Naval Hero: Johnston Blakely
by JANE MARSHALL
TAR HEELS I
MADISON
Johnston Blakely, born in Ireland in 1781,
was brought to America when he was sixteen
months old. His mother died on the voyage
over or shortly afterward. His father settled
in Wilmington where Johnston grew up.
Johnston was sent to a preparatory school at
Flatbush on Long Island, New York. He
studied mathematics, surveying, and naviga¬
tion. Blakely’s father died in 1796 leaving
him a small fortune in buildings and property
in Wilmington. Blakely entered the Uni¬
versity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In 1799 a fire in Wilmington destroyed a
large portion of his property whose rents
had provided his income, which forced him
to leave college.
overtook and captured a British privateer,
the Fly. That same day he was promoted
to a bigger and better ship, the Wasp, then
being built. The Wasp sailed from New
Hampshire the first of May, 1814, headed
for the English Channel with orders to do
as much damage to British shipping as pos¬
sible. With seven ships already taken as
prizes, the Wasp engaged the British war
sloop Reindeer on June 29. A fierce but
gallant fight followed in which Captain
Manners of the Reindeer was killed and his
ship was so badly damaged that the next day
she was burned.
After stopping at L’Orient, France, to re¬
pair the damages received from the Reindeer,
BLAKELY
MEDAL
This bronze replica of the gold medal voted by Congress after Blakely defeated the REINDEER can be seen
in the North Carolina Museum of History Study Collection.
Even though his guardian offered to lend
him money to complete his university work,
Johnston decided to enter the United States
Navy in February, 1800. Almost immediately
he was ordered to the Mediterranean squad¬
ron to fight the war with the Barbary Pirates.
He trained under some of the finest naval
officers of the day including Dale, Preble,
and Decatur. In 1811 Blakely received his
first command, the F.nterprise. He spent many
months preparing the Enterprise and her
crew for war. On August 20, 1813, Johnston
Blakely sailed again on August 27, Within
three days he had captured two prizes and
sunk the Avon. Several more ships were
captured between August 30 and September
23 including the brig Atlanta on which he
placed a prize crew with dispatches to
America. (On November 4, 1814, the Atlanta
arrived in Savannah, Georgia with the last
communication ever received directly from
Captain Blakely.) In October he met a
Swedish ship, the Adonis, which he inspected
and from which he removed two Americans.
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