Edward Weston Carpender ( – May 16, 1877) was a

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 ...

officer who served in three wars. At age 17, he was commissioned a

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 ...

on 10 July 1813 during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, was promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

on 8 September 1841 and served in the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexicans, Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% ...

, and was promoted to commodore and served in 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 ...

.Obituary , Commodore E. W. Carpender in ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', issue of Friday, May 18, 1977, p. 4.Obituary in ''The Times'', published at Philadelphia, Pa., issue of May 18, 1977, p. 2.

Military career

On January 13, 1825, Carpender was promoted to the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

. In 1827 he was attached to the

Mediterranean Squadron. From 1829 to 1830 he served as an officer aboard the sloop-of-war USS ''Falmouth'' of the West India Squadron. From 1833 to 1834 he was attached to the Naval Rendezvous at

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. In 1840 he served with the

Pacific Squadron The Pacific Squadron was part of the United States Navy squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially with no United States ports in the Pacific, they operated out of storeships which provided naval s ...

on 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 ...

USS ''Constitution''. In 1841 he was promoted to Commander and in 1845 he was placed in charge of

Norfolk Navy Yard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...

as an inspector.

Mexican-American War

In 1846, Carpender participated in the blockade of

Tuxpan Tuxpan (or Túxpam, fully Túxpam de Rodríguez Cano) is both a municipality and city located in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The population of the city was 78,523 and of the municipality was 134,394 inhabitants, according to the INEGI census o ...

as commander of the brig USS ''Truxtun'', during which the ship struck a

sandbar In oceanography, geomorphology, and Earth science, geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank (geography), bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body o ...

, resulting in the surrender of the officers and men to the Mexicans and the destruction of the ship. In October 1848, while in command of the steamship USS ''Iris'', in rescuing a French ship, the barque ''L'Eugènie'' which had struck a bank and become stranded off the anchorage of

Antón Lizardo Antón is a corregimiento in Antón District, Coclé Province, Panama. It is located near the north-western shore of the Gulf of Panama The Gulf of Panama ( es, Golfo de Panamá) is a gulf of the Pacific Ocean off the southern coast of Pana ...

, his initial detention of the ship and crew developed into a diplomatic incident that ultimately involved United States Secretary of State

John M. Clayton John Middleton Clayton (July 24, 1796 – November 9, 1856) was an American lawyer and politician from Delaware. He was a member of the Whig Party who served in the Delaware General Assembly, and as U.S. Senator from Delaware and U.S. Secretar ...

and French Minister of Foreign Affairs

Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (; 29 July 180516 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville (), was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his works ...

American Civil War

Previously retired under the Act of 1855, Carpender returned to duty by 1861, commanding the US Storeship ''Falmouth'', formerly the sloop-of-war USS ''Falmouth'' on which he had served from 1829 to 1830. On July 16, 1862, he was promoted to the rank of commodore. He served as prize commissioner at

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

, Florida from 1864 to 1865.

Post-service life

Carpender retired to Shrewsbury Township, New Jersey, where he died on May 16, 1877, at the home of his brother-in-law, Col. E. T. Williams.Obituary in ''The Monmouth Democrat'', issue of Thursday, May 24, 1877, p. 2. His age at death was reported by the local New Jersey and Philadelphia newspapers to be 81, placing his birth at ca. 1796.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpender, Edward Weston 1790s births 1877 deaths United States Navy personnel of the War of 1812 Union Navy officers People of New York (state) in the American Civil War People from Shrewsbury Township, New Jersey Military personnel from New Jersey