Jonathan Haraden

Lieutenant Jonathan Haradan (November 11, 1744 – November 23, 1803) was a Massachusetts State Navy officer and privateer who served in the American Revolutionary War.

Haradan was born on November 11, 1744 in Gloucester, Massachusetts. As a boy he worked in Salem, Massachusetts for the prominent merchant and future Senator George Cabot. He joined the Massachusetts State Navy in July 1776 as first lieutenant onboard the 14-gun sloop Tyrannicide. On board for two years, he participated in the capture of several prizes, becoming her commander in 1777. The ship was scuttled during the Penobscot Expedition.^[1]

In 1778, Haraden began his career as a privateer, commanding the 14-gun sloop General Pickering. On October 13, 1779, he engaged three British privateers off New Jersey simultaneously. In April 1780, he captured the 22-gun privateer Golden Eagle in the Bay of Biscay. A larger British privateer, the 42-gun Achilles, attempted to recapture Golden Eagle a few days later, though Haraden forced her to disengage after a three-hour action at close quarters. In 1781, his ship was captured by a British fleet under Admiral George Rodney in Sint Eustatius, but Haraden managed to escape. Haraden commanded the privateer Julius Caesar in 1782.^[2]

After the American Revolutionary War ended in 1783, Haraden's health deteriorated steadily. He died in Salem on November 23, 1803. He was buried in Salem's Broad Street Cemetery.^[3]

• Two destroyers of the United States Navy have been named USS Haraden for him.^[4][5]

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.