USS RODGERS DD-254

JOHN RODGERS, HIS SON JOHN RODGERS AND HIS GREAT GRANDSON JOHN RODGERS

Wikipedia (as of 2024)

John Rodgers (July 11, 1772 – August 1, 1838) was a senior naval officer in the United States Navy during its formative years in the 1790s through the late 1830s. He served under six presidents for nearly four decades. His service took him through many military operations in the Quasi-War with France, both Barbary Wars in North Africa, and the War of 1812 with Britain.

As a senior officer in the young American Navy, Rodgers played a major role in the development of the standards, customs and traditions that emerged during this time. Rodgers was, among other things, noted for commanding the largest American squadron in his day to sail the Mediterranean Sea.^[1][2] After serving with distinction as a lieutenant, he was soon promoted directly to the rank of captain (the rank of Master Commandant did not exist at that time).^[3] During his naval career he commanded a number of warships, including USS John Adams, the flagship of the fleet that defeated the Barbary states of North Africa.

During the War of 1812 Rodgers fired the first shot of the war aboard his next flagship, USS President, and also played a leading role in the recapture of Washington D.C. after the capital was burned by the British. He suffered having his own hometown and house burned and his family displaced. Later in his career he headed the Board of Navy Commissioners, and he served briefly as Secretary of the Navy.^[4] Following in his footsteps, Rodgers’ son, and several grandsons and great-grandsons, also became commodores and admirals in the United States Navy.^[5]

Rodgers’s parents were part of a large wave of Scottish immigrants from the British Isles in the years prior to the American Revolution. His father, John Rodgers, was born in Scotland in 1726. He emigrated to America and in 1760 married Elizabeth Reynolds (born 1742) from Delaware, who was also of Scots ancestry. They had eight children, four sons and four daughters; the younger John Rodgers was named for his father.^{[Note 1]} Like many other Scots immigrants, his father became a proponent of the patriot cause and served as a colonel in the militia.

Rodgers was born in 1772 on a farm in a village near the “Susquehanna Ferry”, on the north shore of the Susquehanna River (near today’s Perryville) in Cecil County. This was near its mouth at the Chesapeake Bay. He was raised here for the first thirteen years of his life. While Rodgers was still a youth, the village on the south shore (in Harford County) was named “Havre de Grace“ by Marquis de Lafayette after a famous port of the same name in France. The young Rodgers was known to fish in the Susquehanna and Chesapeake Bay near his home. He attended local school, and read books about the seafaring life. He had often seen schooner-rigged ships in Havre de Grace but longed to see the large square-rigged vessels he had always read about.

Realizing Rodgers was determined to go to sea, his father helped arrange his apprenticeship with Captain Benjamin Folger, a master ship builder of Baltimore, and Revolutionary War veteran. He had served aboard merchant ships and as commander of Felicity, used in the capture of a notorious privateer. By this time, Folger was captain and owner of Maryland. Rodgers served a five-year apprenticeship on this ship.^[7]

In 1806 Rodgers married Minerva Denison;^[8] they had three sons, Robert, Frederick and John, and two daughters together. ^{[Note 2]} Their son John Rodgers Jr. was born in Maryland in 1812. He entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman, serving aboard the Baltimore-built USS Constellation and USS Concord in the Mediterranean Sea. Later he was commissioned as a rear admiral during the Civil War. Rodgers also had several grandsons and great-grandsons who became officers in the U.S. Navy.^[9]

When Rodgers was seventeen, Captain Folger promoted him to first mate of the merchant ship Harmony. By the time Rodgers completed his five years of apprenticeship in 1793, Folger highly recommended him for command of Jane, a merchant ship regularly used in the European trade and owned by Baltimore merchants Samuel and John Smith.^[10] Rodgers served as the captain of this ship between four and five years, sailing out of Baltimore for various ports in Europe. His first voyage took him to the Spanish port of Cadiz in the early months of 1793, returning home with a load of salt. Rodgers’ next voyage sent him to Hamburg, Germany, but due to severe conditions on the North Sea, he was forced to put up in England for the winter and did not reach his destination until spring of the next year. In September 1795 he departed for Baltimore from Liverpool, arriving after a passage of three months. Logbooks of the Jane during Rodgers’s command cover the period of July–August 1796 in detail, a time when France and England were still at war. ^{[Note 3]} During this period, Rodgers mastered the art of ship’s command.^[11]

Rodgers and his crew were tested under severe conditions on the North Sea. Winds had carried the ship off course, provisions were almost exhausted, and three of his crewmen had frozen to death in one night. Most of the rest despaired of survival. When Rodgers ordered some of the crew to go aloft to secure ice-encrusted rigging, they refused. Outraged, Rodgers stripped off his jacket and shirt and, before going aloft, told the crew to watch what a man could do. While he climbed the frozen rigging bare-chested, the crew immediately rose to his aid. They soon secured the faltering rigging. Given the grim conditions, Rodgers put the matter behind him and days later, they safely reached port.^[12]

Rodgers’ service in the United States Navy extended through the Quasi War with France, the First Barbary War and the Second Barbary War in North Africa and through the War of 1812. In 1815 he was appointed to the Board of Naval Commissioners, serving through the Second Barbary War until he retired in 1837.

