James Nicholson

James Nicholson (1737 – 2 September 1804) was an officer in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Early life Nicholson was born in 1737 in Chestertown, Maryland. He was born into the prestigious Nicholson family of Maryland, a son of Joseph Nicholson (1709–1787) and Hannah (née Smyth) Nicholson (1708–1767). Among his siblings were younger brothers Samuel and John Nicholson, who were also officers in the Continental Navy during the Revolutionary War He was also uncle to William Nicholson, an officer in the United States Navy during the War of 1812 and the American Civil War and grand-uncle to Rear Admiral James Nicholson, an officer in the U.S. Navy during the Mexican–American War and the Civil War. Career Nicholson began his career by serving in the colonial Navy with the British in the assault on Havana in 1762, and was commissioned Captain in the Continental Navy 10 October 1776. He commanded Defense, Trumbull, and Virginia, and when blockaded at Baltimore, Maryland, took his men to join George Washington at the Battle of Trenton to aid in that key victory.