Captain Sever's Commission As Captain in U.S. Navy-- Part 2

The commission reads:

"Know ye, that reposing special Trust and Confidence in the Patriotism, Valour, Fidelity and Abilities of James Sever, Esquire, I have nominated , and by  and with the Advice and Consent  of the senate, do appoint him a Captain in the Navy.

"He is therefore carefully and diligently to discharge the Duty of a Captain by doing and performing all Manner of Things thereunto belonging.

"I do strictly charge and requite all Officers, Seaman and Marines under his Command to be obedient to his Orders as a Captain.

"And he is to observe and follow such Orders and Directions from time to time, as he shall receive from me, or the future President of the United States, or his Superior Officer set over him, according to  to the Rules and Discipline of the Navy.

"This Commission to continue in Force during the pleasure of the President of the United States for the Time being.

"Given under my Hand at Philadelphia this Eleventh Day of May  in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety-Eight and in the Twenty ___?__ Year of the Independence of the United States.

"By Command of the President of the United States of America.   JOHN ADAMS"

Registered Josiah Fox

Got $24,000 Lying Around?  --Brock-Perry

Robert Smith Todd (Mary Lincoln's Father)-- Part 3: At Battles of Frenchtown and Thames

In July 1812, when the 5th Kentucky Regiment left Lexington, , it contained Robert , three of his brothers and eight Todd cousins.  Initially, Robert did not receive his commission, although his two older brothers did.

Along with his younger brother, Samuel, Robert enlisted as a private.  Before he could leave Ohio, however, he caught pneumonia and had to stay there to recover.

After recovering (and during which time he returned home to marry Eliza Parker), he went to the front of military action and  fought at the Battle of Frenchtown in Michigan in January 1813 and later in the fall was at the Battle of the Thames, where Tecumseh was killed and which ended fighting in that part of the war.

Before the end of the war, Robert was promoted to captain.

--Brock-Perry

Robert Smith Todd (Mary Lincoln's Father)-- Part 2: Militia and War of 1812

After graduating from Transylvania College, he began studying law, first by apprenticing himself in the office of clerk of Fayette County and then with noted jurist George Bibb, chief justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals (and later U.SD. senator and Secretary of the Treasury in the 1840s.

He was admitted to the bar in  on September 11, 1811, however, he never practiced law and chose instead to go into business.

Even before the War of 1812 began, Robert Todd  was active in a company of the Kentucky militia that eventually  merged into the Lexington Light Artillery of the 5th Kentucky Regiment.  During the winter of 1811-1812, he asked for a commission as an officer from Senator Henry Clay.

--Brock-Perry

Master Rank in the U.S. Navy-- Part 2: So As Not To Get Confused

From Wikipedia.

Master, originally sailing master, was a historic warrant officer rank in the United States Navy, above that of a midshipman, after 1819, passed midshipman, after 1862 ensign, and below a lieutenant.

Some masters were appointed to command ships, with the rank of master commandant.  In 1837,  sailing master  was renamed master, master commandant was renamed  commander, and some masters were commissioned as officers, formally  "master in line for promotion" to distinguish them from warrant masters who could not be promoted.

I will write more about this rank in my Running the Blockade: Civil War Navy blog later today.

So, That's What a Sailing Master's Rank Was.  --Brock-Perry

Stephen Champlin-- Part 6: At York and Fort George

Stephen Champlin was appointed to the rank of sailing master on May 22, 1812; lieutenant on December 9, 1814; commander on June 22, 1838; captain on August 4, 1840 and commodore on April 4, 1867.

He was sent by Perry to the Great Lakes in 1813, in advance of Perry's main force.  Champlin left with 42 men and 2 officers and traveled by land from Albany, N.Y. to Sacketts Harbor on Lake Erie.  During the winter, he and his men fitted out the schooner Asp in preparation for an attack on Little York (Toronto) during which he was second in command.

After York, he took part in the Battle of Fort George.

After this, Perry ordered Champlin to Boston to try to secure men from the Bainbridge.  Upon return to Sackets Harbor, Chauncey asked him to go to Utica, NY, and collect a $36,000 draft and pay Mr. Van Rensselaer and return with the balance.

Two days after returning to Sackets Harbor, Chauncey ordered him to report to Perry with 3 officers and 71 men at Erie, Pennsylvania.

--Busy Guy.  --Brock-Perry

The Rank of U.S. Army Ensign

In the last four posts about George Ronan I have mentioned his rank as an ensign.  Now, before I started this blog I knew of the Navy rank of Ensign, which is the lowest of the officer grades, but I'd never heard of an ensign.  I know that the lowest Army officer rank is 2nd lieutenant.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary has three meanings for ensign:

1.  A flag that is flown (as if by a ship) as a symbol of its nationality.

2.  An infantry officer  of what formerly was the lowest commissioned rank.

3.  A commissioned officer in the Navy or Coast Guard ranking above a chief warrant officer and below a lieutenant junior grade.

Wikipedia says the ranks of ensign and cornet were abolished by the United States Army in the Army Organization Act of 1815.

So, George Ronan would be the second definition.  Today, he would have been a 2nd lieutenant.

In Case You're Wondering.  --Brock-Perry

U.S. Navy's Master Commandant Rank

From Wikipedia.

I keep coming across this naval rank which is not used anymore.  Just to be sure exactly what it was, I did some research.

It was a rank in the early U.S. Navy, slightly higher than that of a lieutenant.  Often the command of a warship that was too small to justify it be commanded by a full captain was commanded by master commandants.

The rank was later shortened to commander in 1838.

Generally, warships in the early U.S. Navy were commanded, descending in size, by captains, master commandants and lieutenants.

--Brock-Perry

Sylvanus Thayer, Father of West Point-- Part 4: Ranks

From Cullom's register of USMA.

Ranks held by Sylvanus Thayer

2nd Lt.  Corps of Engineers  Feb. 23, 1808  Upon graduation from USMA
1st Lt., Corps of Engineers--  July 1, 1812

Captain--  Staff Department Commissary of Ordnance--  Sept. 22, 1812
Capt., Corps of Engineers--  Oct. 13, 1813

Brevet Major--  Feb. 20, 1815 for Distinctive and meritorious service
Brevet Lt.-Col.--  March 3, 1823

Major, Corps of Engineers--  May 24, 1824
Brevet Col.--  March 3, 1833

Lt.-Col., Corps of Engineers--  July 7, 1838
Col., Corps of Engineers--  March 3, 1863

Brevet Brig. Gen.--  May 31, 1863
Retired from active service June 1, 1863

Served for more than 45 years.

Died September 7, 1872 at Braintree, Massachusetts.  Buried at West Point.

--Brock-Perry

Scioto County's Captain David Roop-- Part 2: Very Unofficerlike In Appearance and Liked His Whiskey

"Captain Roop was a man of undoubted courage, but very unofficerlike in his appearance.  He would not be troubled with a sword, but carried the same arms and dressed in his linsey hunting shirt, the same as his men.

"As he had to associate with officers, some of whom belonged to the regular army, they court-martialed him for his unofficerlike appearance, broke him of his commission, and reduced him to the ranks.  The next day the company elected him Captain again.  They let it run on a few days, and Roop, being fond of whiskey, got tight.  Thereupon the officers had him tried by court-martial, found him guilty of drunkenness and broke him again.

"The second time they elected him Captain.  They then told the officers they might go and break him as often as they pleased, they would elect him Captain just as often.  So the officers had to give up and let him dress and do as he pleased."

Quite a Guy.  --Brock-Perry