Editing Jonathan Thorn (section)

==Brooklyn Navy Yard ==

Thorn was assigned as the first commandant of the [[Brooklyn Navy Yard|New York Navy Yard]] at age 27 in June 1806 and served there for 13 months. Appointed an acting lieutenant in November 1803, he was promoted to full [[Lieutenant (navy)|lieutenant]] on 16 February 1807.<ref name=trgcdeath/> Thorn was the youngest officer ever to command a United States Naval Yard. His letters reflect his efforts to build, preserve, and inventory gunboats.  "A junior officer Thorn's position at the navy yard and his independence of action were hampered by his rank and a somewhat suspicious and inflexible nature. Thorn's tenure in Brooklyn though was brief; his few surviving letters disclose a young man plagued by doubts, suffering poor physical and possibly mental health. In July 1807 Thorn exhausted requested and was granted a leave of absence. In addition to his health, Thorn was probably frustrated by the lack of promotional opportunities. In the peacetime navy promotions were few and Thorn must have sensed his tenure in Brooklyn would not improve his prospects..."<ref>Sharp, John G.M. ''A Documentary History of the New York (Brooklyn) Navy Yard 1806-1856'' 2019, http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/portsmouth/shipyard/sharptoc/brooklyn-sharp.html</ref>