Joseph Berry Breck
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Joseph Berry Breck
OR:
Joseph Berry Breck on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Joseph Berry Breck (July 12, 1828 – July 26, 1865) 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

Breck was born in
Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
, the son of Benjamin Dunton Breck and Jane S. Simmons. Breck had a successful career in the American mercantile marine as a
shipmaster A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel.Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.3. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficie ...
and businessman, and at the outbreak of the Civil War was engaged in the Pacific and China trade, but soon offered his services to the
Navy Department Navy Department or Department of the Navy may refer to: * United States Department of the Navy, * Navy Department (Ministry of Defence), in the United Kingdom, 1964-1997 * Confederate States Department of the Navy, 1861-1865 * Department of the Na ...
. He was eventually commissioned as an Acting Ensign on February 27, 1863. From April 24, 1863 he commanded the screw steamer , taking a prominent part in the destruction of the saltworks at
Masonboro Inlet Masonboro Inlet is an inlet in New Hanover County, North Carolina, separating the town of Wrightsville Beach from Masonboro Island. The inlet was used as a hideout by Confederate blockade runners during the Civil War A civil war or intras ...
, North Carolina, on August 27, 1864, and on many other expeditions ashore. He received rapid promotion; to Acting Master on August 8, 1863, to Acting Volunteer Lieutenant on November 16, 1863, and to Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Commander on November 25, 1864. Although his health was much impaired, Breck remained in command of ''Niphon'' until invalided out of the service by a medical board in November 1864. (His younger brother Lowell Mason Breck (1839–1863), who served under him aboard ''Niphon'', was also invalided out of the Navy suffering from "
consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...
", from which he soon died.) Seeking a climate conducive to his recovery Lt-Cdr. Breck travelled to San Francisco, California, but died on July 26, 1865, soon after his arrival there. He was buried in
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
.


Personal life

Breck was married twice, firstly to Fredonia Gaston, and after her death to Ellen Francis Newell, by whom he had four children; twin daughters, who died in infancy, and two sons. The eldest son, John Leslie Breck (1860–1899) became a noted
impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
painter, while the younger, Edward Breck (1861–1929) was a scholar, journalist, champion golfer and fencer, and an officer of U.S. Naval Intelligence during the Spanish–American and First World Wars.


Namesake

The destroyer (1919–1930) was named for him.


See also


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Breck, Joseph Berry 1828 births 1865 deaths Union Navy officers Military personnel from Maine United States Navy officers People of Maine in the American Civil War Burials at Arlington National Cemetery