# John Foster Williams

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/John_Foster_Williams
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/John_Foster_Williams.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Foster_Williams
> Source revision: 1296200696
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Infobox military person
|birth_date={{Birth date|1743|10|12}}
|birth_place=[Boston](/source/Boston), [Massachusetts](/source/Province_of_Massachusetts_Bay)
|death_date={{death date and age|1814|06|24|1743|10|12}}
|death_place=Boston, Massachusetts
|allegiance=[United States](/source/United_States)
|branch=[Massachusetts State Navy](/source/Massachusetts_Naval_Militia)<br />[Revenue-Marine](/source/United_States_Revenue_Cutter_Service)
|battles=[American Revolutionary War](/source/American_Revolutionary_War)
}}

[Captain](/source/Captain_(naval)) '''John Foster Williams''' (12 October 1743 &ndash; 24 June 1814) was a [Massachusetts State Navy](/source/Massachusetts_Naval_Militia) officer who served in the [American Revolutionary War](/source/American_Revolutionary_War) before later becoming an officer in the [Revenue-Marine](/source/U.S._Revenue_Cutter_Service).

==Career==
[[File:Massachusetts Frigate PROTECTOR vs. British Letter of Marque ADMIRAL DUFF.jpg|thumb|Painting of [''Protector''](/source/Protector_(1779_frigate)) engaging ''Admiral Duff'' by [William Nowland Van Powell](/source/William_Nowland_Van_Powell)]]
[[File:John Foster Williams burial place (36100).jpg|thumb|Williams' grave at the [Granary Burying Ground](/source/Granary_Burying_Ground) in Boston]]

Williams was commissioned a captain in the [Massachusetts State Navy](/source/Massachusetts_Naval_Militia) and received command of the [brig](/source/brig) ''Hazard'' late in 1777. In the following year, he took her to sea in a fruitless search for British West Indiamen; but he and his ship eventually achieved success in 1779. While cruising in the [West Indies](/source/West_Indies), ''Hazard'' fell in with the [privateer](/source/privateer) brigantine ''Active'' on 16 March. At the end of a "smart action" of 35-minutes' duration, "yard arm to yard arm," ''Active'' [struck her colors](/source/Striking_the_colors) and became ''Hazard's'' prize, after having suffered 13 killed and 20 wounded out of her 95-man crew.<ref name=Evans9>Evans, p 9</ref> ''Hazard'' sent the captured brigantine back to [Massachusetts](/source/Massachusetts) under a prize crew and subsequently returned home in April, after taking several other prizes. 
In May, ''Hazard'' returned to sea, this time in company with the [brig](/source/brig) ''Tyrannicide''. At 0830 on 15 June, the two ships fell in with two British ships and—after a short, sharp engagement—forced both vessels to strike their colors. Later that summer, ''Hazard''—like the rest of the Massachusetts Navy—took part in the ill-fated [Penobscot expedition](/source/Penobscot_expedition), an operation which eventually cost the state's navy all of its commissioned vessels. 

Williams received command of the new 28-gun [frigate](/source/frigate) [''Protector''](/source/Protector_(1779_frigate)) in the spring of 1780 and took her to sea in June. In accordance with instructions from the [Board of War](/source/Board_of_War), the new warship cruised in the vicinity of the [Newfoundland Banks](/source/Newfoundland_Banks), on the lookout for British merchantmen. Her vigilance was rewarded early in June. 

At 0700 on 9 June 1780, ''Protector'' spotted a strange ship bearing down on her, flying British colors. At 1100, the Continental [frigate](/source/frigate), also flying British colors, hailed the stranger and found her to be the 32-gun [privateer](/source/privateer) ''Admiral Duff'', bound for [London](/source/London) from [St. Kitts](/source/St._Kitts). When the enemy's identity had been ascertained, ''Protector'' hauled down British colors and ran up the Continental flag—opening fire almost simultaneously. The action ensued for the next hour and one-half, until ''Admiral Duff'' caught fire and exploded, leaving 55 survivors for Protector to rescue soon thereafter.<ref name=Evans9/>

With the coming of peace, Williams returned to his native Boston.   Because of rampant smuggling and the need for enforcement of tariff laws, upon the urging of Secretary of Treasury [Alexander Hamilton](/source/Alexander_Hamilton), the United States Congress created the Revenue-Marine on 4 August 1790.<ref name=King5>King, p 5</ref>  Under the enabling legislation that authorized the Revenue-Marine, a ["System of Cutters"](/source/First_ten_Revenue_Service_cutters), consisting of ten ships, were initially ordered and constructed.<ref name=Evans14>Evans, p 14</ref> John Foster Williams was commissioned as a Revenue-Marine officer by President [George Washington](/source/George_Washington) 21 March 1791 and given oversight of construction of the cutter [''Massachusetts''](/source/USRC_Massachusetts_(1791)) which he later commanded.<ref name=Evans10>Evans, p 10</ref><ref name=Evans13>Evans, p 13</ref> After ''Massachusetts'' was determined to be too slow for her assigned tasks she was decommissioned and [''Massachusetts II''](/source/USRC_Massachusetts_II_(1793)) was constructed and commissioned in 1793; Williams was chosen as master.<ref name=King6>King, p 6</ref><ref name=Canney2-4>Canney, pp 2–4</ref>

==Later life and death==
Williams died in Boston on 24 June 1814.

==Legacy==
*The ship {{USS|Williams|DD-108}} was named for him.

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Works cited===
{{refbegin}}
{{DANFS}}
* {{cite book|last=Canney|first=Donald L.|title=U.S. Coast Guard and Revenue Cutters, 1790–1935|year=1995|publisher=Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=978-1-55750-101-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Evans|first=Stephen H.|title=The United States Coast Guard 1790–1915: A Definitive History|year=1949|publisher=Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland}}
* {{cite book|last=King|first=Irving H.|title=The Coast Guard Under Sail: The U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, 1789–1865|year=1989|publisher=Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=978-0-87021-234-5}}

{{refend}} 

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, John Foster}}
Category:1743 births
Category:1814 deaths
Category:People from colonial Boston
Category:Massachusetts militiamen in the American Revolution
Category:Continental Navy personnel
Category:Burials at Granary Burying Ground

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [John Foster Williams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Foster_Williams) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Foster_Williams?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.