[ܒkäniŋܖhæm]

Conyngham, Gustavus ˈkäniŋܖhæm (1747-1819) naval officer, born in County Donegal, Ireland. In 1775 Conyngham sailed to Holland to purchase military supplies for the Continental army, but British pressure prevented him from acquiring any cargo. Stranded in France, Conyngham was given a commission by American representatives, including Benjamin Franklin, who were in Paris seeking aid from the French. Conyngham was commissioned captain of the lugger Surprise in 1777 and within a week of sailing had captured two British vessels. Ordered by the French (who seized his commission) to return the ships, Conyngham went back to sea a few months later in the cutter Revenge and captured or destroyed at least sixty vessels in twenty-two months.

Conyngham spent most of his time after the Revolutionary War trying to win recognition of and compensation for his services during the war from Congress. Because his original commission had been seized and never returned, his case was difficult to prove, and suffered from Congress's impatience with the number and quality of commissions Benjamin Franklin had given out in Paris, and Congress denied his petition. The commission turned up shortly before World War I in a print shop in Paris and was bought by an American collector.

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