Hiram Paulding (December 11, 1797 – October 20, 1878) was a

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 ...

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 ...

, who served from 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 ...

until after the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

Naval career

The son of

John Paulding John Paulding (October 16, 1758 – February 18, 1818) was an American militiaman from the state of New York during the American Revolution. In 1780, he was one of three men who captured Major John André, a British spy associated with the treas ...

, Paulding was born in

Cortlandt, New York Cortlandt is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States, located at the northwestern edge of the county, at the eastern terminus of the Bear Moun ...

. He was appointed Midshipman on September 1, 1811. During the

, he served on Lakes Ontario and Champlain, commanding the second division from during the

Battle of Lake Champlain The Battle of Plattsburgh, also known as the Battle of Lake Champlain, ended the final British invasion of the northern states of the United States during the War of 1812. An army under Lieutenant General Sir George Prévost and a naval squadr ...

. After the war he served in , off the

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

n coast, and in , the brig , and . On his return from service in ''Macedonian'' 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 ...

(1818–1821), he spent a year's leave at Capt.

Alden Partridge Alden Partridge, (February 12, 1785 - January 17, 1854) was an American author, legislator, officer, surveyor, an early superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and a controversial pioneer in U.S. military educ ...

’s Military Academy (later

Norwich University Norwich University – The Military College of Vermont is a private senior military college in Northfield, Vermont. It is the oldest private and senior military college in the United States and offers bachelor's and master's degrees on-campus ...

Norwich, Vermont Norwich is a town in Windsor County, in the U.S. state of Vermont. The population was 3,612 at the 2020 census. Home to some of the state of Vermont's wealthiest residents, the municipality is a commuter town for nearby Hanover, New Hampshir ...

. In the ensuing years of the decade he served in on 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 ...

station, and in on the Pacific station. While serving on the Paulding was chosen to carry Commodore Hull's dispatches from Callao, Peru, to the mountain headquarters of General Simon Bolivar in the Andes; Paulding's journey of 1,500 miles on horseback was later recorded in his book, Bolivar in His War Camp. The following year he volunteered to serve under John "Roaring Jack" Percival in the as that vessel pursued mutineers of the whaler ''

Globe A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model globe ...

'', then returned to ''United States''. In 1830 he rejoined ''Constellation'' to serve as 1st Lieutenant, as she cruised the Mediterranean for two years, and in 1834 assumed command of the schooner for another Mediterranean tour. Appointed to command the sloop-of-war in 1838, he made a cruise in the

and in 1841 became Executive Officer of 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 ...

In 1844, Paulding was promoted to captain, and in 1845 he assumed command of for a three-year East Indian cruise and took command of that station with the departure of Commodore

James Biddle James Biddle (February 18, 1783 – October 1, 1848), of the Biddle family, brother of financier Nicholas Biddle and nephew of Capt. Nicholas Biddle, was an American commodore. His flagship was . Education and early career Biddle was born in Ph ...

for the United States. Between 1848 and 1852 he commanded in the Baltic, North, and Mediterranean Seas, then assumed command of the

Washington Navy Yard The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy. The Yard currently serves as a ceremonial and administrativ ...

. Promoted to

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 ...

, Paulding took command of the

Home Squadron The Home Squadron was part of the United States Navy in the mid-19th century. Organized as early as 1838, ships were assigned to protect coastal commerce, aid ships in distress, suppress piracy and the Atlantic slave trade, make coastal surveys, ...

followed aboard the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

. The squadron was instrumental in foiling the expedition against

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

underway by the American William Walker, who had dreamed of uniting the nations of

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

into a vast military empire led by himself. Through insurrection, Walker became president of Nicaragua in 1856 when Costa Rica declared war to him. After his surrender to an allied Central American army and his return to the United States, Walker attempted for a military comeback when he was captured in 1857 by a landing of Home Squadron

Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

. Stateside controversy over the questionable legality of seizing American nationals in foreign, neutral lands prompted President

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

to relieve Paulding of his command, forcing him into retirement. In 1861, Paulding was appointed by President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

to assist in building up a wartime fleet. He then took over the New York Navy Yard. Paulding was assigned to evacuate ships from the

Norfolk Naval Shipyard 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 ...

, which the Confederates planned to seize, in April 1861. Paulding found that

Charles Stewart McCauley Charles Stewart McCauley (February 3, 1793 – May 21, 1869) was an American naval officer in the War of 1812 and the Civil War. Biography McCauley was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the decade after the American Revolution and educated ...

, commander of the navy yard, had ordered destruction of the ships. Paulding had to complete the work of burning and scuttling the largest number of the ships. He was able to remove the USS ''Cumberland'', towed by the USS ''Pawnee''. The was burned to the waterline, but it was refitted latter as the CSS ''Virginia''. In August 1861, Paulding was named by Secretary of the Navy

Gideon Welles Gideon Welles (July 1, 1802 – February 11, 1878), nicknamed "Father Neptune", was the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1861 to 1869, a cabinet post he was awarded after supporting Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 election. Although opposed ...

to the Ironclad Board, responsible for approving designs for and construction of ironclad warships. The result was the construction of , and (most famously) . Roberts, 1999, p. 5 After the war Paulding served as governor of the Naval Asylum at Philadelphia and as post-admiral 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 ...

. Paulding died at Huntington, Long Island, New York, 20 October 1878. He published a ''Journal of a Cruise Among the Islands of the Pacific'' (1831).

Namesake

The destroyer was named in honor of Rear Admiral Paulding.

Notes

References

* * *Paulding, Hiram. ''Journal of a Cruise of the United States Schooner Dolphin, Among the Islands of the Pacific Ocean; and a Visit to the Mulgrave Islands, in Pursuit of the Mutineers of the Whale Ship Globe.'' New York: G. & C. & H. Carvill, 1831. *Paulding, Hiram. ''Journal of a Cruise of the United States Schooner Dolphin, Among the Islands of the Pacific Ocean; and a Visit to the Mulgrave Islands, in Pursuit of the Mutineers of the Whale Ship Globe With a Map. With a New Introduction by A. Grove Day, Senior Professor of English, Emeritus, University of Hawaii.'' Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press 1970. *Paulding, Hiram. "Bolivar in His War Camp" New York, 1834. *Spencer C. Tucker, ''Blue & Gray Navies: The Civil War Afloat'', Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2006.

External links

*Paulding'
Letterbook of the U.S.S. ''Wabash'', 1857
held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy {{DEFAULTSORT:Paulding, Hiram 1797 births 1878 deaths Union Navy admirals United States Navy rear admirals (upper half) United States Navy personnel of the War of 1812 People from Cortlandt, New York

Naval career

Namesake

Further reading

See also

Notes

References

External links