On March 8, 1798, President John Adams appointed junior officers for the first three ships constructed for the young American Navy ^{[Note 4]}; Rodgers was appointed second lieutenant of the frigate USS Constellation, under the command of Thomas Truxtun. All of these officers were expeditiously confirmed by the Senate the next day. Rodgers participated in the capture of the French frigate L’Insurgente ^{[Note 5]} during Constellation‘s engagement, and he immediately was made prize master of the surrendered French vessel. Rodgers, along with Midshipman Porter and eleven seamen, boarded the badly damaged French frigate with the challenge of sailing her to a friendly port while also guarding more than 160 prisoners.^[15] That evening, gale-force winds separated the two ships, leaving Rodgers, Porter, and the few American seamen aboard the now-renamed Insurgent to save the ship and to control the prisoners without support from the crew of Constellation nearby. To make matters worse, just before surrendering their ship, the French crew had thrown overboard the gratings to the hold along with handcuffs and other items used to secure prisoners. Greatly outnumbered, Rodgers had seized all weapons and ordered the prisoners to the lower hold,^[16] giving orders to open fire with blunderbusses should the prisoners try to breach the passageway from their hold. After guarding the prisoners and navigating the captured vessel for two days and three nights through stormy winter weather, Rodgers arrived at Bassettere, Saint Kitts, on February 13, 1799. On this date, Britain and France were still at war so the inhabitants of the British colony were delighted to see the French vessel arriving in American hands. For the Americans’ effort, the British commander of St. Kitts sent Truxtun a letter of congratulations and offered him every service within his command.^[17] The two ships were then refitted and supplied while Insurgent received a new crew. On March 5, 1799, Rodgers was promoted to captain and received written orders to take command of the captured ship.^[14]

In June 1799 Rodgers relinquished command of Insurgent, then at Norfolk, Virginia, receiving a letter from Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert ordering him to Baltimore to supervise the outfitting of USS Maryland, a sloop-of-war ^{[Note 6]} bearing 20 guns, and then to take command of that ship.^[18] Three months later Maryland was commissioned under Rodgers’ command. In March 1801, he delivered to France the ratified Convention of 1800 (Treaty of Mortefontaine), which ended the Quasi-War.^[19]

Placed in command of USS John Adams on May 3 of the following year, Rodgers was ordered to sail for Tripoli to patrol its surrounding waters for three weeks, joining USS Constitution and USS President, along with a number of other vessels. Upon his arrival he immediately approached the harbor fortifications of Tripoli and engaged the gunboats and batteries defending the city. During this time he also pursued and boarded several neutral ships that were attempting to bring grain and other supplies to Tripoli, the inhabitants of which were facing starvation and other difficulties because of the blockade.^[20] After twelve days John Adams encountered the Tripolian vessel Meshboha, bearing 20 guns, which Rodgers engaged and captured. The Tripolian vessel previously had been blockaded at Gibraltar and was carrying a load of military supplies to Tripoli.^[21] His brilliant record fighting the corsairs won Rodgers appointment as commodore of the Mediterranean Squadron in May 1805. Since Commodore James Barron’s health at this time had deteriorated, it was practically impossible for Barron to maintain command of the squadron. Receiving a letter dispatched to him by USS Essex on May 22, Rodgers assumed command of the squadron consisting of the ships Constitution, President, Constellation, Enterprise, Essex, Siren, Argus, Hornet, Vixen, Nautilus, and Franklin, together with a number of gunboats (including No. 5) and bomb vessels. Rodgers was thus in command of the largest American squadron to assemble in the Mediterranean until the twentieth century. The blockading force was so overwhelming that, after much deliberation and appeals from the Dey, a peace treaty with Tripoli was negotiated by the end of July.^[22]

When news of the treaty reached Washington D.C. in the fall of 1805, President Thomas Jefferson ordered all of the ships home with the exception of a frigate and two smaller supporting vessels. Before returning home, Rodgers sailed to Malta and Syracuse to close down military hospitals and settle accounts. He stopped to pay a visit to the Dey of Algiers, who had learned of the US treaty with Tripoli, and extended every courtesy to Rodgers, allowing him to be armed in his presence. In a letter to the Secretary of the Navy, Benjamin Stoddert, Rodgers later wrote “I am the first Christian that has ever been permitted to visit the Dey of Algiers with sidearms….”^[23]

A year later, Rodgers returned to the United States to take command of the New York Flotilla. After the Embargo Act against Great Britain was passed by Congress at the close of 1807, Rodgers commanded operations along the Atlantic coast enforcing its provisions.

