Thomas Jefferson Page (January 4, 1808 -October 23, 1899, Rome) was a career 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 ...

. Under his command USS ''Water Witch'' made the first detailed hydrological studies of the River Plate basin. When Virginia seceded, he resigned to serve in the Confederate Army and later its

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

. Late in the war, Page was captain of the

ironclad An ironclad is a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by Wrought iron, iron or steel iron armor, armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships ...

CSS ''Stonewall''. After the war, he moved to Argentina, where there developed an American community of former Confederates in exile. He was politically active and established a cattle ranch. He assisted the government with its defensive installations and modernizing its navy. After serving as secretary to the Argentine diplomatic mission to Italy, Page moved to Rome with his family. They became part of its American community. He died there in 1899 and was buried in the

Protestant Cemetery, Rome The Cimitero Acattolico (Non-Catholic Cemetery) of Rome, often referred to as the Cimitero dei protestanti (Protestant Cemetery) or Cimitero degli Inglesi (English Cemetery), is a private cemetery in the rione of Testaccio in Rome. It is near ...

Early life

Page was born January 4, 1808, at

Rosewell plantation Rosewell Plantation in Gloucester County, Virginia, was for more than 100 years the home of a branch of the Page family, one of the First Families of Virginia. Begun in 1725, the Flemish bond brick Rosewell mansion overlooking the York River wa ...

in Virginia, the fourteenth son of Mann Page. His mother was Elizabeth Nelson, a daughter of Thomas Nelson Jr., a signer of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...

, and his wife.

United States Navy career

In 1827 Page was appointed a cadet at the United States Naval Academy by President

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States S ...

, in recognition of the services of his grandfathers. He graduated with honors in a class of forty-five members. Page served in the Caribbean, carried out a hydrographical survey of the New York coastline, and worked under Lieutenant

Matthew Fontaine Maury Matthew Fontaine Maury (January 14, 1806February 1, 1873) was an American oceanographer and naval officer, serving the United States and then joining the Confederacy during the American Civil War. He was nicknamed "Pathfinder of the Seas" and i ...

at the

Naval Observatory United States Naval Observatory (USNO) is a scientific and military facility that produces geopositioning, navigation and timekeeping data for the United States Navy and the United States Department of Defense. Established in 1830 as the Depo ...

in Washington. Page commanded the in 1849 in the

East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...

and the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

. He battled Japanese pirates in the brig USS ''Dolphin'' at the mouth of the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

at the request of the

Qing Government The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

. Due to personal reservations about the interests of western powers in China, Page did not accompany Admiral Perry's expedition to the Far East. Following this, Lieutenant Page commanded the USS ''Water Witch'' in which during 1853–56 he explored the South American

Río de la Plata basin The Río de la Plata basin ( es, Cuenca del Plata, pt, Bacia do Prata), more often called the River Plate basin in scholarly writings, sometimes called the Platine basin or Platine region, is the hydrographical area in South America that drains ...

. This included sailing into its tributaries, the rivers Paraná,

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

(and its tributaries the rivers Bermejo and Apa); and the

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. In all, his crew made the first detailed hydrological studies of the

Rio de la Plata Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

. While he was in Paraguayan waters, his ship was fired on by the

an fort Itapirú, killing his helmsman. The US retaliated with the

Paraguay expedition The Paraguay expedition (1858–1859) was an American diplomatic mission and nineteen-ship squadron ordered by President James Buchanan to South America to demand redress for certain wrongs alleged to have been done by Paraguay, and seize its cap ...

. The United States government ordered an expedition of redress against Paraguay; this, however, eventually came to nothing. Page wrote an account of the La Plata expedition, which was published in 1859.

American Civil War

After Virginia seceded from the Union, Commander Page resigned from the United States Navy to take up the defense of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. During the ensuing

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 ...

, he became a Colonel of Artillery and commanded batteries defending the Confederate capital, Richmond. In May 1863, Page was commissioned as a Captain in the

Confederate Navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American ...

and was sent to Europe to purchase vessels. In the last months of the

, he commanded the Confederate ironclad ram CSS ''Stonewall''. But by the time he could get his new ship from Europe to North American waters, the war was over. Captain Page sailed to Havana, where he turned the ship over to the Spanish authorities, as they had supported some Confederate efforts.

Later life

After the war, Page moved to Argentina. Along with other Confederate exiles, he engaged in politics and cattle farming. He assisted in developing Argentine coastal defenses and enhancing the capacity and modernization of the

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the ...

. He introduced numerous modern ideas into strategic and tactical naval formations of Argentina, making it a formidable force throughout the 19th century. He tried, unsuccessfully, to interest the

in a torpedo ship developed by Swedish-American

John Ericsson John Ericsson (born Johan Ericsson; July 31, 1803 – March 8, 1889) was a Swedish-American inventor. He was active in England and the United States. Ericsson collaborated on the design of the railroad steam locomotive ''Novelty'', which com ...

, the inventor of the USS ''Monitor''. Page served as secretary to the Argentine diplomatic mission to Italy. Page and his family eventually moved to

Rome, Italy , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg ...

, where they became mainstays of the American expatriate community there. Page was affectionately called "the Commodore." He died October 23, 1899. He is buried in the

. His tomb was engraved to read: "Thomas Jefferson Page of Virginia; Captain, U.S.N. and C.S.N., Explorer, Christian Gentleman”. It was restored in the late 20th century by the

Sons of Confederate Veterans The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is an American neo-Confederate nonprofit organization of male descendants of Confederate soldiers The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the militar ...

. Descendants of his family, along with those of his younger cousins, are far flung, residing in Argentina, the European Union, the United States, Japan, and China.

Thomas Nelson Page Thomas Nelson Page (April 23, 1853 – November 1, 1922) was an American lawyer, politician, and writer. He served as the U.S. ambassador to Italy from 1913 to 1919 under the administration of President Woodrow Wilson during World War I. In his ...

and

William Nelson Page William Nelson Page (January 6, 1854 – March 7, 1932) was an American civil engineer and industrialist. He was active in the Virginias following the U.S. Civil War. Page was widely known as a metallurgical expert by other industry leaders a ...

were his younger cousins. Thomas Nelson Page served as Ambassador to Italy during the administration of President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

. He visited the grave of his cousin.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Page, Thomas Jefferson United States Navy officers Confederate States Navy captains 1808 births 1899 deaths Burials in the Protestant Cemetery, Rome