Commodore Guert Gansevoort (7 June 1812 – 15 July 1868) was an officer 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 ...

Biography

He was born into an aristocratic

Dutch American Dutch Americans ( nl, Nederlandse Amerikanen) are Americans of Dutch descent whose ancestors came from the Netherlands in the recent or distant past. Dutch settlement in the Americas started in 1613 with New Amsterdam, which was exchanged with ...

family in

Gansevoort, New York Gansevoort is a hamlet in the town of Northumberland in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The hamlet of Gansevoort is named for Peter Gansevoort, a hero in the siege of Fort Stanwix (Fort Schuyler) which contributed to the downfall of Bu ...

, near Albany. The area was named for his paternal grandfather,

Peter Gansevoort Peter Gansevoort (July 17, 1749 – July 2, 1812) was a Colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He is best known for leading the resistance to Barry St. Leger's Siege of Fort Stanwix in 1777. Gansevoort was also ...

, a prosperous businessman who had served in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

and later become a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. Guert was the son of Peter's son Leonard. Peter's daughter, Maria, was the mother of author

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American people, American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his bes ...

. Gansevoort was appointed 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 ...

in the Navy on 4 March 1823. Subsequently, he served in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

on board , , and , receiving promotion to

passed midshipman A passed midshipman, sometimes called as "midshipman, passed", is a term used historically in the 19th century to describe a midshipman who had passed the lieutenant's exam and was eligible for promotion to lieutenant as soon as there was a vacan ...

on 28 April 1832, and to lieutenant on 8 March 1837. In 1842 Gansevoort was serving as first lieutenant aboard the brig , under the command of

Alexander Slidell Mackenzie Alexander Slidell Mackenzie (April 6, 1803 – September 13, 1848), born Alexander Slidell, was a United States Navy officer, famous for his 1842 decision to execute three suspected mutineers aboard a ship under his command in the Somers Mutin ...

, when a planned mutiny was discovered, led by Midshipman Philip Spencer. On the advice of Gansevoort and the other officers Mackenzie sentenced Spencer, Boatswain's Mate

Samuel Cromwell Samuel Cromwell (died December 1, 1842) was a sailor and petty officer (boatswain's mate) aboard the brig USS ''Somers''. Cromwell was feared by the young apprentices who made up the majority of the ship's crew, and was rumored to have served on ...

and Seaman

Elisha Small Elisha Small (died December 1, 1842) was an American sailor who was sailing with the rank of Seaman. He had served on several kinds of ships, including a Slave ship, slaver, before joining the United States Navy. In November 1842, while serving a ...

to death, and on 1 December the three men were hanged from the yardarm. Mackenzie was subsequently court-martialled, but exonerated. Gansevoort's first cousin, Herman Melville, later wrote the novella '' Billy Budd'', inspired by the events. Gansevoort took part in the

First Battle of Tuxpan The First Battle of Tuxpan was the only major battle fought during the Mexican–American War at Tuxpan, Mexico. Background Commodore Matthew C. Perry's Home Squadron extended its blockade of Mexico's eastern ports to include Tuxpan Tuxpan ...

and

First Battle of Tabasco First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

during the Mexican–American War. Promoted to commander on 14 September 1855, Gansevoort landed seamen and marines from in January 1856 to defend

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Territory The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

from Native Americans during the

Puget Sound War The Puget Sound War was an armed conflict that took place in the Puget Sound area of the state of Washington (U.S. state), Washington in 1855–56, between the United States Military, United States military, local militias and members of the ...

. Between 1861 and 1863, during the Civil War, Gansevoort was in charge of ordnance at the

Brooklyn 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. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a semicircular bend ...

, receiving promotion to captain on 16 July 1862, while helping fit out ships which had been acquired for blockade duty. He commanded the ironclad in the last year of the war. Gansevoort retired on 28 January 1867, and was promoted to commodore on the retired list. He died on 15 July 1868 at

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

Namesake

The destroyer (1942–1946) was named for him.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gansevoort, Guert 1812 births 1868 deaths American people of Dutch descent United States Navy personnel of the Mexican–American War Union Navy officers United States Navy officers People from Northumberland, New York People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Gansevoort family Van Rensselaer family