11 Facts About Dudley Saltonstall

Dudley Saltonstall was an American naval commander during the American Revolutionary War.

Dudley Saltonstall is best known as the commander of the naval forces of the 1779 Penobscot Expedition, which ended in complete disaster, with all ships lost.

Dudley Saltonstall was born in 1738 to Gurdon Saltonstall Jr and Mary Winthrop.

Dudley Saltonstall's father was a prominent figure in New London and Connecticut politics, serving as a probate judge and a leader of the community.

Dudley Saltonstall took positions on the ships of the colonial mercantile fleet, and served as a merchant captain during the Seven Years' War.

Dudley Saltonstall was given command of Alfred, the flagship of the new navy's commodore, Esek Hopkins.

Dudley Saltonstall hired John Paul Jones as his first lieutenant, and gave him the responsibility of overseeing the fitting out of the newly acquired ship.

Dudley Saltonstall was not censured, but other captains in the fleet were punished for cowardly behavior.

Dudley Saltonstall's reported inaction and timidity were blamed for the failure of the expedition.

Dudley Saltonstall returned to Connecticut, and convinced one of his wife's relatives, Adam Babcock, to support him in a privateering venture.

Dudley Saltonstall died in 1796 in the West Indies, apparently of a tropical disease.