In 1810 Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton instructed Commodore Rodgers to oversee a series of tests or trials of inventor Robert Fulton‘s new naval torpedo. Fulton had recently published Torpedo War, and Submarine Explosions, in which he argued that his newly developed torpedo was practical, and cost efficient, and would soon make most naval vessels obsolete. Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were intrigued by Fulton’s idea and the US Congress authorized $5,000 to test the new weapon. Rodgers thought Fulton’s torpedo was a folly. Secretary Hamilton directed Rodgers to prepare “a plan of opposition.” In reply, Rodgers promised Hamilton he “would not only prevent the application of any torpedoes which he has yet invented, but any which he will ever be able to invent…”

On September 24, 1810, several thousand residents of New York City gathered on the banks of Corlear’s Hook overlooking the East River to watch the widely publicized demonstration of a mock torpedo attack against the brig USS Argus, commanded by Lieutenant James Lawrence. Fulton, the successful inventor of the first commercially viable steamboat, Clermont, and the first practical submarine, Nautilus, was confident that his torpedo could sink a large naval vessel. Rodgers and Lt. Lawrence quickly demonstrated that Fulton’s torpedo was unable to penetrate the ship’s defense. Fulton in a final report to Hamilton reluctantly conceded he could not penetrate Rodgers’ defense. While Rodgers was vindicated, the two men held no rancor toward each other. During the War of 1812 Fulton wrote Rodgers on September 14, 1814, to offer his service in defense of the port of Baltimore; before the letter arrived, the battle was over.^[24]

At the outbreak of the War of 1812, the American navy was not prepared to deal with Britain’s large and formidable navy; it consisted of hundreds of ships and seasoned commanders and crews, many of whom were already battle hardened from the Napoleonic wars with France.^[25] In 1811, Rodgers was commodore of USS President off Annapolis when he heard that an American seaman had been “impressed” by a British frigate off Sandy Hook, New Jersey. Commodore Rodgers was ordered to sea to “protect American commerce”, but he may have had verbal instructions to retaliate for the impressment of British subjects from American vessels, which was causing much ill-feeling.

Early in 1811, Secretary of the Navy Hamilton had ordered USS President and USS Argus on patrol duty along the Atlantic coast from the Carolinas to New York. Captain John Rodgers was in command of the frigate President off the coast of North Carolina. On May 16, 1811, he sighted and followed the British sloop Little Belt, commanded by Arthur Bingham, thinking it to be HMS Guerriere. Very different versions of events were given on either side.^[26] A gun was fired, with each side accusing the other of the first shot. Rodgers continued to engage the much smaller vessel and the President, bearing 44 guns, cut to pieces Little Belt, with only 20 guns.^[27] Little Belt lost 13 men killed, including a midshipman and a lieutenant, and 19 wounded, while President incurred only one wounded. The incident came to be known as the Little Belt Affair. It was one among many mishaps between the United States and Britain that led to the War of 1812.^[28]

When the United States declared war against Britain on June 18, 1812, many American ships lacked crews and were in need of repairs, while others were still away at sea.^[25] The only ships available for service at this time were berthed at New York, under the command of Commodore John Rodgers. These were Rodgers’ own flagship, President, along with United States, commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur, Congress, commanded by Captain Smith,^{[Note 7]} Hornet, commanded by Captain Lawrence, and Argus, commanded by Lieutenant Sinclair. However, the British vessels in American waters at this time were relatively few in number and not themselves very representative of the overall might of the Royal Navy.^[25]

Fearing that Congress might consider confining all American ships to port, as soon as Rodgers received news of the June declaration of war, he departed New York Harbor with his squadron within the hour. In anticipation of the war, Rodgers had already had his squadron fitted and ready to embark on the high seas. Their first objective was a British fleet reported to have recently departed from the West Indies, and Rodgers set a course south-east in search of these ships.^[29][30] President passed Sandy Hook on June 21. In the early morning of June 23, a ship was spotted on the horizon to the north-east, which turned out to be the frigate HMS Belvidera, commanded by Captain Richard Byron. Rodgers immediately gave chase, with Congress following close behind. Belvidera had already been informed of the inevitability of war by a passing New York pilot boat and immediately turned about, crowded on all sails and began flight to the north-east with a fresh wind behind all ships coming from the west.^{[31][32] [Note 8]}

USS President was an unusually fast frigate and by noon had gained on Belvidera, now some two and a half miles distant, approximately 75 miles south-west of Nantucket island. While President was closing with Belvidera, Captain Byron began clearing the decks and made ready his stern guns. By 4:30 the wind had relaxed some but Belvidera was now close enough to be engaged. Seizing this first possibility, President‘s forecastle bow chasers fired the first shot of the war, by Rodgers himself, with two more almost immediately following.^[33][34][35] All three shots struck Belvidera at her stern, striking the rudder assembly and captain’s quarters, killing or wounding nine men. ^{[Note 9]} With only a few more shots needed to disable the British vessel, President fired again. But the tide of battle turned when one of its guns burst, killing 16 men, and wounding others, including Rodgers, whose leg was broken. ^{[Note 10]} There was a pause of panic about the entire ship, as now every gun was suspected. Byron fired his stern chasers, killing another six men. Belvidera continued to fire, damaging the rigging and foresails. President continued chase, but without adequate foresails, began yawing and losing ground. Belvidera escaped and returned to Halifax, carrying the news of the declaration of war.^[31][32]

