GARRETT J. PENDERGRAST (1802-1862)-- Naval officer War of 1812, Mexican War and Civil War.
GEORGE C. REAAD (1788-1862)-- Naval officer
WILLIAM RONCKENDORFF (1812-1891)-- Naval officer in Mexican and Civil War.
PINKERTON R. VAUGHAN, USMC (1841-1866)-- Medal of Honor recipient on USS Mississippi during action at Port Hudson.
JACOB ZEILIN (1806-1880)-- USMC Commandant and first Marine general.
--Old B-R'er
From Wikipedia.
While researching the West Laurel Hill Cemetery, I found out it was a part of the larger Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia. I figured I might as well look there for notables while Road Trippin'.
There were some, including naval officers who served during the War of 1812 which included the commander of the USS Constitution in its famed battle with the HMS Guerriere, Isaac Hull. And, there were several other naval officers from the War of 1812, Mexican and Civil Wars.
I'll write about the War of 1812 navy officers in my Not So Forgotten: War of 1812 blog.
Also, Union General George Gordon Meade, the victor at the Battle of Gettysburg is buried there.
Any naval officer connected to the Civil War will be listed in this blog.
--Old B-R'er
From Find-A-Grave.
JOHN BARRIEN MONTGOMERY
BIRTH: 17 November 1794, Allentown, New Jersey
DEATH: 25 March 1873 (aged 78), Carlisle, Pennsylvania
BURIAL: Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
United States Navy officer. A native of New Jersey, he joined the U.S. Navy in June 1812, several days before the outbreak of the War of 1812.
Assigned the rank of midshipman, he served throughout with distinction throughout the war, including being aboard the USS Niagara during the September 13, 1813 Battle of Lake Erie. This was the ship that Oliver Hazaed Perry moved to after his flagship, the USS Lawrence, was put out of action at the battle.
--Old B-Runner
Right now, we are taking a RoadTrip through history with the USS Montgomery. This is the fifth ship to bear the name, starting with the American Revolution with the first one, then the War of 1812, Civil War, Spanish-American War and now both World Wars up to the current ship of that name.
One of the things I do when RoadTrippin' is to find out how the ship got its name.
The first two were named after American hero, Gen. Richard Montgomery who was killed in the American Revolution, I believe the third Montgomery had its name because that was the ship's name when the U.S. Navy purchased the ship during the Civil War.
The 4th USS Montgomery was named after the capital of Alabama. The current one (the 6th of that name) was also named after the state capital.
The 5th one, the USS Montgomery (DD-121) was named after Rear Admiral John B. Montgomery. He was a veteran of the Mexican War and Civil War. U.S. destroyers are traditionally named after people.
--Old B-Runner
Continuing with our roadtrip through history with this ship.
The second USS Montgomery was listed as a sloop or schooner during the War of 1812.
The Wikipedia article said it was built by Thomas Macdonough in 1813 and part of his fleet to keep the British Navy from controlling Lake Champlain. It participated in convoying Wade Hampton's troops in their advance to Canada.
The only other two things were that the ship was decommissioned and sold in 1815 and that it was also named after Gen. Richard Montgomery.
This paltry amount of information was surprising in that this ship would have been available to fight in the Battle of Lake Champlain where the American fleet was commanded by Macdonough. Why wouldn't he have used it?
After further research, I believe that Macdonough wasn't impressed with the ship very much and that there was a naval arms race going on with both the British and Americans launching more and bigger ships. Evidently, whenever a new ship was launched, Macdonough would take cannons and sailors off the Montgomery.
I have come across mention that the Montgomery and several other ships were left behind at Plattsburgh to defend the town.
--Old B.Runner
Jackie Robinson (1919-1972): Broke MLB's Color Barrier. The first black player to play.
Mae West (1893-1980) Well-known actress.
Hiram Cronk (1800-1905) The last-known survivor of the War of 1812. An estimated 925,000 people paid their respects at his death.
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Some good quotes from Mae:
** When I'm good, I'm very good. But when I'm bad I'm better.
** You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.
** Well behaved women do not make history.
--Cooter
In the last post, I wrote that Sinclair was stationed on this ship as a surgeon. Well, let's face it, a ship commissioned in the Confederate Navy with a name like the United States might seem a bit strange. So, I did a little more research on it.
From Wikipedia.
USS UNITED STATES
This ship certainly had a long and distinguished history in the United States Navy and was one of the six original frigates authorized by the USS Congress under the Naval Act of 1794. This means she was a sister ship of the famed USS Constitution.
She was built in Philadelphia at a cost of $299,336 and launched on 10 May 1797.
She saw service in the Quasi War with France, but did not participate in the First Barbary War. In the War of 1812, she had a famed battle with the HMS Macedonian.
--Old B-Runner
Back on Feb. 22 I had two great discoveries as I was doing a different blog than this.
While I was going through a list of War of 1812 soldiers and sailors buried at Portland, Maine's Eastern Cemetery, there were also American Revolution and Civil War soldiers in the list. The very first one was of a Civil War veteran of the U.S. Navy named Rear Admiral James Alden.
It had this to say from his monument.
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Rear Admiral
James Alden
Born in Portland March 31, 1810
Died in San Francisco Feb. 6, 1877
Intrepid explorer, skillful hydrographer, Cartographer of west coast of United States
Entered the Navy April 1, 1828
Commissioned Rear Admiral June 19, 1871.
