William Howard Allen William Howard Allen ( July 8 , 1790 - November 9 , 1822 ) was a United States naval officer . He was born in Hudson , New York in 1790 ; appointed midshipman in 1808 ; commanded the Alligator , which was sent to the West Indies to destroy pirates in 1822 . He died while attempting to board a pirate vessel in 1822 . A monument to his memory has been erected in Hudson NY . This article , image , template or category should belong in one or more categories . Please categorize it so it may be associated with related articles , images , templates or categories . Thank you . Please remove this template after categorizing . This article has been tagged since October 2006 . This United States Navy article is a stub . You can help Wikipedia by expanding it . This biographical article related to the United States Navy is a stub . You can help Wikipedia by expanding it . Categories : Uncategorized from October 2006 | United States Navy stubs | United States Navy personnel stubs October 2006 