John Minor Maury (1795 – June 23, 1823) was an officer of the United States Navy whose life and career was ended by yellow fever.
He was appointed midshipman in the spring of 1809, on a warrant backdated to 16 January (a common practice in the navy at the time), and he was assigned to the USS United States.
Once at Macau, they were informed of a recent sandalwood discovery by their agent, James Wilcocks, and at the end of May the Packet departed on what Lewis described as "a secret expedition.
When the Hunter arrived at Nuku Hiva (on their second call there), Rogers discovered that elephant ivory was unknown to the Marquesans, and the fakes were apparently of such quality that the chiefs were duped into believing them to be genuine.
He promptly resigned as captain of the Packet and made plans to depart for the United States, but business affairs and his health kept him in Macau long enough to become stranded when the English blockaded the harbor beginning May 18, 1813.
[5] Upon the arrival of the Essex Maury learned of the War of 1812 and immediately signed on with David Porter (naval officer).
Upon his return, Maury made his way to upstate New York in time to participate with the Battle of Lake Champlain as a subordinate of Commander Thomas Macdonough.
It was during this visit, around late 1814 or early 1815, that he told his siblings, including his youngest brother, Matthew Fontaine Maury, the stories of his island adventure.
Unfortunately, several of Lewis' references and footnotes turned out to be faulty, including the source of her new information, John's son Dabney.
These letters had somehow missed prior scholarly attention and provided details that rewrote the historical understanding of Maury's presence on Nuku Hiva.