James Hackett

James Hackett (1739–1802) was an American shipbuilder in New Hampshire in the late 18th century. He was responsible for the construction of a number of significant Revolutionary War-era warships for the fledgling country, including the Raleigh, Ranger, America, Congress, Portsmouth, two cutters for the United States Revenue Cutter Service, as well as the Crescent, built for Algiers as tribute. As a teenager, he served with Rogers' Rangers during the French and Indian War. His later military service included serving as lieutenant colonel in the New Hampshire Militia during the Revolutionary War and after in several different units. Early life Colonel James Hackett was born in Amesbury, Massachusetts on November 29, 1739, to a family of accomplished shipbuilders. He apprenticed as a merchant shipwright. French and Indian war When he was only 15 years old he joined Rogers' Rangers. Hackett saw more brutal combat before the age of 21 than many career soldiers saw in a lifetime. In a small corps where promotion came hard, he earned the silver lace of a sergeant in John Stark's Company while still a teenager. He fought at the head of the British army as it pushed its way up Lake Champlain toward Canada. In 1758 he was one of two survivors of an 11-man patrol ambushed by an enemy war party numbering more than 50. A year later on August 27, 1759, Hackett himself was taken prisoner in the battle near St. John and remained a prisoner at Montreal until being released in a prisoner exchange on Nov 15, 1759. He continued to serve his company until Nov. 1, 1760, when it was disbanded. Living in Exeter, NH