James Lawrence Lardner (November 20, 1802 – April 12, 1881) 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

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

Born at

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, he was the sixth son of John Lardner and Margaret (née Saltar) Lardner. Lardner was appointed

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 May 10, 1820. He served in 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 ...

from 1821 to 1824, and joined the Mediterranean Squadron in 1825 after escorting

General Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revolutio ...

in back to France. He received promotion to lieutenant on May 17, 1828, and served as navigating officer of the sloop on her historic

circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical object, astronomical body (e.g. a planet or natural satellite, moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first recorded circ ...

, and then served on the flagships of the

Mediterranean 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 e ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and

s. In 1850 he sailed for the coast of Africa in the brig and was promoted to commander on May 17, 1851. Lardner spent three years as commander of ''Porpoise'' and the sloop-of-war in the

Africa Squadron The Africa Squadron was a unit of the United States Navy that operated from 1819 to 1861 in the Blockade of Africa to suppress the slave trade along the coast of West Africa. However, the term was often ascribed generally to anti-slavery oper ...

before returning to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1853. He was promoted to the rank of captain, on May 19, 1861. In September 1861, during the Civil War, Lardner, in command 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 ...

, took a pertinent part in the

Battle of Port Royal The Battle of Port Royal was one of the earliest amphibious operations of the American Civil War, in which a United States Navy fleet and United States Army expeditionary force captured Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, between Savannah, Geor ...

and the capture of Forts Walker and Beauregard. He was commended for gallantry in action by Rear Admiral

Samuel F. Du Pont Samuel Francis Du Pont (September 27, 1803 – June 23, 1865) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy, and a member of the prominent Du Pont family. In the Mexican–American War, Du Pont captured San Diego, and was made commander of the Ca ...

; his name was sent to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

for a vote of thanks 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 ...

. In May 1862, he assumed command of the

East Gulf 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 ...

and was promoted to commodore on July 16, 1862. In December 1862 he returned to Philadelphia to recover from a severe attack of

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

. From May 1863 to October 1864, Lardner commanded the West India Squadron. After his retirement on November 20, 1864, he was appointed rear admiral on July 25, 1866. He served on special duty with various boards until 1869, when he was appointed Governor of the Naval Asylum, Philadelphia. He held this post until 1871. Lardner died on April 12, 1881, in Philadelphia.

Namesakes

Two United States Navy destroyers have been named for him.

Personal life

Lardner married Margaret Wilmer on February 2, 1832, and they had three children, two of whom died in infancy. After his wife's death on April 25, 1846, he married her sister, Ellen Wilmer and had two further sons. It was because of James Lawrence Lardner that one of his nephews came to be known as

Ring Lardner Ringgold Wilmer Lardner (March 6, 1885 – September 25, 1933) was an American sports columnist and short story writer best known for his satirical writings on sports, marriage, and the theatre. His contemporaries Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Wo ...

: James Lardner was a friend of

Cadwalader Ringgold Cadwalader Ringgold (August 20, 1802 – April 29, 1867) was an officer in the United States Navy who served in the United States Exploring Expedition, later headed an expedition to the Northwest and, after initially retiring, returned to service ...

, another Navy officer who also became a rear admiral. James Lardner named one of his sons "Ringgold Wilmer Lardner", and James' brother gave exactly the same name to his own son after the newborn's cousin. Ring Lardner never liked his given name and shortened it, yet he "lost the battle" when his son,

Ring Lardner, Jr. Ringgold Wilmer Lardner Jr. (August 19, 1915 – October 31, 2000) was an American screenwriter. A member of the "Hollywood Ten", he was blacklisted by the Hollywood film studios during the late 1940s and 1950s after his appearance as an ...

was named after him.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lardner, James L. 1802 births 1881 deaths United States Navy admirals Union Navy officers People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War