(1761-1807) was born in Falmouth, now Portland, on August 15, 1761 and has been called the “Father of the American Navy.” He played a decisive role in keeping the waters of Maine safe from Barbary pirates as Commander of U.S. naval forces during much of the Tripolitan War, 1801-1805.
On March 2, 1818, in the U.S. House of Representatives, a bill was “read twice, and committed to a committee of the whole House on Monday next,” regarding “Appropriation of $2,500 as prize money, split between Commodore Preble, and Captain Stewart and the officers of the Syren, for capturing the brig Transfe.”
Preble ran off to sea at age 16 and served with the Massachusetts navy during the Revolutionary War. He died in Portland on August 25, 1807. Fort Preble, at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland, is named in his honor.
Additional resources
Kirkland, John Thornton. Life of Commodore Preble [microform] United States. 1810? [University of Maine, Raymond H. Fogler Library, Microforms]
McKee, Christopher. Edward Preble: A Naval Biography, 1761-1807. Annapolis. Naval Institute Press. 1972.
Pratt, Fletcher. Preble’s Boys: Commodore Preble and the Birth of American Sea Power. New York. Sloane. 1950.
United States. Congress. House. A Bill Authorizing the Distribution of a Sum of Money among the Representatives of Commodore Edward Preble, and the Officers and Crew of the Brig Syren. [microform] Washington. 1818. [University of Maine, Raymond H. Fogler Library, Microforms]
Waldo, S. Putnam (Samuel Putnam). Biographical sketches of distinguished American naval heroes in the war of the revolution, between the American Republic and the Kingdom of Great Britain; comprising sketches of Com. Nicholas Biddle, Com. John Paul Jones, Com. Edward Preble, and Com. Alexander Murray. With incidental allusions to other distinguished characters . . . Hartford. S. Andrus. 1823.