Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Charles Stewart Boggs (28 January 1811 – 22 April 1888) served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

and the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Early life and career

Boggs was born in

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.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 Afr ...

in November 1826 and was assigned to the

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

until 1830, when he began two years at sea on board the

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

''Porpoise''. For the rest of the 1830s and the 1840s he had duties ashore and afloat, receiving his commission as Lieutenant in 1837, while serving in the ship of the line ''North Carolina''. He was an officer in the steamer ''Princeton'' during the

and executive officer of the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

''St. Lawrence'' in 1851. Promoted to the rank of Commander in 1855, Boggs commanded two mail steamers during the next four years and was a lighthouse inspector at San Francisco, California in 1860–1861.

Civil War service

In December 1861 Boggs was given command of the

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

. The following April, during the

Capture of New Orleans The capture of New Orleans (April 25 – May 1, 1862) during the American Civil War was a turning point in the war, which precipitated the capture of the Mississippi River. Having fought past Forts Jackson and St. Philip, the Union was u ...

, he commanded her with distinction:

In the attack of the squadron on the
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
forts, April 18–24 ... he destroyed six of the Confederate gunboats, but finally lost his own vessel, after driving his antagonist ashore in flames. When he found the ''Varuna'' sinking, he ran her ashore, tied her to the trees, and fought his guns until the water was over the guntracks.Ripley and Dana, p. 686.

''Varuna'' was lost in the battle with 184 casualties. Receiving his Captain's commission in July 1862, during the rest of the

he was commanding officer of the

steam sloop Steam frigates (including screw frigates) and the smaller steam corvettes, steam sloops, steam gunboats and steam schooners, were steam-powered warships that were not meant to stand in the line of battle. There were some exceptions like for exam ...

s ''Juniata'' and ''Sacramento'', with the

North Atlantic Blockading Squadron The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading. The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required the monitoring of of Atlantic ...

, the steam

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

''Connecticut'' in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

, and had special duty at the

New York Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a ...

Post-war service and last years

In 1866–68 Boggs commanded the

. As a

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

, he had another tour of lighthouse inspection service in 1869–1870, receiving promotion to rear admiral during this time. His final seagoing service was as commander of the European Fleet in 1871. Retired in January 1872, he remained on duty as Secretary of the Light House Board until mid-1873. Rear Admiral Charles S. Boggs died at

Namesake

The destroyer USS ''Boggs'' (DD-136) was named for him.

Footnotes

References

* Ripley, George; Dana, Charles A. (Ed.) (1863): ''

The New American Cyclopedia ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge'', Volume XVI, V-Zwirner, D. Appleton & Company, New York. * *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boggs, Charles Stewart 1811 births 1877 deaths Union Navy admirals United States Navy personnel of the Mexican–American War United States Navy rear admirals (upper half) People from New Brunswick, New Jersey People of New Jersey in the American Civil War