John Rodgers (naval Officer, Civil War)
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John Rodgers (August 8, 1812 – May 5, 1882) was an admiral in the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
. He began his naval career as a commander in the American Civil War and during his postwar service became an admiral.


Early life and career

Rodgers, a son of the famous Commodore John Rodgers, was born near
Havre de Grace, Maryland Havre de Grace (), abbreviated HdG, is a city in Harford County, Maryland, Harford County, Maryland, United States. It is situated at the mouth of the Susquehanna River and the head of Chesapeake Bay. It is named after the port city of Le Havre ...
. He received his appointment as a midshipman in the
Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
on April 18, 1828. Service in the
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on board and opened his long career of distinguished service, and he commanded an expedition of Naval Infantry and Marines in Florida during the
Seminole Wars The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were a series of three military conflicts between the United States and the Seminoles that took place in Florida between about 1816 and 1858. The Seminoles are a Native American nation which co ...
. In the mid-1850s he succeeded Commander Ringgold in command of the
North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition The North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition, also known as the Rodgers-Ringgold Expedition was a United States scientific and exploring project from 1853 to 1856. Commander Cadwalader Ringgold (1802–1867) led the expedition until ...
, which added greatly to the knowledge of far eastern and northern waters. Following his promotion to commander in 1855, he married and settled to work in the Navy's Japan Office in Washington, D.C., where he was serving when the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...
broke out.


Civil War service

Commander Rodgers' first war assignment was to go with Commodore Louis M. Goldsborough to Gosport Navy Yard on April 20, 1861, where with other officers he was to remove Naval vessels and assets so they could not be used by the Confederates. Virginia had only just declared her secession from the Union. Upon arrival they found the yard in shambles, as Commodore McCauley had already ordered the vessels at Gosport scuttled, including the , since he considered the yard indefensible. Commodore Goldsborough made the decision to destroy the yard, and Commander Rodgers and Army Captain of Engineers Horatio G. Wright were given the job of destroying the drydock. They were thwarted in this attempt when the fuse was extinguished by water in the pumping gallery. Commander Rodgers and Captain Wright were captured by General
William B. Taliaferro William Booth Taliaferro ( ; December 28, 1822 – February 27, 1898) was a United States Army officer, a lawyer, legislator, Confederate general in the American Civil War, and Grand Master of Masons in Virginia. Early and family life and educa ...
of the Virginia State Militia, but since Virginia had not yet joined the
Confederate States The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States from 1861 to 1865. It comprised eleven U.S. states th ...
, and was therefore not at war against the United States, Governor
John Letcher John Letcher (March 29, 1813January 26, 1884) was an American lawyer, journalist, and politician. He served as a Representative in the United States Congress, was the 34th Governor of Virginia during the American Civil War, and later served in ...
returned the two officers to Washington. Commander Rodgers was then sent to the Western Rivers, where he organized the
Western Flotilla The Mississippi River Squadron was the Union brown-water naval squadron that operated on the western rivers during the American Civil War. It was initially created as a part of the Union Army, although it was commanded by naval officers, and ...
and supervised construction of the City-class gunboats, the first ironclad
gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...
s on the western rivers. He was relieved by Captain
Andrew Hull Foote Andrew Hull Foote (September 12, 1806 – June 26, 1863) was an American naval officer who was noted for his service in the American Civil War and also for his contributions to several naval reforms in the years prior to the war. When the war cam ...
, a more senior officer being required by the Navy to deal with the prickly Major General
John C. Fremont John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
. After blockading operations off of
Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...
in command of the , he assumed command of the experimental ironclad in April 1862, operating with distinction in the
James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...
. He commanded the James River Flotilla, including the USS ''Galena'', the ironclad , and the 90-day gunboat in an expedition up the James River in May 1862, which was stopped eight miles shy of
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by Confederate fortifications at
Drewry's Bluff Drewry's Bluff is located in northeastern Chesterfield County, Virginia, in the United States. It was the site of Confederate Fort Darling during the American Civil War. It was named for a local landowner, Confederate Captain Augustus H. Drewry ...
. The damage that the ''Galena'' suffered in the ensuing battle caused him to report, "We demonstrated that she is not shotproof", and made him disdainful of trying experiments in the fires of war. Thereafter he supported General McClellan's
Peninsula Campaign The Peninsula campaign (also known as the Peninsular campaign) of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March to July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The oper ...
with Naval bombardment, preventing Confederate forces from overrunning the
Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...
's position. John Rodgers was promoted to captain July 16, 1862 and took command of the ironclad monitor . After successfully navigating her from
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to Charleston through the same storm that sank the , he distinguished himself during the attack on
Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a historical Coastal defense and fortification#Sea forts, sea fort located near Charleston, South Carolina. Constructed on an artificial island at the entrance of Charleston Harbor in 1829, the fort was built in response to the W ...
in May 1863, and in capturing the Confederate ram ''Atlanta'' on June 17, 1863. The latter service won him the
Thanks of Congress The Thanks of Congress is a series of formal resolutions passed by the United States Congress originally to extend the government's formal thanks for significant victories or impressive actions by United States, American military commanders and th ...
and promotion to commodore. Unfortunately, this was his last active service in the Civil War. After recovering from an illness, he took command of the ironclad monitor . Design and construction problems with that vessel kept him occupied for the remainder of the war, though he earnestly desired a more active post.


