Captain Truxtun is noted for his command of the frigate USS Constellation during the Quasi-War with France in 1798 to 1800.
After the Revolution, as a Philadelphia merchant captain, he was a pioneer of American trade with China.
In 1794, Truxtun was appointed one of six captains to oversee the building of the United States Navy's first frigates.
That year, to illustrate a book he was publishing on navigation, he asked naval constructor, Josiah Fox, who would play a part in designing these ships, for a drawing of a 44-gun frigate.
Truxtun commissioned two punch bowls featuring Fox's drawing.