Rodgers’ squadron patrolled the waters off the American upper East Coast until the end of August, 1812. He commanded President for most of the war, capturing 23 prizes, one of the most successful records in the conflict. On land, Rodgers rendered valuable service by transferring his command briefly to Baltimore in September 1814. During the Battle of Baltimore , he defended the city’s east side extensive dug-in fortifications, devised by the Maryland Militia’s state commander, Major General Samuel Smith on Loudenschlager’s Hill (today’s Hampstead Hill in western Patterson Park). This was known as “Rodgers’ Bastion”, one of several that held some of the nearly 100 pieces of artillery with 20,000 troops that Smith had amassed for facing the British. He had already sent down the southeastern “Patapsco Neck” peninsula, Brigadier General John Stricker’s regiments of the City Brigade at the Battle of North Point. Rodgers helped defend against the simultaneous British naval attack on Fort McHenry protecting the harbor, and when Washington was invaded and burned, the month before after the Battle of Bladensburg.^[37]

Rodgers’ home town of Havre de Grace was raided by a British force in 1813, who were led by Admiral George Cockburn. They plundered and burned Rodgers’s home,^{[38][Note 11]} and its valuables were plundered or destroyed in the fire. Rodgers’s mother, wife, and two sisters fled to a friend’s house near the village. The British reached this house, too, ordered to destroy it and others in the area. Rodgers’ sister, Mrs. Goldsborough, pleaded with the officer in charge of the detail, begging him to forego the destruction of their haven for the sake of their aging mother. The officer maintained that he was under strict orders and would have to obtain the consent of his commanding officer, whereupon Mrs. Goldsborough returned with the officer to again plead her case. The commanding officer agreed to spare the house, but by the time they had returned, it had already been set ablaze. However, the fire had not yet taken hold and upon hearing the news that the house was to be spared, the British saved the house from complete ruin.^[39]

In April 1814, Rodgers returned to Havre de Grace, where he received orders to take command of Guerriere at Philadelphia, bearing 53 guns. Early in May of that year, he had replaced Commodore Alexander Murray, as commander of the Delaware squadron. Rodgers ordered Lieutenant Charles Morgan to take charge of the squadron to reorganize it, instructing him about outfitting the ships with armament and drilling the crew. On June 20, 1814, Guerriere was launched with a crew of 200 men, while more than 50,000 spectators gathered on the shores of the Delaware River and in small boats to witness this. During that summer Rodgers spent most of his time at Philadelphia’s naval yard outfitting this ship. The Delaware squadron comprised some 20 gunboats, sloops and galleys, and was one among several fleets assigned to patrol the chief ports along the upper Atlantic coastline.^[40]

Commodore John Rodgers played a major role in the recapture of Washington after it had been burned by the invading British in 1814. As a naval officer he was generally unfamiliar with the tactics and deployments of land battle, yet he restored order after the invasion of Washington and he coordinated orders from Secretary of the Navy William Jones for the employment of marines and sailors as naval infantry. Along with ground forces under his two principal subordinates, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry and Commodore David Porter, Rodgers’ flotilla of ships on the Potomac River forced the retreat of the British.^[41][42]

In the summer of 1814, American naval forces in the Chesapeake Bay consisted mainly of a fleet of gunboats under the command of Commodore Joshua Barney, a veteran of the American Revolution. On August 20, a fleet commanded by British Rear Admiral Cockburn sailed up the Patuxent River searching for Barney’s flotilla while British troops marched in the same direction along its shore. Secretary of the Navy Jones responded by ordering Commodore Rodgers in Philadelphia and Commodore Porter in New York to proceed towards Washington with several detachments of sailors and marines. The orders were dispatched by mail but did not reach Philadelphia until ten o’clock the morning of the 22nd. As Rodgers was at Reedy Island on the Delaware River inspecting his flotilla he did not receive the Secretary’s orders until he returned at eleven o’clock that evening—-thirteen hours later. Upon receiving the dispatch Rodgers immediately made preparations to march towards Baltimore. Secretary Jones, not knowing that his initial orders had reached Rodgers later than he had anticipated, expected Rodgers to be at his designated station by the evening of the 23rd, and had sent him follow up orders that morning directing Rodgers to Bladensburg, Maryland, five miles (8.0 km) north-east of Washington. Consequently, Rodgers did not receive his orders until it was too late to execute them.^[41][42]

