Early life John Downes was born in
Canton, Massachusetts on December 23, 1784.
Barbary Wars He served as acting
midshipman from September 9, 1800, and was appointed
midshipman June 1, 1802. He rendered distinguished service during the
First Barbary War in 1804 in the
frigate , and distinguished himself again while a midshipman on the frigate
New York in a boat
attack upon Tripolitan
feluccas.
War of 1812 In March 1807, he was made a lieutenant and served as executive officer for Captain
David Porter on the during her cruise in the Pacific in the
War of 1812. In the
action off James Island, Downes was in command of the
sloop Georgiana during the capture of three British
whalers. He also participated in the
action off Charles Island before sailing to
Nuku Hiva to assist in building America's first military base in the Pacific. Among the
Essex many prizes was the whale ship
Atlantic, "which Captain Porter fitted as a
cruiser and classified as a sloop-of-war, with twenty guns, named the
Essex Junior, and placed under the command of Lieutenant Downes who retained this place until the capture of the
Essex, and the conversion of
Essex Junior into a
cartel, 28 March 1814." Downes was promoted to master commandant in 1813, and two years later commanded the
brig , in the squadron employed against
Algiers under
Stephen Decatur. On June 17, 1815 he, in concert with the rest of Decatur's squadron,
captured the Algerian frigate
Mashouda. Two days later the
Epervier and three of the smaller vessels of the squadron
captured the Algerine brig of war
Estedio with twenty-two guns and 180 men off
Cape Paios. After the conclusion of peace with Algiers, Decatur transferred Downes to his own ship, . Downes also served on the and . He became captain in March 1817.
Tour of South America Downes took command of in 1818 and set forth on a three-year show of power for America to South America and beyond. On this trip, he decided to use the ship for his own enrichment and became a banking ship, giving protection, passage, and banking service to
privateers,
pirates, and others. He took large amounts for his own private use. He took at least 2.6 million in specie during his trip. He so angered his associates, whom he kept busy counting money under poor conditions, that one of his midshipmen, William Rodgers, resigned from the Navy after coming ashore from this three-year voyage. He cited not being able to "do what I joined this man's Navy to do. Not being able to serve my country but to simply be serving for the monetary good of Captain Downes". Captain Downes had so much specie aboard that he was able to bribe
Lord Cochrane into allowing the
Macedonian to pass Cochrane's
blockade.
Mediterranean Squadron Downes became
commodore of the
Mediterranean Squadron, and from 1828 to 1829 he commanded the in the Mediterranean. The captain however, had been on shore with four of his crew. He returned to the ship, fled and received help from other American ships also trading on the coast. They returned to Salem, the headquarters of much of America's trade with the East at that time, and also reported that the local chieftain denied any knowledge of the attack in his harbor.) to circumnavigate the globe. The ship was also the first to host sitting royalty –
the king and queen of the
Hawaiian Islands. Downes' sea service terminated with this cruise.
Later life On returning home, Downes was severely criticized for his harsh actions, but Jackson supported him, saying the fighting would deter future aggression. Yet the action wasn't absolutely successful – in August 1838 another American merchant ship, the
Eclipse, was attacked by 24 Malays who had been allowed on board. ==Legacy==