James Riley (captain)


James Riley was the captain of the United States merchant ship.

Early life

James Riley was born in Middletown, Connecticut on October 27, 1777. At age 15, he began serving as a cabin boy on a trading vessel in the West Indies. By age 20 he had become a ship captain.
He married Phebe Miller in January 1802, and they had five children.

''Sufferings in Africa''

Riley led his crew through the Sahara Desert, after they were shipwrecked off the coast of contemporary Morocco in August 1815, and wrote a memoir about their ordeal. This true story describes how they came to be shipwrecked and their travails in the Sahara. The book, published in 1817 and originally titled Authentic Narrative of the Loss of the American Brig 'Commerce' by the 'Late Master and Supercargo' James Riley, is modernly republished as Sufferings in Africa.

Aftermath

He died March 13, 1840, on his vessel the Brig William Tell which he was sailing from New York to "St. Thomas in the Caribbean" "of disease caused by unparalleled suffering more than twenty years previous during his shipwreck and captivity on the desert of Sahara".
In 1851, eleven years after Riley's death at sea, the publishing firm of G. Brewster issued the book Sequel to Riley's Narrative: Being a Sketch of Interesting Incidents in the Life, Voyages and Travels of Capt. James Riley.

Influence

Riley founded the midwestern village of Willshire, Ohio, which he named for William Willshire, the man who redeemed him from slavery.
Abraham Lincoln, who later became president of the United States, listed Sufferings in Africa as one of the three most influential works that shaped his political ideology, particularly his views on slavery. The others were the Bible and The Pilgrim's Progress.

Published accounts

  • , New York: John H. Eddy, cartographe; Collin, graveur; 1816 .
  • Reissue of the original.
  • Brief summary of the historical context of Riley's ordeal, as introduction to an extract from Narrative of the Loss of the American Brig "Commerce", an 1817 edition of Riley's memoir.
  • Based on the original account, rewritten for modern readers; with additional explanatory material.
*