By August 24, Admiral Cockburn’s forces had already moved up the Patuxent, forcing Barney to abandon and burn his flotilla. With the area secured, Cockburn’s forces advanced on Washington. That afternoon they defeated American troops under General William Winder and Commodore Barney at Bladensburg; by 8 o’clock that evening British troops entered Washington. Within twenty four hours, under the direct supervision of Admiral Cockburn, the British force set fire to the Capitol building, the White House, and other structures.^[43] With the American forces defeated and in retreat, President James Madison and Secretary Jones had fled the capital and made their way up the Potomac River to remain in hiding in the countryside. Rodgers proceeded to Baltimore, arriving on the 25th. The citizens there were in a panic fearing their city would suffer the same fate as had just befallen Washington. In the panic the Americans burned Columbia and Argus which were nearby, ready for service.^[44] Upon Rodgers’ arrival he immediately took up preparing defensive measures about the area, the actions of which restored order among the citizenry; with the inhabitants’ courage somewhat restored, Rodgers combined his command with that of Porter’s and secured a small flotilla on the Patapsco River, which flows south-east into Chesapeake Bay at Baltimore. With a force of some thousand sailors and marines Rodgers set up defenses about Baltimore, dividing this force into two regiments, one under the command of Porter, the other under the command of Oliver Hazard Perry, who already had been stationed in Baltimore.^[41][42]

In the meantime, President Madison and Secretary Jones returned to Washington, but by August 27 British naval forces under the command of Captain James Gordon advanced on the capital a second time, making their approach by way of the Potomac River with two frigates and a number of smaller vessels reaching Fort Washington, twelve miles down river from the capital. The fort was abandoned when fired upon; the American forces retreated to Alexandria, five miles up river, just seven miles (11 km) outside of Washington. On August 29, Gordon advanced on and captured this town and port, seizing supplies which were then loaded aboard the invading vessels. Upon receiving orders to join Admiral Cockburn’s squadron to the south, Gordon’s flotilla sailed down river but was delayed due to adverse winds near Fort Washington. Fearing the British had further designs on the capital, Secretary Jones again began preparing defensive forces. On August 29, he sent Rodgers orders to proceed to Bladensburg from Baltimore with 650 seamen and marines. The day before, Rodgers had ordered Porter to Washington; Porter’s 100 sailors and a handful of officers arrived on August 30 with the purpose of guarding the capital. The next day Rodgers and Porter together arrived at Bladensburg where Rodgers met with Secretary Jones. As the American forces were regrouped and in strong defensive positions, the British decided to withdraw. The American forces commanded by Porter and Perry began harassing the retreating British while Rodgers was attacking the British fleet with fireships. Rodgers had previously improvised his fireships at the Washington Navy Yard. On September 3, he proceeded down the Potomac in a Gig closely followed by his fireships and barges, the latter being manned with 60 marines armed with muskets and swords. When they reached Alexandria, Rodgers entered the abandoned town and ordered the American flag hoisted.^[41][42]

Other battles followed with the British attempting to mount counteroffensives on the Potomac and at Baltimore, but these were ultimately defeated largely through the efforts of forces commanded by Rodgers and Porter.^[41][42]

The burning of Washington shocked the nation and was denounced by most European governments. According to The Annual Register, it had “…brought a heavy censure on the British character…”, with some members of Parliament joining in the criticism. However, most British citizens felt it was justified retaliation for American incursions into Canada and because the United States had initiated the war.^[45]

In 1815, after the War of 1812 had ended, Congress established the Board of Navy Commissioners (BNC).^[46] Rodgers was a prolific political writer whose thoughts appealed to President Madison, leading him, with the consent of the Senate, to appoint Rodgers to the Board of Navy Commissioners, along with Isaac Hull and David Porter. Rodgers headed the Board from 1815 through 1824 and again from 1827 until he retired in May 1837.^[47] Rodgers also served briefly as Secretary of the Navy in 1823.^[4] In February 1815, Commodore John Rodgers was appointed the President of the Board of Navy Commissioners. The law creating the Board gave it authority over procurement of naval stores, supplies and material as these related to the construction of naval vessels, outfitting of ships, armament and equipment plus oversight authority over naval shipyards, stations and dry-docks. The BNC also regulated civilian employment and pay. Serving with Rodgers on the Board were Commodores David Porter and Isaac Hull. The BNC found all current yards to have shortcomings. One of the most important recommendations the BNC made during Rodgers tenure was that only Portsmouth and Boston Navy Yard were suitable for the building of large ships in all seasons. Though the BNC recommended Washington Navy Yard be retained its report noted, “The Yard at Washington, when viewed as building yard only, would be less objectionable [than Baltimore] were the navigation deeper and the obstructions fewer. But it is the decided opinion of the Board, that the obstructions and its distance from the sea render it unsuitable for every other purpose.”^[48] The Board recommended Baltimore, Norfolk and Charleston navy yards be closed. These recommendations were controversial and became the subject of considerable partisanship, with only Baltimore and Charleston eventually phased out of existence.^[49] The BNC final report was in fact, highly critical of the Washington Navy Yard and its business practices. Writing on 11 May 1815 to Commodore Thomas Tingey the BNC stated, “The Board are about contracting for the repairs of the Black Smith shop in the Navy Yard under your command for the purpose of employing workmen to put in order for service & a state of preservation … It is the intention of the Board of the Navy Commissioners, to reestablish the Navy Yard at this place, as a building Yard only, & while stating to you this intention, it may not be improper for them to make you acquainted with their views generally with respect to the establishment. They have witnessed in many of our Navy Yards & this particularly pressure in the employment of characters unsuited for the public service – maimed & unmanageable slaves for the accommodation of distressed widows & orphans & indigent families – apprentices for the accommodation of their masters – & old men & children for the benefit of their families & parents . These practices must cease – none must be employed but for the advantage of the public, & this Yard instead of rendering the navy odious to the nation from the scenes of want & extravagance which it has too long exhibited must serve as a model on which to prefect a general system of economy. In making to you,- Sir, these remarks the Navy Commissioners are aware that you have with themselves long witnessed the evils of which they complain, & which every countenance will be given to assist you in remedying them, they calculate with confidence on a disposition on your part to forward the public interests.”^[50] From November 1824 through May 1827, he commanded the Mediterranean Squadron.^[51] After his final naval command, returned to New York where he became the Navy agent at the port there.

