So, Who Was This Caleb Cushing the Revenue Cutter Was Named After?-- Part 1

I'd heard of the revenue cutter before, but not the man it was named after.  He also played a role in the Civil War as it turns out.

From Wikipedia.

CALEB CUSHING  (January 17, 1800 to January 2, 1879)

Was an American Democratic politician and diplomat who served in Congress from Massachusetts and was attorney general under President Franklin Pierce.  He was an eager proponent of American territorial and commercial expansion, especially regarding the acquisition of Texas, Oregon and Cuba.

He believed that enlarging the American sphere of influence would would fulfill  "the great destiny reserved for this exemplar American Republic."

He also secured a treaty with China in 1844, which opened  five ports to American trade..  After the Civil War, he secured a treaty with Colombia to give the United States a right-of-way  for a transoceanic across the isthmus of Panama. 

In addition, he also helped obtain a favorable  settlement of the Alabama Claims, and as the ambassador to Spain in the 1870s, helped defuse  the troublesome Virginius Affair.

An Important Man in U.S. History Even If I Didn't Know About Him.  --Old B-Runner

Newport, Rhode Island's Fort Adams-- Part 3: Famous People

Continued from September 16.

During the Mexican War, Fort Adams was commanded by Benjamin Kendrick, brother of President Franklin Pierce.  From 1843 to 1853, it was commanded by Col. Willaim Gala, a War of 1812 veteran.

The garrison was ordered to California and many lost their lives when their ship, the SS San Francisco was wrecked in the North Atlantic December 24, 1853.

During the Civil War, the U.S. Naval Academy was moved to Newport and first located at Fort Adams (along with the USS Constitution),. but later moved to the Atlantic House Hotel (which I have already written about).

Among the future naval officers at Fort Adams was Robley D. Evans.  He was wounded at Fort Fisher and commanded the battleship USS Iowa in the Spanish-American War. Later, he commanded the famous Great White Fleet on the first leg of its world voyage.

--Old B-R'er