . Marines to command U . S . Navy ships . He was the only U . S . Marine to engage in a naval duel with another ship of equal size and prevail . His capture of the British armed whaler Seringapatam was noted as a triumph by American newspapers and thus earned him considerable fame upon his return . The Seringapatam was deemed as the biggest British threat to American whalers in the S . Pacific at the time . On the 14th of July , 1813 , Commodore Porter wrote of Lieutenant Gamble : " Allow me to return to you my thanks for your handsome conduct in bringing the Seringapatam to action , which greatly facilitated her capture , while it prevented the possibility of her escape . Be assured , sir , I shall make a suitable representation of the affair to the honorable Secretary of the Navy . " Commodore Porter wrote a further communication to the Navy Department which went as follows : " Captain Gamble at all times greatly distinguished himself by his activity in every enterprise engaged in by the force under my command , and in many critical encounters by the natives of Madison Island , rendered essential services , and at all times distinguished himself by his coolness and bravery . I therefore do , with pleasure , recommend him to the Department as an officer deserving of its patronage . " And again he wrote : " I now avail myself of the opportunity of assuring you that no Marine officer in the service ever had such strong claims as Captain Gamble , and that none have been placed in such conspicuous and critical situations , and that none could have extricated themselves from them more to their honor . " The decission to burn the Greenwich at Nuku Hiva also served to deprive the British of the valuable whale oil , then badly needed in England . His subsequent capture by the British sloop Cherub , also served to protect the American whaling efforts in the region . Aboard the Sir Andrew Hammond , Gamble was carrying gifts to be delivered as a tribute to the king of the Leeward Islands . When these were taken by Capt . Tucker of the Cherub as prizes of war , the diplomatic relations between the British and king of the Leeward Islands deteriorated . When American whalers were seen in his harbor , Tucker demanded the native king to turn them and the stockpiled whale oil over to him . Tucker went so far as to threaten the king of landing his Royal Marines in order to change his mind . The good king firmly said " No " . Tucker ' s knew a sloop ' s complement of marines and firepower would be a useless effort and thus sailed away . He was breveted a lieutenant colonel on 3 March 1827 . He died in New York City on 11 September 1836 . Namesake . The destroyer USS " Gamble " ( DD - 123 ) was named for him and his brother , United States Navy Lieutenant Peter Gamble . Chapter Semper Fidelis , " Gamble of the Marines " by Capt . Raymond Toner USN .