ISAAC HULL (1773-1843). American naval officer, born in Derby, Connecticut and rose to become a Commodore in the U.S. Navy, serving from 1798 until his death in 1843, celebrated for commanding the USS Constitution to victory over HMS Guerriere in the War of 1812.
This scarce Autograph Letter Signed by Isaac Hull is 1 page, measuring 12.5 x 7.75 inches, is datelined "Navy Agents Off[ice], Navy Yard Washington, August 6, 1830", Very Fine. "Duplicate" and numbered "No. 34" at the heading. Addressed to the Hon. John Branch, Secretary of the Navy, it reads: "I have to request that you will be pleased to issue your Requisition on the Secretary of the Treasury, in favour of Richard Smith Cashier of the Branch of the Bank of the United States at Washington, for Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars to meet the Expenses of the Month of July 1830 chargeable to the undermentioned Appropriation for which I am to be held accountable," closing: "With very Great Respect I have the honor to be, Sir, Yr Obt St," and signed "Isaac Hull." Below the signature, the appropriation is itemized under "Pay & Subsistence," with $2,000 "to meet the pursers Requisition" and $500 for "Allotments of Pay," totaling $2,500. An excellent sharp strong deep brown ink signature "Isaac Hull."

Isaac Hull (1773-1843) is best remembered as the commander of USS Constitution in her celebrated August 19, 1812 victory over HMS Guerriere, one of the most significant American naval successes of the War of 1812 and the engagement that earned Constitution her enduring nickname, "Old Ironsides." After further service including command of the Mediterranean and Pacific Squadrons, Hull served as Commandant of the Washington Navy Yard from 1829 to 1835, a post he had assumed the previous year with a thirteen-gun salute; this letter, requesting routine Treasury funds for the Yard's payroll, dates from squarely within that tenure and is addressed to John Branch, who served as Secretary of the Navy under President Andrew Jackson from 1829 to 1831.
Isaac Hull (March 9, 1773 - February 13, 1843) was born in Derby, Connecticut, and rose to become a Commodore in the U.S. Navy, serving from 1798 until his death in 1843.

He first went to sea as a boy, commanded merchant vessels in the 1790s, and was commissioned a Navy lieutenant in 1798, seeing action in the Quasi-War with France and the First Barbary War, where he helped support the capture of Derna in 1805 and rose to captain by 1806.



Hull is best remembered for commanding the USS Constitution in the War of 1812, most famously in its August 19, 1812 victory over the British frigate HMS Guerriere, the first major frigate duel of the war. In under 30 minutes of close combat, Constitution demasted and wrecked the Guerriere, and cannonballs were said to bounce off the American ship's hull, earning it the nickname "Old Ironsides."

The win shattered the myth of British naval invincibility, made Hull a national hero, and earned him a Congressional Gold Medal.

Later in his career he served as commandant of the Washington Navy Yard and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, sat on the first Board of Naval Commissioners, and commanded U.S. squadrons in the Pacific (1824-27) and Mediterranean (1839-41). He died in Philadelphia in 1843 and is buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery.



This Document Transcribed, reads in Full:

Duplicate -- No. 34 -- Navy Agents Off. / Navy Yard Washington /August 6th 1830

Sir,

I have to request that you will be pleased to issue your Requisition on the Secretary of the Treasury, in favour of Richard Smith, Cashier of the Branch of the Bank of the United States at Washington, for Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars to meet the Expenses of the Month of July 1830, chargeable to the undermentioned Appropriation for which I am to be held Accountable.

With very Great Respect / I have the honor to be, Sir, Yr Obt St. -- (Signed) Isaac Hull”

(To) Hon. John Branch

Secretary of the Navy

Washington

"Pay & Subsistence" $2,500

To meet the Pursers Requisition 2000.

do Allotments of Pay &c 500. / Doll. 2500.