During the 1820s, Rodgers was a member of the prestigious Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences, who counted among their members former presidents Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams and many prominent men of the day, including well-known representatives of the military, government service, medical and other professions. ^[52]

Several years before Rodgers retired from the Board of Naval Commissioners his health began to decline, it is believed from a case of cholera. On advice that his condition would benefit from a leave of absence he was persuaded to take a trip across the Atlantic to England. Rodgers subsequently resigned his commission with the blessing of President Andrew Jackson and Secretary Mahlon Dickerson of the Navy. On May 10 he sailed for London, embarking from New York on the packet ship Montreal and spent several weeks in London. He also visited the towns of Plymouth and Portsmouth and was escorted and given much attention by the Admiralty of the Royal Navy and many notable people. He was the guest of two close friends, Admiral Sir James Stirling and Lady Hillyarm who were with the Mediterranean Fleet while Rodgers was serving there, dealing with the piracy of the Barbary states.^[53]

Late in August 1837 Rodgers returned to the United States with little improvement in his health. He remained at his home at Lafayette Square in Washington for several weeks, but with his health now steadily declining again he was placed in the care of the naval asylum at Philadelphia under the care of a naval doctor and friend, Dr. Thomas Harris. His wife took up residence in a boarding house nearby. Soon his already frail condition began to rapidly worsen and when it was certain his death was imminent his wife was sent for, but Rodgers had already lapsed into unconsciousness by the time she arrived at his bedside. Rodgers’ last words were spoken to his butler and close friend, asking, “…do you know the Lord’s Prayer?” His butler replied “yes, master.” Rodgers responded, “Then repeat it for me”. Rodgers died in the arms of his butler on August 1, 1838, at the age of 66.^[47][53]

Rodgers’ funeral took place at the home of Commodore Biddle. In attendance was Brigadier General Prevost, who had called upon the uniformed men in the city to honor Rodgers with a parade through Washington.^[54]

Rodgers was buried in the family burial site in the Congressional Cemetery at Washington, his grave marked by a pyramidal shaped sandstone monument which also bears the names of his wife, Minerva Denison, his son Frederick, and two daughters who were also laid to rest there in later years.^[8]

John Rodgers (August 8, 1812 – May 5, 1882) was an admiral in the United States Navy. He began his naval career as a commander in the American Civil War and during his postwar service became an admiral.

Rodgers, a son of the famous Commodore John Rodgers, was born near Havre de Grace, Maryland. He received his appointment as a midshipman in the Navy on April 18, 1828. Service in the Mediterranean on board Constellation and Concord opened his long career of distinguished service, and he commanded an expedition of Naval Infantry and Marines in Florida during the Seminole Wars. In the mid-1850s he succeeded Commander Ringgold in command of the North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition, which added greatly to the knowledge of far eastern and northern waters.^[1] Following his promotion to commander in 1855, he married and settled to work in the Navy’s Japan Office in Washington, D.C., where he was serving when the Civil War broke out.

Commander Rodgers’ first war assignment was to go with Commodore Louis M. Goldsborough to Gosport Navy Yard on April 20, 1861, where with other officers he was to remove Naval vessels and assets so they could not be used by the Confederates. Virginia had only just declared her secession from the Union. Upon arrival they found the yard in shambles, as Commodore McCauley had already ordered the vessels at Gosport scuttled, including the Merrimack, since he considered the yard indefensible. Commodore Goldsborough made the decision to destroy the yard, and Commander Rodgers and Army Captain of Engineers Horatio G. Wright were given the job of destroying the drydock. They were thwarted in this attempt when the fuse was extinguished by water in the pumping gallery. Commander Rodgers and Captain Wright were captured by General William B. Taliaferro of the Virginia State Militia, but since Virginia had not yet joined the Confederate States, and was therefore not at war against the United States, Governor John Letcher returned the two officers to Washington.

