James Lawrence (October 1, 1781 – June 4, 1813) was an officer of the United States Navy. During the War of 1812, he commanded in a single-ship action against , commanded by Philip Broke. He is probably best known today for his last words, "Don't give up the ship!", uttered during the capture of the Chesapeake. The quotation is still a popular naval battle cry, and was invoked in Oliver Hazard Perry's personal battle flag, adopted to commemorate his dead friend. Biography Lawrence was born on October 1, 1781, the son of John and Martha (Tallman) Lawrence, in Burlington, New Jersey, but raised in Woodbury. His mother died when he was an infant, and his Loyalist father fled to Canada during the American Revolution, leaving his half-sister to care for the young Lawrence. He attended Woodbury Academy. Though Lawrence studied law, he entered the United States Navy as a midshipman in 1798. During the Quasi-War with France, he served on and the frigate in the Caribbean. He was commissioned a lieutenant on April 6, 1802, and served aboard in the Mediterranean, taking part in a successful attack on enemy craft on June 2, 1803. In February 1804, he was second in command during the expedition to destroy the captured frigate . Later in the conflict he commanded Enterprise and a gunboat in battles with the Tripolitans. He was also First Lieutenant of the frigate Adams and, in 1805, commanded the small Gunboat No. 6 during a voyage across the Atlantic to North Africa. Although Gunboats No. 2 through 10 (minus No. 7) arrived in the Mediterranean too late to see action, they remained there with Commodore Rodgers's squadron until summer 1806, at which time they sailed back to the United States. On June 12, 1805, Gunboat No. 6 encountered a Royal Navy vessel that impressed three seamen. Subsequently, Lieutenant Lawrence commanded the warships , and . In 1810, he also took part in trials of an experimental spar torpedo. Promoted to the rank of Master Commandant in November 1810, he took command of the sloop of war a year later and sailed her to Europe on a diplomatic mission. From the beginning of the War of 1812, Lawrence and Hornet cruised actively, capturing the privateer Dolphin in July 1812. Later in the year Hornet blockaded the British sloop at Bahia, Brazil, and on February 24, 1813 captured . Upon his