Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1892, volume 3).djvu/662

626 LATIMER, James Elijah, educator, b. in Hartford, Conn., 7 Oct., 1826: d. in Auburndale, Mass., 26 Nov., 1884. He was graduated at Wes- leyan university in 1848, and taught in various schools till 1861, when he was stationed as pastor of an M. E. church in Ehnira, having joined the East Genesee conference in 1858. After holding several pastorates he was chosen professor of his- toric theology in the theological school of Boston university. In 1874 he became dean and professor of systematic theology. He was a contributor to magazines and religious journals, and left incom- plete a work on systematic theology.

LATIMER, William Kay, naval officer, b. in Annapolis, Md., 1 Sept., 1794; d. in Baltimore, Md., 15 March, 1873. He was educated at St. John's college, Annapolis, Md., appointed a mid- shipman on 15 Nov., 1809, commissioned as lieu- tenant on 4 Feb.. 1815, and in 1826-'30 was en- gaged as commander of the schooner " Grampus" in the pursuit of pirates on the coasts of the West India islands. He was promoted captain on 17 July, 1843, and during the Mexican war was com- mandant of the navy-yard at Pensacola, Fla. On 18 Sept., 1852, he was ordered on the board of offi- cers appointed to examine the coasts of Florida and the mouths of the Mississippi river. He was retired in 1855, and made a commodore on the re- tired list on 16 July, 1862. On 12 June, 1863, he was ordered to special duty, and served on courts- martial till the close of the civil war. When in command of one of the vessels of Com. Hull's Mediterranean squadron at a time when war with England was apprehended, acting under a misap- Brehension of orders, Latimer returned to the Tiited States with his ship, for which he was se- verely censured.

LATORRE, Juan Jose (lah-tor'-reh). Chilian naval officer, b. in Santiago, 15 Oct., 1843. He studied at the naval school of Valparaiso, and in 1865 served as 2d lieutenant on the " Esmeralda," when she captured the Spanish corvette " Cova- donga," In the same year he was present at the naval battle of Abtao, in the channels of Chiloe, be- tween the Spanish and Chilian-Peruvian fleets. In April, 1879, as brevet captain, he received the com- mand of the " Magallanes," and was the first to begin hostilities against Peru and Bolivia, sustain- ing a running fight against the Peruvian corvettes " Union " and " Pilcomayo." He bombarded the ports of Mollendo, Pisagua, and others in June, and on 9 July, coming to the aid of the transport " Matias Cousino," sustained an unequal battle against the iron-clad " Huascar," but, on account of the proximity of one of the large Chilian men-of- war, the " Huascar " was finally forced to retire. Two months afterward he was appointed to the command of the iron-clad " Cochrane," and on 8 Oct., 1879, took part in the battle of Angamos, where the " Huascar " was captured. After this battle he was appointed post-captain, and bom- barded on different occasions the town of Arica and the forts of that port. During the blockade of Callao in 1880 he performed important service in attacking the forts. From 13 till 15 Jan., 1881, he protected the army in Chorrillos, San Juan, and Miraflores. In 1883 he was appointed naval gov- ernor of Valparaiso, and soon afterward was pro- moted to rear-admiral. He went to England in 1884 to superintend the repairs of the iron-clad " Blanco Encalada," returned to Chili in 1886, and at the beginning of 1887 was appointed com- mander-in-chief of the navy.

LA TOUCHE TREVILLE, Louis René Vassor, Viscount de (lah-toosh), French naval officer, b. in Rochefort, 3 June, 1745; d. in Toulon, 20 Aug., 1804. He became a midshipman when scarcely twelve years old. and was sent to Canada and Santo Domingo. In 1780 he captured an English frigate off Newport, R. I., and was made frigate-captain. During the remainder of the war for independence he served under De Grasse and De Quichen, was wounded at Yorktown in October, 1781, and also commanded the French forces in Guiana. At the conclusion of peace in 1782 he was commissioned a commander and knight of Saint Louis, and in 1789 was elected to the states- general, where he was a strong advocate of the colonies. He became rear-admiral in 1792, and after his return from a "cruise in South America and in the Mediterranean was imprisoned, but liberated in 1795. On 14 Dec. he was given command of the fleet at Aix, to co-operate with that of Villaret Joyeuse in the campaign against Santo Domingo. Sailing on the same day, he was joined at sea by Admiral Joyeuse, who claimed the command, and, dissensions following between the two admirals, they separated on arriving off Samana bay, 28 Jan., 1802, Villaret going with Leclerc to Cape Francais, while La Touche Tre- ville made sail for Fort Dauphin, where he landed Gen. Rochambeau, 30 Jan., and, going afterward to Port au Prince, landed the forces under Gen. Boudet, and arrived just in season to save the city, which the negroes were preparing to burn. He then fortified it, and, when Villaret left for France, he assumed the general command of the French navy, remaining in the West Indies till the end of 1803, re-enforced the French colonies, and made also several successful attacks on the English possessions of Dominique and Bahama islands, capturing many merchant vessels, and caused alto- gether to the British trade a loss valued at $20,000,000. When a powerful fleet was sent against him, he eluded the pursuit, and when cor- nered at last near Cuba he made such a defence that he compelled the enemy to retire, October, 1803. Two months later he again entered the har- bor of Rochefort, where he found his commission of vice-admiral awaiting him, and was sent to command at Toulon. But he had contracted fever while in the West Indies, and died after a few months of great suffering.

LATROBE, Benjamin Henry, architect, b. in Yorkshire, England, 1 May, 1764; d. in New Orleans, La., 3 Sept., 1820. His ancestor, Henry Boneval de la Trobe, emigrated from France to Holland after the revocation of the edict of Nantes, entered the military service of the Prince of Orange, went with him to England, and was severely wounded in the battle of the Boyne. At the age of twelve Benjamin was sent to a Moravian seminary in Saxony, and completed his education at the University of Leipsic. In 1785 he entered the Prussian army as a cornet of Hussars, and was twice wounded in severe actions. He resigned his commission in 1768, returned to England, and becoming an architect, was made in 1789 surveyor of the public offices and engineer of London. Influenced by his political views, he came to this country after declining a crown surveyorship, and arrived in Norfolk, Va., on 20 May, 1796. He was engineer of the James river and Appomattox canal, built the penitentiary in Richmond, and many private mansions. He removed to Philadelphia in 1798, where he designed the Bank of Pennsylvania, the old Academy of art, the Bank of the United States, and other buildings, and was the first to supply Philadelphia with water, pumped by steam from the Schuylkill, in 1800. In Baltimore he was