Commodore Alexander Scammel Wadsworth (1790–April 5, 1851) was an officer of 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 ...

. His more than 40 years of active duty included service in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

Biography

Wadsworth was born in 1790 at

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

. He was appointed a midshipman on 2 April 1804 and was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 21 April 1810. Lt. Wadsworth was the first lieutenant on board during that frigate's successful engagement with in the

. For this action, he received a silver medal and was included in the vote of thanks received by the commanding officer, Isaac Hull, and his officers. Wadsworth later served as first lieutenant of the corvette during that ship's cruise in 1814 when she captured 10 prizes. Promoted to

master commandant Master commandant was a rank within the early United States Navy. Both the Continental Navy, started in 1775, and the United States Navy created by the United States Congress, in 1796, had just two commissioned ranks, lieutenant and captain. Maste ...

on 27 April 1816 for his services during the war, Wadsworth commanded the brig in the Mediterranean Squadron after the

Second Barbary War The Second Barbary War (1815) or the U.S.–Algerian War was fought between the United States and the North African Barbary Coast states of Tripoli, Tunis, and Algiers. The war ended when the United States Senate ratified Commodore Stephen ...

in 1816 and 1817 and later commanded the sloop . Under Wadsworth, ''John Adams'' conducted cruises in 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 Greate ...

in 1818–1819, and 1821–1822 for the suppression of

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

. Promoted to captain on 3 March 1825, he commanded the frigate in the Mediterranean Squadron from 1829 to 1832. Wadsworth was

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 ...

commanding 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 1834 to 1836, a member of the

Board of Navy Commissioners The Board of Navy Commissioners was a United States Navy administrative body in existence from 1815 to 1842, with responsibility for the navy's material support. The three-member Board was created as part of an expansion of the U.S. Navy Departme ...

from 1837 to 1840, and Inspector of Ordnance from 1841 to 1850. Commodore Wadsworth died at

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, on 5 April 1851. He was the son of

Peleg Wadsworth Peleg Wadsworth (May 6, 1748 – November 12, 1829) was an American Patriot officer during the American Revolutionary War and a Congressman from Massachusetts representing the District of Maine. He was also grandfather of noted American p ...

, the uncle of author

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely tran ...

, and namesake of

Alexander Scammel Alexander Scammell (March 22, 1747 – October 6, 1781) was a Harvard educated attorney and an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was wounded on September 30, 1781, near Yorktown and subsequently died on Oc ...

Namesake

Three Navy ships have been named USS ''Wadsworth'' in his honor.

References

External links

history.navy.mil: A.S. Wadsworthwww.navysite.de: USS ''Wadsworth'' (FFG-9)
(picture) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wadsworth, Alexander 1790 births 1851 deaths United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of the War of 1812 Military personnel from Portland, Maine

Biography

Namesake

See also

References

External links