Stephen Champlin-- Part 4: Rose Rapidly Through the Ranks

His parents moved to Lebanon, Connecticut about 1795 and Stephen worked there until he was about sixteen years old, at which time he ran away from home to go to sea.  He walked 26 miles to New London,. Ct.,  and then went to sea twice where he was impressed by the British and spent a few days aboard a warship.

However, he had a document describing him physically and saying that he was an American citizen with him that got him released.  Afterwards he went on two more voyages and rapidly rose to become second mate.

He returned to Connecticut in 1808 and because of the trade embargo went to work on farms.  In the fall of 1809, when the embargo was lifted he shipped out as a passenger on ship commanded by his uncle, Christopher R. Perry.

During the return voyage, he attained the rank of second mate.  His cousin Matthew Perry was also a crewman on this trip.  At the time, Matthew was a U.S. Navy midshipman, but on leave.

Later in 1810, Stephen shipped out again on the the Latona for Buenos Aires and again was second mate.  In the summer of 1811 he sailed to the West Indies on the brig Dove, but this time as first mate.  The captain of the Dove died of yellow fever and Stephen acted as captain on the return voyage.

--Brock-Perry

Stephen Champlin-- Part 3

In the rear of the Champlin plot are the actual stones for Stephen, Minerva and her parents.   Each lies flat  along the ground and because they are badly weathered in spots, are sometimes difficult to read.  The stones from left to right, are inscribed:

Ralph M. Pomeroy died Jan. 6, 1863 in the 55th year of his age.  (Cemetery records give the date of death as being July 26, 1862 but this  may have been the date when his body was buried  in the Champlin plot.

Lydia P. died  September 1, 1872

M.L.C.  (no other inscription)

--Brock-Perry

Stephen Champlin-- Part 2: The Champlin Family Burial Plot

Both President Millard Fillmore and the commodore's individual  headstones are small and simple -- each bearing nothing more than their initials.

The centerpiece of the Champlin plot is a large monument bearing detailed descriptions on all four sides.  The front of the monument is adorned with a sculpture of a ship's cannon and ball, and anchor and various  pennants.  The left and right side inscriptions detail the names and date of birth and death of the commodore's son (Oliver Hazard Perry Champlin and wife), and the commodore's grandson (Oliver Hazard Perry Champlin and wife) -- each of whom are buried elsewhere on the plot.

I was unable to find out if the son and grandson followed into U.S.N. service.

The rear of the monument is the following inscription:

Commodore STEPHEN CHAMPLIN
BORN
Nov. 17, 1789
DIED
Feb. 20, 1870

MINERVA L.
WIFE OF
STEPHEN CHAMPLIN
BORN JUNE 28, 1798
DIED
JUNE 8, 1859

--Brock-Perry

Stephen Champlin-- Part 1: Buried Next to Millard Fillmore, 13th President

From the Stedman  Families Research Center, John Lisle.

Commodore

Born 17 November 1789   South Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island

Death  20 February 1870   Buffalo, Erie County, New York

Buried  Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, NY

Biography of Stephen Champlin   by Robert Champlin

Stephen Champlin, son of Stephen Champlin and Elizabeth Raymond Perry, was  born in South Kingston, Rhode Island, on November 17, 1789, and died at Buffalo (Erie County) New York on February 20 1870.  he was buried in the Forest Lawn Cemetery there.

The Champlin family plot (which contained two dozen stones when I visited in August 1994) is located right next to the Fillmore family plot in which Millard Fillmore, the 13th President of the United States is buried.

--Brock-Perry

Stephen Champlin, USN-- Part 3: Long Service In U.S. Navy

In 1816, as commander of the USS Porcupine, he participated in the mapping of the United States-Canadian boundary under  the Treaty of Ghent.

He continued to serve in the U.S. Navy until 1855, when he retired to its reserves.  In 1862, he was promoted to the rank of commodore.

Throughout the rest of his life he suffered greatly from his 1814 wound.  He married and fathered six children in Buffalo, New York,  where he died 20 February 1870 and was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in that city.

