Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 5).djvu/363

Rh made a commissary -general. Having settled in Canada, he was a member of the executive council and received the honor of knighthood by patent.

ROUX DE ROCHELLE, Jean Baptiste Gaspard (roo), French historian, b. in Lous-le-Saulnier in 1702; d. in Paris in March, 1849. He was consul at New York in 1822-'4, and minister to the United States from 1830 till 1833. His works include " Les Turiages," a poem (Paris, 1816) " La Byzanciade," a poem (1822) ; " Lettres des Etats- Unis" (1835);/'Histoire des Etats-Unis " (2 vols., is:!(ii ; and "Epopee de Fernan Cortes," a poetical hisim-y of the conquest of Mexico.

ROWAN, John, jurist, b. in Pennsylvania in 1773; d. in Louisville, Ky., 13 July. 1853. He moved with his parents to Kentucky in 1783, and was educated in Bardstown. In 1795 he was ad- mitted to the bar, and in 1799 he became a mem- ber of the State constitutional convention. He was chosen secretary of state in 1804, and was elected to congress from Kentucky, serving from 9 Jan., 1807, till 3 March, 1809. During 1819-'21 he was judge of the court of appeals, and he at- tained a high reputation as a lawyer in criminal cases. Subsequently he was elected to the U. S. senate, serving from 5 Dec., 1825, till 3 March, 1831, during which time he made able speeches on the amendment of the judiciary system and on imprisonment for debt. Later he was appointed commissioner of claims against Mexico under thr treaty of 11 April, 1839, and was sent in 1848 as minister to Naples, where he remained until 1850. Judge Rowan was president of the Kentucky his- torical society in 1838-'43. and published in 1830 his speeches in the senate on Henry S. Foote's resolutions and on imprisonment for debt.

'''ROWAN. Stephen Clegg''', naval officer, b. near Dublin. Ireland, 25 Dec., 1808; d. in Washington, D. C., 31 March, 1890. He was appointed miM-hip- man in the navy from Ohio, 15 Feb., 1820, when he was a student at Oxford college. He became pa-M'd midshipman, 28 Feb., 1832, and during the Seminole war cruised in the sloop " Vandalia " on the west coast of Florida, conducting boat expe- ditions and participating in operations on shore from November, 1832. till October. 1836. He was commissioned as lieutenant, 8 March, 1837, served in the coast survey in 1838-'40, was executive of- ficer of the sloop " Cyane " in the Pacific squadron in 1846-'8, and during the Mexican war took part in the capture of Monterey and San Diego, where he landed and hoisted the American flag, 29 July, 1846. On blockade duty in the Gulf of California the " Cyane " captured twenty Mexican vessels and caused the destruction of several gun-boats. Lieut. Rowan commanded the naval brigade under Com. Robert F. Stockton at the victories of San Gabriel and La Mesa, 9 and 10 Jan., 1847, was slightly wounded in the shoulder, and highly commended for his valor and ability. He subsequently com- manded an expedition ten miles into the interior of Mexico, where he routed a large force of Mexi- cans, who then ceased to attack the U. S. naval garrison. He was on ordnance duty in 1850-'3 and again in 1858-'61, commanded the store-ship "Relief" in 1853-'5, and was promoted to com- mander, 14 Sept., 1855. When the civil war opened he was in charge of the steam sloop " Pawnee," which he brought to Washington from Philadel- phia in February. 1861. Rowan was a resident of Norfolk, Va., where he had married, but. not- withstanding this and his affection to the south, he announced his adhesion to the National govern- ment, and was continued in the command of the " Pawnee." At the capture of Alexandria he covered the city with his guns. On 25 May, 1861, he took the "Pawnee" to Acquia creek and participated in the first naval engagement of the war by the attack on the Confederate batteries there. He commanded this vessel in the bom- liardment and capture of the forts at Hatter- as inlet by the squadron under Com. Stringham, and fully shared the honor of this success. Rowan then destroyed Fort Ocracoke. twenty miles south of Hatteras. In January, 1862, he led the vessels inGoldsborough's expedition to the sounds of North Carolina. The " Delaware " was his divisional flag-ship, and, in the attack on Roan- oke island, 8 Feb., 1862, he directed the movements of the vessels. After the forts surrendered, the en- emy's flotilla was pursued by Rowan with fourteen improvised gun-boats into Pasquotank river, where he completely destroyed the Confederate vessels and defences. Several expeditions were conducted by Rowan through the sounds of North Carolina. On 12 Mareh. isipj. he and Gen. liurnside co-oper- ated in the expedition to New Berne, N. C., where he compelled the forts to capitulate. He also cap- tured Fort Macon at Beaufort, N. C., 25 April, 1862, and continued to follow up his successes by expeditions until the authority of the government was completely re-established in the waters of North Carolina. Rowan was commissioned cap- tain, 16 July, 1862, and for his conspicuous gal- lantry he was also promoted to commodore on the same day. He next commanded the " New Iron- sides" off Charleston, and in many months of constant conflict with the enemy increased his reputation. In the spring of 1864" his services in the " New Ironsides " were no longer required, and Rowan was relieved. He received a vote of thanks from congress, and on 25 July, 1866, was promoted to rear-admiral by selection, in recognition of his eminent services. He commanded the Norfolk navy-yard in 1866-'7, was commander-in-chief of the Asiatic squadron in 1868-'70, and while on this duty was promoted to vice-admiral. He was in command of the naval station at New York in 1872-'9, served as president of the board of exam- iners in 1879-'81, was governor of the Naval asylum at Philadelphia in 1881, and became superintendent of the Naval observatory in 1882. Admiral Rowan acted as chairman of the light-house board after January, 1883, at Washington, D. C.

ROWAN, Sir William, British general, b. in the Isle of Man, 18 June, 1789 ; d. in Bath, England, 26 Sept., 1879. He entered the army as an ensign in the 52d regiment in 1803, and served with it 1 for twenty-five years in the peninsular war, at Waterloo, and in North America. He was civil and military secretary to Lord Seaton, lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, from 1832 till 1839. He was made a major-general, in 1846, and in 1849 was appointed commander of the British forces in Canada, which post he held till 1855. During part of this time he was administrator of