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John Marston (sailor)
John Marston (June 12, 1795 – April 7, 1885) was an officer in the United States Navy. Early career During the War of 1812, Marston served as a messenger and carried the first news of Commander Isaac Hull's capture of HMS ''Guerriere'' to John Adams at Quincy, Massachusetts. The former president's influence gained him an appointment as midshipman, the warrant being dated April 15, 1813. Marston saw some service during the War of 1812, and was later aboard USS ''Constitution'' when Lord Byron visited the famous frigate. In 1825 Marston was promoted to the grade of lieutenant, and was aboard USS ''Brandywine'' when she conveyed Marquis de Lafayette to France. In 1827–29 Marston served in the Pacific squadron, and again in 1833 and 1834. In 1840 he was assigned to the frigate USS ''United States'', and in the following year was commissioned commander. In 1850 he was assigned to the command USS '' Yorktown'', on the coast of Africa, and he was in charge of the Philadelphia Nava ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Kenya. In the 17th century, a midshipman was a rating for an experienced seaman, and the word derives from the area aboard a ship, amidships, either where he worked on the ship, or where he was berthed. Beginning in the 18th century, a commissioned officer candidate was rated as a midshipman, and the seaman rating began to slowly die out. By the Napoleonic era (1793–1815), a midshipman was an apprentice officer who had previously served at least three years as a volunteer, officer's servant or able seaman, and was roughly equivalent to a present-day petty officer in rank and responsibilities. After serving at least three years as a midshipman or master's mate, he was eligible to take the e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USS Cumberland (1842)
The first USS ''Cumberland'' was a 50-gun sailing frigate of the United States Navy. She was the first ship sunk by the ironclad CSS ''Virginia''. ''Cumberland'' began in the pages of a Congressional Act. Congress passed in 1816 "An act for the gradual increase of the Navy of the United States." The act called for the U.S. to build several ships-of-the-line and several new frigates, of which ''Cumberland'' was to be one. Money issues, however, prevented ''Cumberland'' from being finished in a timely manner. It was not until Secretary of the Navy Abel Parker Upshur came to office that the ship was finished. A war scare with Britain led Upshur to order the completion of several wooden sailing ships and for the construction of new steam powered ships. Designed by famed American designer William Doughty, ''Cumberland'' was one a series of frigates in a class called the ''Raritan''-class. The design borrowed heavily from older American frigate designs such as ''Constitution'' an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
