author
Israel Potter
b. 1744
A Revolutionary War veteran whose life wandered from battlefields to prisons, secret missions, and long years of exile in London, he left behind a memoir full of hardship and improbable turns. His story later helped inspire Herman Melville's novel Israel Potter: His Fifty Years of Exile.
1 Audiobook
Life and Remarkable Adventures of Israel R. Potter
by Israel Potter
About the author
Born in Cranston, Rhode Island, in 1744, Israel Potter became known for a life shaped by the American Revolution and its aftermath. In his own account, he fought at Bunker Hill, served at sea, was captured by the British, escaped, and spent years moving through England and France before settling into a long exile.
His memoir, The Life and Remarkable Adventures of Israel R. Potter, was published in 1824. It presents him as a soldier, sailor, prisoner, and wanderer whose fortunes rose and fell in dramatic ways, making his life read almost like a novel.
Potter died in 1826, but his unusual story continued to attract readers. Herman Melville later drew on his life for Israel Potter: His Fifty Years of Exile, helping preserve the memory of a man whose adventures sat somewhere between documented history and legend.