Gamaliel Bradford

Captain Gamaliel Bradford (1763-1824) was a sea captain, privateersman, and later a prison warden who earned notoriety during the Quasi-War with France commanding two privately owned and armed merchant vessels known as letters of marque. Born November 4, 1763, in Duxbury, Massachusetts, he served in the 14th Massachusetts Regiment at a young age during the American Revolution, initially as a private and eventually was commissioned a lieutenant in the Continental Army. At the end of the war he went to sea as a mariner and by the 1790s commanded merchant vessels as a master mariner.

In 1799, he commanded the American ship Mary and successfully repulsed an attack by four French privateers off the coast of Gibraltar. In July 1800, in command of the Industry, he again routed four French privateers off the coast of Cadiz, Spain. During the latter engagement, Bradford was struck by grapeshot and the injury required the amputation of his leg. For his performance during these engagements, Bradford earned renown among the American merchant and naval fleets.

The injury prompted his retirement from seafaring. In 1813, he was appointed warden of the Massachusetts State Prison at Charlestown. He continued in that position until his death at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on March 7, 1824. Bradford and his wife had nine children, many of whom accomplished notoriety in their fields. In 1942, the United States Navy named the USS Bradford (DD-545) after Capt. Gamaliel Bradford for his performance during the Quasi-War.