Commander Rodgers was then sent to the Western Rivers, where he organized the Western Flotilla and supervised construction of the City-class gunboats, the first ironclad gunboats on the western rivers. He was relieved by Captain Andrew Hull Foote, a more senior officer being required by the Navy to deal with the prickly Major General John C. Fremont. After blockading operations off of Savannah in command of the Flag, he assumed command of the experimental ironclad Galena in April 1862, operating with distinction in the James River. He commanded the James River Flotilla, including the USS Galena, the ironclad Monitor, and the 90-day gunboat Aroostook in an expedition up the James River in May 1862, which was stopped eight miles shy of Richmond by Confederate fortifications at Drewry’s Bluff. The damage that the Galena suffered in the ensuing battle caused him to report, “We demonstrated that she is not shotproof”, and made him disdainful of trying experiments in the fires of war. Thereafter he supported General McClellan‘s Peninsula Campaign with Naval bombardment, preventing Confederate forces from overrunning the Army of the Potomac‘s position.

John Rodgers was promoted to captain July 16, 1862 and took command of the ironclad monitor Weehawken. After successfully navigating her from Brooklyn to Charleston through the same storm that sank the USS Monitor, he distinguished himself during the attack on Fort Sumter in May 1863, and in capturing the Confederate ram Atlanta on June 17, 1863. The latter service won him the Thanks of Congress and promotion to commodore. Unfortunately, this was his last active service in the Civil War. After recovering from an illness, he took command of the ironclad monitor Dictator. Design and construction problems with that vessel kept him occupied for the remainder of the war, though he earnestly desired a more active post.

Commodore Rodgers then commanded the Boston Navy Yard until 1869. He was elevated to rear admiral in December 1869 and given command of the Asiatic Squadron. In 1871 he commanded the American squadron in the United States expedition to Korea. Returning to the United States, he assumed command of Mare Island and later served as president of the United States Naval Institute from 1879 to 1881. Rear Admiral Rodgers died in Washington, D.C., on May 5, 1882, while serving as the superintendent of the United States Naval Observatory.^{[citation needed]} He was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.^[2]

Rodgers’ father was Commodore John Rodgers (1772–1838), and he was the grandfather of pioneering Naval aviator Commander John Rodgers (1881–1926). Six ships of the United States Navy have been named in their honor; either as USS John Rodgers or USS Rodgers.

He was the father of William L. Rodgers, who became an Vice Admiral in the U.S. Navy.

His brother, Robert Smith Rodgers, served as a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War and was married to Sarah C. Perry who was the daughter of Commodore Matthew C. Perry. His nephew, John Augustus Rodgers (1848-1933) (son of Robert), entered the Navy as a Midshipman in 1863 and retired as a Rear Admiral in 1910.

John Rodgers (January 15, 1881 – August 27, 1926) was an officer in the United States Navy and a pioneering aviator.

Rodgers was the great-grandson of Commodores Rodgers and Perry. He was born in Washington, D.C. and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1903. His early naval career included service on ships of various types before studying flying in 1911 and becoming the second American naval officer to fly for the United States Navy, designated as U.S. Naval aviator No. 2.

On February 1, 1911, Rodgers, now a lieutenant, participated in an experiment under the direction of Captain Washington Irving Chambers, the first Navy officer assigned to development of the nascent U.S. Naval aviation program, that involved a man-lifting kite. A train of 11 man-raising kites lifted Rodgers to a record 400 feet off the deck of USS Pennsylvania (ACR-4). This was the same ship on which Eugene Ely performed the first shipboard landing of an airplane days earlier. As the ship steamed along at a 12 kt clip, Rodgers worked against an 8-kt breeze while suspended from a kite cable 100 yards astern. He made observations and took photographs for 15 minutes, signaling his observations back to the ship. Reportedly, he had a clear view for over 40 miles.^[1]

On March 17, 1911, Rodgers reported to the Wright Company in Dayton, Ohio, to receive flight training. This was in response to the Wright Brothers offering to train one pilot for the Navy. He was only the second Navy officer to receive such instruction, and the first to receive it from the Wrights.^[2]

On July 1, 1911, Rodgers was on a leave of absence from the Navy while the aviation facilities at Greenbury Point on the grounds of the United States Naval Academy were being prepared. He filled this time performing aerial demonstrations in Ohio with his cousin, Calbraith Perry Rodgers. On their way back to Dayton from Springfield, having just finalized a contract to perform at the Fourth of July celebration there, they reportedly borrowed the Wright flyer kept at the Wright brothers’ field at Simms, Ohio, without permission. The two made a few successful flights and things were going well, until they damaged a wing on one of the landings. Once informed, the Wright brothers insisted upon the use of the Rodgers plane until theirs was repaired, costing them some business engagements.^[3]

