John Washington Lewis was the son of Fielding Lewis Jr. and Nancy Ann Alexander. He was the grandson of Fielding Lewis and Betty Washington Lewis, the brother in law and sister respectively of General and President George Washington. John was a young merchant seaman taken by the Royal Navy and pressed into service despite being an American. John's brother Charles was similarly press ganged. Forced to serve in the Royal Navy, he was on the sloop of war the HMS Rose during the Napoleonic Wars. The plight of John and his brother Charles, as the grand nephews of George Washington, was cited in speeches advocating the declaration of war against Great Britain in 1812. Through the efforts of the Lewis family in Virginia, President Monroe and the US Secretary of State, the British finally released John and Charles and they arrived back home just as the War of 1812 was declared. In 1814 John was living in a boarding house outside Washington City (the District of Columbia). When the British invaded and began to sack the city, John confronted them and was shot dead in the streets of Washington. He has the distinction of being the only American killed during the sacking of Washington.
John Washington Lewis was the son of Fielding Lewis Jr. and Nancy Ann Alexander. He was the grandson of Fielding Lewis and Betty Washington Lewis, the brother in law and sister respectively of General and President George Washington. John was a young merchant seaman taken by the Royal Navy and pressed into service despite being an American. John's brother Charles was similarly press ganged. Forced to serve in the Royal Navy, he was on the sloop of war the HMS Rose during the Napoleonic Wars. The plight of John and his brother Charles, as the grand nephews of George Washington, was cited in speeches advocating the declaration of war against Great Britain in 1812. Through the efforts of the Lewis family in Virginia, President Monroe and the US Secretary of State, the British finally released John and Charles and they arrived back home just as the War of 1812 was declared. In 1814 John was living in a boarding house outside Washington City (the District of Columbia). When the British invaded and began to sack the city, John confronted them and was shot dead in the streets of Washington. He has the distinction of being the only American killed during the sacking of Washington.
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