Post-war career

Rodgers then commanded the
Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...
from 1866 until 1869. He was elevated to
rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
in December 1869 and given command of the
Asiatic Squadron The Asiatic Squadron was a squadron (naval), squadron of United States Navy warships stationed in East Asia during the latter half of the 19th century. It was created in 1868 when the East India Squadron was disbanded. Vessels of the squadron w ...
on February 5, 1870. In 1871, he commanded the American squadron in the
United States expedition to Korea The United States expedition to Korea, known in Korea as the ''Shinmiyangyo'' () or simply the Korean Expedition, was an American military action in Korea that took place predominantly on and around Ganghwa Island in 1871. Background Freder ...
. Upon returning to the United States, he was selected for command of
Mare Island Mare Island (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Isla de la Yegua'') is a peninsula in the United States in the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait junc ...
on June 15, 1873, where he served for almost four years. He was appointed Superintendent of the
United States Naval Observatory The 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 ...
in April 1877 and died in the role in Washington, D.C., on May 5, 1882. He was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.


Namesake

Rodgers' father was Commodore John Rodgers (1772–1838) and his grandfather, also named John Rodgers, was a colonel who commanded a regiment during the Revolutionary War. Admiral Rodgers was the grandfather of pioneering Naval aviator Commander John Rodgers (1881–1926). Six ships of the United States Navy have been named in their honor; either as or .


Family

He was the father of William L. Rodgers, who became an Vice Admiral in the U.S. Navy. His brother, , served as a colonel in the Union Army during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
and was married to Sarah C. Perry who was the daughter of Commodore
Matthew C. Perry Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a United States Navy officer who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War. He led the Perry Expedition that Bakumatsu, ended Japan' ...
. His nephews
Frederick Rodgers Rear Admiral Frederick W. Rodgers (3 October 1842 – 3 November 1917) was an officer in the United States Navy. He fought in the American Civil War and rose to be the last commander of the Asiatic Squadron. He was a grandson of U.S. Navy Comm ...
and (1848-1933) (sons of Robert), would both become Rear Admirals in the United States Navy.


See also

*
Calbraith Perry Rodgers Calbraith Perry Rodgers Jr. (January 12, 1879 – April 3, 1912) was an American aviation pioneer. He made the first transcontinental airplane flight across the U.S. from September 17, 1911, to November 5, 1911, with dozens of stops, both inte ...
* Bibliography of Naval history of the American Civil War


References


General references

* Robert Erwin Johnson, ''Rear Admiral John Rodgers, 1812–1882''. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1967.


External links

* *Th
Meigs Family papers
at
Hagley Museum and Library The Hagley Museum and Library is a nonprofit educational institution in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near Wilmington. Covering more than along the banks of the Brandywine Creek, the museum and grounds include the first du Po ...
contain a series of correspondence between Louisa Rodgers Meigs (John Rodgers' mother) and her children. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodgers, John Union Navy officers United States Navy admirals People from Havre de Grace, Maryland 1812 births 1882 deaths Rodgers family Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)