The Wright biplane arrived at Greenbury Point on the grounds of the United States Naval Academy on September 6, 1911. Rodgers completed the acceptance flight for it the next day then embarked on a flight from the Naval Academy to Washington, D.C. This was the first time it had ever been attempted. After circling the academy grounds for several turns, he set out on the 45-mile trip to D.C., following the tracks of the Washington, Baltimore, and Annapolis electric line, flanked by his friends following in automobiles. After flying around a thunderstorm near Odenton, Maryland, he overflew the Army aviation camp at College Park, Maryland. He then overflew the Bennings neighborhood in D.C. and commenced down the eastern branch of the Potomac. After passing over the United States Army War College, he turned toward the city at an altitude of 2000 feet. He reached the city at about 4:45 pm then circled the Washington Monument for 15 minutes where he executed several maneuvers before landing near the White House at 5:04 pm in front of a small crowd. At the time, it was one of the longest, most successful flights in Naval Aviation. After exchanging greetings with CAPT Chambers, he flew back to Annapolis.^[4][5]

On September 16, Rodgers became the first man in America to visit his parents by airplane. He departed College Park, Maryland, at 1:15 in the afternoon; passing over the northwestern section of Baltimore, he landed at the Pimlico racetrack, where he refueled. Afterwards, he circled Pimlico for half an hour at various altitudes and was then off to Havre de Grace, arriving at the Rodgers home at Sion Hill at 5:35. His father, Rear Admiral John Rodgers, his mother, and brother Robert greeted him upon landing in a field 200 yards from their house. Following the tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad from Baltimore into the city, he landed with less than a quart of fuel. Crowds gathered in along his route of flight to cheer him on. His intention was to leave the next day for New York, where his cousin Calbraith Perry Rodgers was to depart Sheepshead Bay for San Francisco that afternoon to compete for the $50,000 Hearst Prize.^[6]

In late November 1911, Rodgers was at the Navy aviation camp at Annapolis developing a life preserver for use in hydroplane flights. The life preserver was described as being “very similar to a baseball catcher’s breast protector” and was worn in a similar fashion. Designed to keep a man afloat until help arrived, the waist and neck straps were rubber tubes that were inflated along with the rest of the vest when in use over water. ^[7]

He commanded Division 1, Submarine Force, Atlantic Fleet in 1916; and, after the United States entered World War I, he commanded the Submarine Base at New London, Connecticut. Following the war, he served in European waters and received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for outstanding work on minesweeping operations in the North Sea.

After several important assignments during the next five years, he commanded Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Fleet, in Langley in 1925. That year he led the first attempt at a non-stop flight from California to Hawaii. Given the technology of the time, this tested the limits of both aircraft range^[8] and the accuracy of aerial navigation.^[9] The expedition was to include three planes. Rodgers commanded the flying boat PN-9 No. 1. The PN-9 No. 3 was commanded by Lt. Allen P. Snody. The third plane was to have been a new design, which was not completed in time to join the expedition. Due to the risks, the Navy positioned 10 guard ships spaced 200 miles apart between California and Hawaii to refuel or recover the aircraft if necessary.^[8] The two PN-9s departed San Pablo Bay, California (near San Francisco) on August 31. Lt. Snody’s plane had an engine failure about five hours into its flight, was forced to land in the ocean, and was safely recovered.

Rodgers’s flight proceeded with few difficulties for more than 1200 miles. However, higher than expected fuel consumption and a weaker than predicted tailwind made it necessary for the plane to land in the ocean and refuel.^[8] The plane headed for a refueling ship, but limitations of the navigation technology and erroneous navigation information provided by the ship’s crew caused Rodgers and his crew to miss the ship.^[8][9] The flying boat was forced to land in the ocean when it ran out of fuel on September 1. Since the position of the plane was not known while it was in the air and the plane’s radio could not transmit when the plane was floating on the water, Rodgers and his crew were not found by an extensive, multi-day search by planes and a large number of ships. After passing a night without rescue, Rodgers and his crew used fabric from a wing to make a sail and sailed towards Hawaii, several hundred miles away. Later the plane’s crew used metal flooring to fashion leeboards to improve their ability to steer the flying boat while it was sailing.^[8] Finally, nine days later, after sailing the plane 450 miles to within 15 miles of Nawiliwili Bay, Kauai, the plane and its crew were found by submarine USS R-4 under the command of Lt. Donald R. Osborn, Jr, (USNA class of 1920), after a search by the US Navy. They were towed near the reef outside of the port. The harbor master and his daughter rowed out to the plane and helped Rodgers and his crew surf over the reef and into the safety of the harbor. By the time they were found by the submarine, Rodgers and his crew had subsisted a week without food and with limited water.^[8] He later shared with a newspaper, “We were taken care of by the good people of the island, who insisted on treating us as invalids, whereas as a matter of fact we were in very good shape and perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves.”^[10] After their return, Rodgers and his crew were treated as heroes. Also, despite not reaching Hawaii by air, their flight established a new non-stop air distance record for seaplanes of 1992 miles (3206 km).^[11]

After this experience, Rodgers served as assistant chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics until his accidental death in an airplane crash after the plane he was piloting suddenly nose-dived into the Delaware River on August 27, 1926.