Jacob Nagle (1761–1841) was an American and British soldier, sailor, and, above all, diarist who provides an exceptional first-hand account of many of the dramatic events of his lifetime.
When construction on the USS Saratoga was delayed, Nagle took to sea as a privateer in 1780 on Fair American, then on Rising Sun in 1781.
Botany Bay, the First Fleet's designated destination in New South Wales, proved unsuitable for a colony, however, when the expedition landed there in the first month of the new year.
The ships of the First Fleet subsequently moved up the New South Wales coastline, under the direction of Captain Arthur Phillip, soon finding refuge in a splendid harbour which would become known as Port Jackson.
Sirius subsequently acted as a re-supply vessel and communications link between New South Wales, the Pacific Ocean colony of Norfolk Island, and England.
Nagle would spend a year on the island until he was eventually collected by a British vessel and returned to England, arriving there in 1792.