B. 1750
Nicholas Biddle was an ambitious young sailor who became one of the first captains of the Continental Navy.
Biddle joined the Royal Navy in 1770 (I mean the British side), but when the American Revolution started he offered his services to the Continental Congress. So a traitor, then—though it's funny how you lot don't generally see it that way. Anyway, while he was only a midshipman for the British, Congress quickly gave him command of his own ship, the Franklin. In 1776, he was offered an even better deal—command of a brand new ship, named the Randolph.
History's mute on the reasons behind Biddle's rise to prominence. However, I think I might be able to solve the mystery—we saw Church recruiting him when Connor stopped at Nantucket.
Biddle eventually became a privateer for the Continental Congress, patrolling British shipping routes, harassing their ships and keeping the spoils from any he could capture. He had a reputation as an excellent captain—he divided the spoils evenly and never used corporal punishment against his crew. What a softy. Pitiful, really. Though I think you can see how that would be a job perk.