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At age ten, David Glasgow Farragut became the youngest midshipman ever assigned to a warship in the U. S. Navy. At roughly the same age as a fifth grader would be today, Farragut had his commission papers signed by President James Madison and then reported aboard the Essex to engage the British Navy in battle during the War of 1812. On board the Essex, led by Captain Porter, Farragut would not... More

At age ten, David Glasgow Farragut became the youngest midshipman ever assigned to a warship in the U. S. Navy. At roughly the same age as a fifth grader would be today, Farragut had his commission papers signed by President James Madison and then reported aboard the Essex to engage the British Navy in battle during the War of 1812. On board the Essex, led by Captain Porter, Farragut would not only have to learn much about life at sea, he would have to establish his authority over seamen twice his age. Was he up to the challenge?

Indeed he was, as the Essex first sailed the Atlantic and then traveled "around the Horn" to the Pacific where it surprised and took possession of British warships and whaling vessels alike. In fact, it was in taking command of one of those captured ships off of Valparaiso, Chile, that Farragut, then only twelve years old, was assigned his first position as full captain and was given the captain's sword he had coveted from the start.

In Take Command, Captain Farragut!, Peter and Connie Roop imagine a series of letters written by Farragut to his father while on a prison ship after the British eventually defeated and captured the Essex. The letters tell of Farragut's drive to excel despite his youth, and bring to life both his courage and confidence in facing challenges far beyond his years.