John Rathbun John Peck Rathbun ( 1746 – 1782 ) was an officer in the Continental Navy and in the United States Navy . Rathbun was from Rhode Island with family in Boston . Rathbun served in the Continental Navy from its late 1775 beginning as John Paul Jones First Lieutenant . Capture of Nassau . Rathbun was promoted to Captain in April 1777 and given command of the sloop " Providence " upon which he had participated in an American attack on New Providence in 1776 . Rathbun took " Providence " back to the Bahamas on the night of 27 January 1778 . Rathbun approached Nassau disguised as a trading sloop and anchored offshore in darkness . Twenty - six marines under command of Captain John Trevett went ashore by boat with a scaling ladder . They climbed Fort Nassau ' s 22 - foot walls with the ladder and overpowered the two guards before daybreak . The Marines then continued sending the guards ' periodic " All is well " call to guards outside of the fort while repositioned the fort ' s 18 - pound cannon to cover parts of the city and harbor from which reinforcements might arrive . Dawn found the American stars and stripes flying over conquered enemy territory for the first time since the Continental Congress approved the flag . While his remaining marines patrolled the wall in full view of the city , Trevett sent three Marines to Fort Montague with a claim that a force of 230 Marines held Fort Nassau . Fort Montague surrendered , and Marines spiked the cannon and poured the gunpowder into the sea . Twenty - four American merchant seamen came forward to assist . The Americans had been stranded in Nassau when their ships had been captured by privateers . The American merchant seamen were sent into the harbor to demand surrender of five ships lying under the guns of Fort Nassau . Rathbun brought " Providence " into harbor in the early afternoon , and loaded all Fort Nassau ' s gunpowder and 300 small arms . Rathbun departed on the morning of 30th , with three captured ships manned by the American merchant seamen , after spiking the guns of Fort Nassau and burning the two ships he could not man . No blood had been shed . Action At Sea . In 1779 , he assumed command of the frigate " Queen of France " and in July cruised off Newfoundland with " Providence " and " Ranger " . On the 16th , the ships sighted a convoy bound for Britain . Fog closed in , but when it lifted , " Queen of France " was next to a merchantman whose crew mistook the American for a British escort vessel . Rathbun took advantage of the situation , exploited the mistake in identity , and captured the ship . " Ranger " and " Providence " followed suit . Ten more ships were cut out of the convoy , their total value approaching $ 1 million . Defense of Charleston . In 1780 , Rathbun took " Queen of France " south in Commodore Abraham Whipple ' s force to bolster the defenses of Charleston , South Carolina . There , with smaller ships , she was stationed in the Ashley River to prevent British forces under Cornwallis from crossing and attacking the city . As the American position weakened , " Queen of France ' s " guns were removed and she was sunk as a block ship . Her crew then went ashore and Rathbun served as an artilleryman until the city fell in May 1781 . Privateer . Taken prisoner at the fall of Charleston , Rathbun and the other American captains were paroled and allowed to return to New England . There , he found that the Continental Navy had dwindled and no commands were available . Thereupon , Rathbun , a true patriot , secured a commission from Congress on 4 August to command the Massachusetts privateer brig " Wexford " . About two weeks later , he set sail from Boston bound for St . George ' s Channel near Britain and , within another six weeks reached the coast of Ireland . There , less than 100 miles from Cape Clear , he ran afoul of the 32 - gun frigate HMS " Recovery " . Following a 24 - hour chase during which HMS " Recovery " fired at least one broadside , Rathbun and his ship were captured by the British warship . Incarcerated first at Kinsale Prison near Cork , Ireland , Rathbun was later transferred to Mills Prison in Plymouth , England , where he died on 20 June 1782 . Namesakes . Two ships , USS " Rathburne " , were named for him . Although his name was spelled Rathburne or Rathbourne in official records , including the two warships named after him , this was an error . His name was Rathbun .