Ship's Crew
John Adams Wish
Rank(s): Midshipman
Dates of Service: 7/25/1816 - 10/1/1833
Death Date: 10/25/1833
Early Life
John Adams Wish was born in South Carolina. His date of birth is not known.
Wish married Mary Barker on October 31, 1824 in Georgetown, South Carolina. Affidavits given after his death give conflicting accounts as to whether or not they had a child.
Wish joined USS Constitution as a midshipman sometime between March 7 and September 15, 1812. He was detached from Constitution on September 10, 1815
Battles and Engagements
Wish was on board for the battles with HMS Guerriere, HMS Java, HMS Cyane and HMS Levant.
Wish was furloughed in March, 1816, but received his lieutenant’s commission while he was on leave. He served as a lieutenant on several different ships and shore stations before transferring to the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1831. He and his wife lived at 527 Pearl Street in Manhattan.
On October 22, 1833, Wish suffered a grave “misfortune.” While “superintending the planting of a cannon” in the New York Navy Yard he received a “severe contusion,” which “caused the dislocation of his left clavicle, and the dislocation, and fracture of several of his ribs, anteriorly and posteriorly, and altogether inflicted a shock upon his constitution which it was inadequate to sustain.” Wish died from his injuries on October 25, 1833 in Brooklyn, New York. After his death, his wife remarried Moses G. Chaddock, and tried to recover pension money due her while she remained a widow.
Crew ID
15223
