SHIP:  
Closed Now
MUSEUM:  
Closed Now
SHIP:  
Closed Now
MUSEUM:  
Closed Now

Frederick Baury’s Book of Common Prayer

Anchor Icon

Prayer books were not uncommon among sailors in the early 19th century. This Episcopal Church prayer book was carried on board USS Constitution during the War of 1812. The flyleaf bears the inscription: “Frederic Baury/ US Frigate Constitution/At Sea Novb 7th 1812.” Frederick Baury was born in 1792 in Middletown, Connecticut. He entered the United States Navy as a midshipman in 1809 and served on board USS Essex, a 36-gun frigate. He transferred to USS Constitution in 1811, serving as signal officer on the quarterdeck, and was involved in the victories over HMS Guerriere on August 19, 1812 and HMS Java on December 29, 1812. Baury was transferred to the sloop-of-war Wasp in 1813, but apparently did not take the book with him. In November 1814—just two years after inscribing his prayer book—Wasp and her entire crew went missing in the South Atlantic and were never found.

Date Created
1790-1812

Medium
Paper, Ink, Leatherbound

Dimensions
[H]5 7/8 in. [W]4 1/8 in. [D]2 1/8 in.

Catalog Number
697.1

Credit Line
USS Constitution Museum Collection. Mrs. Frederick F. Reinert Gift.

Terms of Use

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Other Items in Category

A letter to Wm. Wilberforce, Esq. M. P. on the subject of impressment; calling on him and the philanthropists of this country to prove those feelings of sensibility they expressed in the cause of humanity on negro slavery, by acting with the same ardour and zeal in the cause of the British seamen Analectic Magazine and Naval Chronicle Message from the President of the U. States, Recommending an Immediate Declaration of War, Against Great Britain. The Analectic Magazine Volume 2 The Analectic Magazine Volume 6 A Complete List of the American Navy. Showing the Name, Number of Guns, Commander’s Name, and Station of each Vessel, To July 1, 1813—Including those on the Lakes… / Steele’s List of the Royal Navy of Great Britain, for 1813. A List and Description of the American Navy at the Ports of Boston, New York and Norfolk Virginia A Proclamation, For recalling and prohibiting His Majesty’s natural-born Subjects from serving in the Sea or Land Forces of the United States of America. An Inquiry into the Causes and Consequences of the Orders in Council; and an Examination of the Conduct of Great Britain Towards the Neutral Commerce of America At the Court at Carlton House, The Twenty-third Day of June 1812. Present, His Royal Highness The Prince Regent in Council. Frederick Baury’s Book of Common Prayer Free Trade and Sailors’ Rights. Huzza for the Constitution Isaac Mayo’s Private Journal at Sea from 1809 to 1819 King James Bible removed from USS President Letter from John Cushing Aylwin to William Aylwin, June 12, 1812 Letter from William Bainbridge to John Brooks, June 13, 1814 Message from the President of the United States, transmitting the Treaty of Peace and Amity between the United States and His Britannic Majesty Mr. Madison’s War. A Dispassionate Inquiry into the Reasons Alleged by Mr. Madison for Declaring an Offensive and Ruinous War Against Great Britain. Together with some Suggestions as to a Peaceable and Constitutional Mode of Averting Dreadful Calamity. By A New-England Farmer. Naval Order Book for 1814 Seaman’s Protection Certificate for James Reed, Jr., December 21, 1814 Telescope used to observe USS Chesapeake vs HMS Shannon The Naval Chronicle, for 1812: Containing a General and Biographical History of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom; with a Variety of Original Papers on Nautical Subjects. Under the Guidance of Several Literary and Professional Men. Vol. XXVII. The Port Folio, Vol. 2, No. 1 WAR DECLARED!!