Born on 1 November 1747, in
Marblehead, Massachusetts, Tucker began his naval career in the spring of 1760 as a cabin boy in the warship,
King George. He subsequently rose to command of a merchant ship in July 1774. Tucker was in
England at the outbreak of the
American Revolutionary War, but returned to
Massachusetts in the autumn of 1775. Upon his return, Tucker was selected by General
George Washington to command a small flotilla of armed
schooners which Washington had purchased and fitted out to prey on the British shipping. Tucker also served as commanding officer of the schooner
Franklin. In
Franklin and later in schooner
Hancock, Tucker cruised off the Massachusetts coast, taking many prizes in 1776. His first, taken jointly with the schooner
Lee, came on 29 February, when the two Continental ships cornered the 300-ton
Henry and
Esther, bound for Boston laden with wood from
Halifax, Nova Scotia. In April 1776, in
Hancock, Tucker sighted two supply
brigs making for Boston. Standing in to the harbor, near the protecting cannon of British warships anchored in the roadstead, he soon captured brigs
Jane and
William, out of
Ireland. Tucker took both, escaping with the two ships and their valuable cargoes of foodstuffs and other items needed by the
Continental Army. On 15 March 1777, Capt. Samuel Tucker received a commission in the Continental Navy, signed by
John Hancock on the same day. In December 1777 Tucker was chosen as the "best qualified and most deserving” captain for command of the frigate
Boston to replace the disgraced Captain
Hector McNeill. On 15 February 1778, Capt. Samuel Tucker sailed from
Braintree, Massachusetts, to take onboard
John Adams, the newly appointed minister to France, and his son,
John Quincy. Later, in remarks before the Navy Board, Tucker would say of Adams, "I did not say much to him at first, but damn and bugger my eyes, I found him after a while as sociable as any Marblehead man." Halfway across the Atlantic,
Boston was nearly dismasted in a lightning storm that injured 20 sailors. According to John Adams' diary, one of the sailors had a hole burnt in the top of his head from the lightning, and soon died "raving mad." On another occasion, three British warships gave chase to the frigate. Avoiding contact with British ships as much as possible, Tucker was finally forced to fight. Encountering the British letter of marque (
privateer)
Martha, Tucker maneuvered
Boston to cross the enemy's "T." ''Boston's
guns thundered and sent shot down the length of the Britisher, and soon Martha'', after a single ineffectual broadside,
struck her colors. The Adams' arrived safely at
Bordeaux on 1 April. Cruising in
European waters from the spring of 1778 until the fall of that year, Tucker took four more prizes before returning to
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on 15 October. In 1779, two cruises in the North Atlantic netted nine prizes before orders sent
Boston to
Charleston, South Carolina, to help defend that port against the British onslaught. On 11 May 1780, Charleston surrendered, after a siege, and the warships in harbor were captured, along with most of their officers and men. Tucker was among the prisoners but received parole on 20 May and was exchanged for British Capt.
Wardlaw, whom Tucker had captured when
Boston took HMS Thorn in September 1779. On 11 January 1781, Tucker assumed command of
Thorn, now a privateer. After taking seven prizes, he was again captured in an engagement with HMS Hind (1740) off the mouth of the
St. Lawrence River. He and his crew were taken to
Prince Edward Island. One day, having had permission to go to Halifax, Tucker escaped and made his way to Boston. In an era where
chivalry in war was still alive, Tucker wrote a letter of apology to the British garrison commander for his escape. At his own request, Tucker was paroled. When the war had ended, Tucker received hearty thanks from Congress. During the years following the establishment of peace, the old mariner from Marblehead sailed packets from America to
Bremen,
Germany, until he retired to farming, in
Maine, in 1792. In the
War of 1812, Tucker returned to active service, commanding a schooner which protected the coast of Maine from British privateers. In 1813, he captured the British privateer
Crown in a short, sharp engagement. ==Personal life==