Stephen Clegg Rowan

Stephen Clegg Rowan, 1862

Stephen Clegg Rowan (born December 25, 1808 in Dublin , † March 31, 1890 in Washington ) was a Vice Admiral in the United States Navy .

biography

Rowan came to the United States in 1818, at the age of ten . The family lived in Piqua , Ohio . He was a graduate from Miami University . 1826, at age 17, he joined the US Navy and became a midshipman ( midshipman ) and 1837 lieutenant . He was active in the Mexican-American War and served as an officer in the sloop USS Cyane in 1846 during the capture of Monterey , California and the occupation of San Diego and Los Angeles . In 1855 he was promoted to Commander .

In 1861 he was the captain of the sloop Pawnee when the American Civil War broke out . He tried to relieve Fort Sumter in Charleston Bay in South Carolina and burned the Norfolk Navy Yard in Portsmouth , Virginia .

In the fall of 1861 he was involved in the conquest of the fortresses Hatteras Inlet in the estuary at Pamlico Sound in North Carolina . He commanded a flotilla in the North Carolina Sounds; Participated in the capture of Roanoke Island in February 1862 . Promoted to Captain and Commodore , he then supported the conquest of Elizabeth City , Edenton and New Bern . In the summer of 1863, his flotilla successfully blocked Charleston. In August 1863, he took command of the federal forces around the North Carolina Sounds. Shortly thereafter, the semi-submersible torpedo boat CSS-David of the southern states attacked its flagship, the New Ironside , and damaged it badly.

After the Civil War he was in 1866/67 as Rear Admiral in command of the Norfolk Navy Yard . From 1868 to 1870 he was given command of the Asian Squadron as the successor to Commodore John R. Goldsborough. He was promoted to Vice Admiral on August 15, 1870 .

Rowan served as commandant of the New York Navy Yard from 1872 to 1876 , was governor of the Philadelphia Naval Asylum in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania in 1881 , and superintendent of the Navy Observatory in Washington, DC from 1882 to 1889. He had a career of 63 years through 1889; one of the longest in the history of the United States Navy.

Honors

• Four US Navy ships were named after him as the USS Rowan .
• The Rowan Hall at Miami University got its name.
• One elementary school in San Diego, California is called the Stephen Rowan Elementary .
• A small park in the neighborhood of Piqua, Rowan's hometown, bears his name.
• He is ranked ninth in the historical ranking of the highest officers in the United States .

swell

• Navy Department; Naval History and Heritage Command: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships , 2005.