--Brock-Perry

Stephen Champlin, USN-- Part 2: Wounded and Captured on USS Tigress

After the battle, he was placed in command of two captured British vessels, the Queen Charlotte and Detroit.

In 1814, while commanding the USS Tigress, he worked the blockade of the port of Mackinac for several months.  Under attack by a larger British force of 400 sailors and Indians, he was wounded by cannon fire with a shot that passed through one thigh and into the other.

He was captured and suffered while being held by the British for 38 days before he was paroled and returned to Connecticut to recover.

--Brock-Perry

Stephen Champlin, USN-- Part 1: At the Battle of Lake Erie

From GENii Family Tree   Commodore Stephen Champlin.

Stephen Champlin was born 17 November 1789 in South Kingston, Rhode Island,  and lived in Lebanon, Connecticut, on his father's farm until the age of sixteen.  Rejecting a future of farming, he became a seaman and attained the rank of captain in the West Indian trade in six years.

At the beginning o the War of 1812, he was appointed sailing master in the U.S. Navy and given command of a gunboat.  He was later ordered to Lake Erie where he took command of the schooner Scorpion and fought in the 1813 Battle of Lake Erie. He served with a relative, Oliver Hazard Perry.

He is said to have fired the first and last shot of the battle and given credit for capturing the British vessel Little Belt.

--Brock-Perry

Dr. George Hazard Perry's Daughter-- Part 2: Daughter's Son Was Stephen Champlin

George Hazard (where Oliver Hazard Perry's middle name came from) Perry's daughter, Elizabeth married Stephen Champlin.

Their son, Commodore Stephen Champlin was a sailing master at the Battle of Lake Erie and reportedly fired the first shot.

I have written quite a bit about him in this blog.  Click on the his name under labels below.

--Brock-Perry

Dr. George Hazard Perry, Sr. (Brother of Christopher R. Perry)-- Part 1

Christopher R. Perry, father of Oliver Hazard and Matthew Calbraith Perry, had two brothers.  I found no mention of either one being in the military.  But....

From Find-A-Grave.

DR. GEORGE HAZARD PERRY, SR.

Born  4 January 1757 in South Kingston, Rhode Island

Died 22 February 1825 Lee, New York.

Buried in Perry Family Cemetery in Rome, New York.

I found nothing about him being in the military.

And, how was this military?

Next Post.  --Brock-Perry

The Family of Alexandrine Macomb Stanton and Henry Stanton

From Find-A-Grave.

She was another daughter of U.S. General-in-chief Alexander Macomb.  (1808-1889).  She married HENRY STANTON  (1779-1856).  He was an officer during the War of 1812, Seminole War and Mexican War.

Their children:

FRANCIS STANTON  (1838-1859)  May have been in military.  Was assistant engineer  who died of illness at Fort Yuma, California.

GEN. WILLIAM STANTON  (1843-1927)  With the 43rd Ohio during the Civil War.  Also Blackfoot War and Spanish-American War.

ROBERT LEE STANTON (1846-1932)  This name sure jumped off the page for me.  He was baptized  at St. John's Episcopal Church, the "Church of the Generals."  Captain Robert E. Lee was his Godfather.  I found no indication, however, that he was ever in the military.

--Brock-Perry

The Family of Jane Octavia Macomb Miller and Morris Smith Miller

From Find-A-Grave.

She was the daughter of Alexander Macomb, who became the U.S. general-in-chief of the Army after the War of 1812.

1822-1900

She married Morris Smith Miller (1822-1900) who served in the Quartermaster's Department during the Civil War. and was appointed to brevet brigadier general n March 1865.  He was the son og Morris Smith Miller (1779-1824) who was a Congressman 1813-1815, and later mayor of Albany, New York and a N.Y. State Court Judge.

They had a son named COL. ALEXANDER MACOMB MILLER (1843-1904).  USMA graduate 1865, 3rd in class.

A daughter, MARIA BLEEKER MILLER WHEATON  (1846-1924) married FRANK WHEATON  (1833-1903) a career military officer who fought in the Civil War and the Indian Wars.