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Obviously with this blog I am greatly interested in anything Civil War Navy. So, I'll have to do more research on him.
Always Neat When I Find Something New While Working on Other Blogs. --Old B-Runner
I made two discoveries today in another of my blogs that had implications toward this blog and especially Fort Fisher. That sure made my day in the middle of a bit of an ice storm like we're having right now.
Anyway, in my Not So Forgotten: War of 1812 blog I have been listing War of 1812 veterans who are buried at Eastern Cemetery in Portland, Maine. I am using a list that also includes American Revolution and Civil War veterans in that cemetery.
Today, I came across a Colonel Sabine Emery who was listed as a War of 1812 veteran. The information given by his name was:
"Col. / 9th Me. Vols / Feb 8, 1884 / Mar 24 1868"
Well, Maine wasn't a state in the War of 1812 so there would not be a 9th Maine Volunteer Infantry. That would be a Civil War unit. Then, there was a problem with the two dates given. Since it was given first, Feb. 8, 1884 would likely be his birth date. But, then the second date is earlier than the first date.
So, what gives?
I found out that Colonel Sabine Emery was commander one time of the 9th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment and that he had died on March 24, 1868. So, there was a mistake in the birth date. Whoever wrote this probably meant February 8, 1834.
And, the 9th Maine was at Fort Fisher, but not until after it was captured. They were in Terry's Provisional Corps in the Wilmington Campaign.
The other regiments in their brigade had already been moved from the Army of the James and had participated in the two battles of Fort Fisher.
Really Made My Day. --Old B-Runner
From Wikipedia.
I wrote about the current USS Montgomery (LCS-8) earlier this month in my Cooter's History Thing blog and was wondering if there had been any other ships by that name in the U.S. Navy. Turns out, there had.
There were ones in the American Revolution, War of 1812, the Civil War, Spanish-American War and World War II. So, all together, there have been six USS Montgomerys. I wrote about the one in the American Revolution earlier today.
This is the third warship by the name and the one which fought in the Civil War (and as an added bonus for me, was at the Battles of Fort Fisher. I didn't know that.)
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It was a wooden screw steamer built in New York in 1858, chartered by the U.S. Navy in May 1861, purchased in New York 28 August 1861 and commissioned 27 May 1861 with Commander O.S. Glisson in command. (Further bonus, he was at Fort Fisher.)
--Old B-Runner
Continued from April 13, 2021 post.
Details about Lt. John Guthrie's action against the slave ship off Kabenda, Africa, are sketchy, but it is known that the overall mission was a complete success. The slaver Nightingale and her cargo of 900 slaves were captured.
After the slaves were released in Liberia, the Saratoga, with her prize Nightingale in tow, headed back for the United States.
No doubt that Guthrie dreamed of certain promotion in the U.S. Navy as one of its rising stars. In fact, since early childhood in Washington, North Carolina, Guthrie had been raised in a family with a rich military tradition. His great grandfather and two great uncles had served in the American Revolution. John Wilburn Guthrie, his grandfather, was a surgeon in the War of 1812.
His father, Dr. J.W. Guthrie, was also a well-respected U.S. Army surgeon who had talked John into leaving Chapel Hill (University of North Carolina) for an appointment to West Point. After only a year there, he switched to the U.S. Navy and entered as a midshipman in 1834.
--Old B-Runner
Upon return to the United States with the captured slaver Nightingale, John Guthrie resigned his commission and joined the Confederate Navy where he served as a captain for the duration of the war.
When asked about his role in the liberation of nearly 1000 slaves before the war, he replied in essence that "it was the right thing to do."
His military prowess was honed from his early childhood in Washington, North Carolina. His great grandfather and two great uncles served in the American Revolution. His grandfather, Dr. John Wilburn Guthrie, was a surgeon during the War of 1812.
His father, Dr. J.W. Guthrie, was a respected U.S. Army surgeon who talked young John into attending West Point. However, after just a year, John transferred to the U.S. Navy and he entered it as a midshipman in 1834 and continued his career as a naval officer.
After the war, President U.S. Grant appointed him as superintendent of life-saving stations along the North Carolina-Virginia coasts. He died on November 25, 1877.
--Old B-Runner
I have written about this man's life in my Not So Forgotten: War of 1812 blog. He was in the service for a real long time from actions in the War of 1812 and was still in the Navy when the Civil War began, during which he was raised in tank to rear admiral.
I will give a short account of his life here, but for more, go to the Not So Forgotten blog, which you can reach by going to the My Blogs list to the right of this and scrolling down to the Not So Forgotten blog. The entries about Read are from March 12 to 15, 2021.
During the War of 1812, George Read was on the USS Constitution when she defeated the HMS Guerriere and received that ship's surrender. He was also aboard the USS United States when it captured the HMS Macedonian later in 1812. (The United States was captured when Norfolk was captured by Confederates in 1861 and later became the CSS United States.)
He married the daughter of American Revolution hero Richard Dale who was second in command of the Bon Homme Richard in John Paul Jones' epic fight.
Afterwards, he saw service in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Africa and the Philadelphia Navy Yard. He did not see any active duty service during the Civil because of his age.
--Old B-Runner
