William Howard Allen  American Privateer  Born: July 8, 1790
Died: November, 1822  William Howard Allen was a Lieutenant in
the United States navy, and a native of the city of Hudson.
While a child, he was sent to school in London, England, but
returned to Hudson only a year later, where he attended the
Hudson Academy for boys before moving to the seminary in
Doylestown, Pa., where he completed the remainder of his
education. Quick, intelligent, and driven to achieve, he was
appointed to midshipman in the United States navy in 1808. In
1811, his hard work earned him the commission of second
lieutenant, and afterwards assigned to duty on the USS Argus.
The Argus was patrolling it's assigned course on August 13th,
1813 when it encountered the British sloop-of-war Pelican. Since
American and English forces were still under orders to attack
the other on sight, the two ships moved to engage.  The offical
accounting of the battle reports:  "Although this vessel was
superior to her in size, men, and metal, yet the