Jorge Antonio «George» Farragut

Jorge Farragut was born in 1755, in Ciudadela (Menorca, Spain). He pursued nautical studies in Barcelona and then, in 1776, immigrated to America, where he led a rather adventurous life. After spending some time sailing commercial vessels from Havana to New Orleans to Veracruz, he settled in South Carolina. There, in 1776, he enlisted in the newly created rebel navy and joined the War of Independence.

He took part in the Battle of Savannah and was taken prisoner during the siege of Charleston, where he had commanded a gunboat. After being released, he joined the North Carolina State Regiment as a lieutenant in the Mounted Rangers unit. He saw action repeatedly on land, and in the Battle of Cowpens, on January 17, 1781, according to family accounts, he saved the life of Cavalry Colonel William Washington, a cousin of the future president of the United States.

After the war, Farragut served in the Tennessee cavalry for some time before returning to naval duty. He married Elizabeth Shine, with whom he had five children, among them the renowned naval officer David Glasgow Farragut, who would be the first admiral in the United States Navy.

In 1808, Jorge “George” Farragut left Tennessee for New Orleans. He died in his plantation, Point Plaquet, in Mississippi in 1814.