James Lawrence

James Lawrence
portrait by Gilbert Stuart
Born	(1781-10-01)October 1, 1781 Burlington, New Jersey, US
Died	June 4, 1813(1813-06-04) (aged 31) USS Chesapeake near Boston, Massachusetts, US
Place of burial	Trinity Church Cemetery, New York, New York
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1798–1813
Rank	Captain
Commands held	USS Vixen USS Wasp USS Argus USS Hornet USS Chesapeake
Battles/wars	Quasi-War First Barbary War War of 1812 Capture of USS Chesapeake  (DOW)
Signature

James Lawrence (October 1, 1781 – June 4, 1813) was an officer of the United States Navy. During the War of 1812, he commanded USS Chesapeake in a single-ship action against HMS Shannon, commanded by Philip Broke. He is probably best known today for his last words, "Don't give up the ship!", uttered during the capture of the Chesapeake. The quotation is still a popular naval battle cry, and was invoked in Oliver Hazard Perry's personal battle flag, adopted to commemorate his dead friend.^[1][2]