Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 5).djvu/323

Rh that had been exacted of European powers and forbidding slavery of Christian captives. In Sep- tember, 1805, he compelled the bey of Tunis to sign a similar treaty, after which he returned home. He was then in charge of gun-boats at New York until 1809. Prom February, ISO!), till 1812 Rod- gers commanded the home squadron, cruising on the Atlantic coast to prevent impressment of Americans by British cruisers. At 8 P. M., on 16 May. 1811, in his Hag-ship, the " President," near New York, he hailed a strange vessel, who repeated the hail and timl a gun. tin- >h<>t from which struck the " President's " main-mast. The shot was an- swered and several broadsides were exchanged, which demonstrated the stranger's inferiority. At daylight Rodgers boarded the crippled vessel, which" was the British ship "Little Belt." whose captain declined assistance. This episode widened the breach between the countries, and contra- dictory reports were made, but a regular court ac- quitted Rodgers of all blame. The British made no investigation. Three days after the declaration of war in 1812 he sailed in the " President." in command of a squadron, to intercept the British West India fleet, and on 23 June, 1812, he met the British frigate " Belvidera," which escaped after a running fight of eight hours. Rodgers was wounded in the engagement by the bursting of a gun on the " President." The captain himself fired the first gun the first shot in the war. He made four cruises, searching for British men-of-war, in the " President," and on the third visited Irish channel, capturing twelve vessels, including the "Highflyer." His prizes numbered twenty-three in all, and applause and honors greeted his return. In June, 1814, he went to assist in the defence of Baltimore, where he rendered valuable service in command of the sailors and marines that, co-oper- ating with the military, defeated the British in the battle of North Point and the attack on Fort Mellenry. The naval forces under Rodgers de- fended the water battery, the auxiliary forts Cov- ington and Babcock, and the barges of the naval flotilla. At a critical moment several vessels were sunk in the channel to prevent the larger British frigates from passing. After the war he declined the office of secretary of the navy, but was ap- pointed president of the naval commissioners, which office he held from 1815 till 1837, except for the years 1824- '7, when he commanded the Mediter- ranean squadron. His father's male descendants are numerous, and, as a rule, have entered the army or navy. His son, John, naval officer, b. in Harford county, Md., 8 Aug., 1812 ; d. in Wash- tended the naval school at Norfolk in 1832-'4, and became passed midshipman in the last-named year. After a year's leave, during which he attended the University of Virginia, he was in the brig " Dol- phin," on the Brazil station, in 1836-'9, and com- manded the schooner " Wave " on the coast of Florida in 1839. He was commissioned lieutenant, 22 Jan., 1840, had charge of the schooner " Jeffer- son " in surveying the Florida Keys, and in hos- tilities with the Seminoles in 1840-'3, and was again surveying on the coast of Florida in 184!J-'52. The charts and sailing directions for this coa>t bear witness to his faithful work. He commanded the steamer " John Hancock " and the U. S. sur- veying and exploring expedition in the North Pa- cific and China seas in lS52-'5. In April, 1855, he took the " Vineennes " into the Arctic ocean, and obtained valuable commercial and scientific in- formation. He was commissioned commander, 14 Sept., 1855, and continued on special duty in con- nection with the report of the exploring expedition. In ]N(il he was among the first to ask for duty in the civil war, and in May, 1861. was ordered to superintend the building of the " Benton " class of western river iron-clads. In November he joined the expedition to Port Royal, where he hoisted the flag on Fort Walker after the engagement. In May. 1862. he commanded an expedition in James river, leading in the attack on Fort Darling, 15 May, 1862, during which his vessel, the " Galena." an iron-clad steamer, was hit 129 times, two thirds of his crew were killed or wounded, and all his am- munition was expended, when he withdrew. He was commissioned captain, 16 July, 1862. and in 1863 sailed in command of the monitor Weehawken " from New York, encountering a heavy gale off the Delaware breakwater, where he declined to take refuge because he wished to test the sea-going qualities of monitors. On 17 June, 1863, he fought the powerful Confederate iron - clad " Atlanta," which he captured, after an engagement of fifteen minutes, in War- saw sound, Ga,, during which the " Weehawk- en " fired only five shots. Con- gress gave him a formal vote of thanks for his " eminent zeal and ability," and he was promoted to commodore from 17 June, 1863, the date of his victory. He commanded the monitor " Dicta- tor " in 1864-'5, on special ser- vice. In 1866 he took the double- turret monitor " Monadnock ' through the Straits of Magellan to San Francisco. He stopped at Val- paraiso just before its bombardment by the Span- ish, which, with Gen. Kilpatrick. the CJ. S. min- ister, he strove to prevent. He proposed joint armed interference to the English admiral, but the latter refused to co-operate. These negotiations added to his reputation as a diplomatist. He had charge of the Boston navy-yard in 1866-'9, was commissioned rear-admiral, 31 Dec., 1869, and commanded the Asiatic fleet in 1870-'2, when he rendered great service by suppressing outrages on American commerce by the Coreans. Admiral Rodgers was commandant of Mare island navy-yard, Cal., in 1873-'7, and superintendent of the U. S. naval observatory at Washington from 1 May,, until his death. His services at the observatory contributed to the advancement of science, and under his administration Prof. Asaph Hall discovered the moons of Mars. Admiral Rodgers was also successful in his efforts to have a new site selected for a future observatory. He was president of the transit of Venus commission. In 1863 he had been one of the fifty corporate members of the National academy 'of sciences that were named by congress in that year. On 23 June,, he was elected to succeed Prof. Joseph Henry as chairman of the light-house board, and personally superintended and partiripated in experiments in optics and acoustics to improve the ser-