Captain James Sever-- Part 7: Others' Opinions of Him

Stephen Higginson, the Navy Agent at Boston thought that"  "Sever will be an excellent naval commander; he is a cool, firm, discreet, gentlemanlike man, who feels and conducts with dignity and zeal proper is station; he is remarkable  for discipline and regularity."

Charles Morris (the Constitution's first lieutenant in 1812)  served under Sever on the USS Congress and held only a partial flattering  opinion of his first commander:  "He was well educated, very austere and distant in his manner, not very amiable in temper, rigid in discipline, , and very punctilious in all manners of military etiquette.

"I believe he was rather deficient in seamanship, but remarkable coolness and self-possession in trying situations  enabled him to decide and direct what was proper to be done better than most of his officers who better understood their profession practically."

He evidently was one of those aboard the Congress when they ran into the problems on its maiden voyageand Sever's junior officers gave him a no confidence vote and several shipped off to the USS Chesapeake.

--Brock-Perry