So, we started with the Perry-Rodgers families and now we have the Macombs, Millers and Wheatons.  Quite the military families.

--Brock-Perry

The Family of Ann Minerva Rodgers and John Navarre Macomb-- Part 3

Other sons and daughters:

JOHN NAVARRE MACOMB (1843-1916)  No mention as to military service.

AUGUSTUS CANFIELD MACOMB  (1854-1932)  Lt. Colonel U.S. Army.  Buried at Arlington National Cemetery

MINERVA RODGERS MACOMB PETERS  (1856-1898)Married to U.S. consul to Germany.

CHRISTINA LIVINGSTON PETERS  (1861-1945)  These last two are buried with their parents at Arlington National Cemetery.

NANNIE RODGERS MACOMB  (1864-1952)

--Brock-Perry

The Family of Ann Minerva Rodgers Macomb and John Bavarre Macomb-- Part 2

Looking at the military side of things.

One of their sons was General Montgomery Meigs Macomb (1852- 1924) who is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.  Graduated 4th in Class of 1974 USMA.  Served ion the American Frontier

Commissioned brigadier general in 1910  During WW I he was post commander of Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Montgomery Meigs is definitely a military name.

--Brock-Perry

The Family of Ann Minerva Rodgers Macomb and John Navarre Macomb

Before I commemorated the 75th anniversary of D-Day these last six posts, I was writing about the Rodgers and Perry families and the number of sons they sent to the military as well as daughters marrying into other military families.  Here is how the Perry family got linked to the Macomb family.

Ann Minerva Rodgers Macomb was the daughter of John Rodgers and Sarah Wallace Perry, daughter of Christopher R. Perry and sister of Oliver Hazard and Matthew Calbraith Perry.

JOHN NAVARRE MACOMB (Jr.)(1811-1889) was an 1828 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy.

His father was John Navarre Macomb (1774-1810) who was a New York merchant who died defending the British packet ship Princess Charlotte against a French privateer off the Isle of Sicily.

His father also had two brothers who were in the military.  They were:

ALEXANDER MACOMB  (1782-1841).  He was a general in the War of 1812 and eventually general in command of the whole U.S. Army.

His youngest son was Commodore William H. Macomb who was a Union Navy officer in the Civil War.

ROBERT MACOMB--  Lt. Col. War of 1812

MAJOR ALEXANDER SARANAC MACOMB  Graduated USMA 1835.  Aide-de-Camp to his father, Alexander Macomb.

Also, there was a Lt. JASPER LIVINGSTON MACOMB (?-1833)  7th Regiment, U.S. Army Infantry.  Died at age 30.  Interned at Tremont House Hotel's "Stranger's Tomb" built in 1833 to bury guests who had died at the hotel.  Hew was a brother of John Navarre Macomb, Jr.

--Brock-Perry

AP Announces Allied Landings in Normandy

This was the first word to the rest of the world as to what had happened on June 6, 1944.

Wes Gallagher, AP General manager in London.  Word arrived at 9:32 a.m. and was sent out a minute later.

SUPREME HEADQUARTERS ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE (AP)

Allied troops landed on the Normandy coast in France in tremendous strength by cloudy daylight today and stormed several miles inland with tanks and infantry in the grand assault  which General Dwight D. Eisenhower called a crusade in which 'we will accept nothing less than full victory.' "

Just In Case D-Day Failed, Eisenhower Had a Prepared Statement

From Mental Floss.

General Eisenhower and his staff had prepared as much as they could for the invasion.  But, there is always the possibility that it might fail.  Just in case, Ike had these words:

"Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops.  My decision to attack at this time and place was based on the best information available.  The troops, the air and the Navy did  all that bravery and devotion to duty could do.

"If any blame  or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone."

Sure Glad He Didn't Have to Read This One.  --Brock-Perry

Son of a Former President the Only General and Oldest to Storm Ashore In the First Wave D- Day: Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.

From Newsweek.

Among those  who landed at Normandy that day  were Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., son of the former president Theodore Roosevelt.

Also coming ashore was his son, Captain Quentin Roosevelt II.

At 56 years old, Theodore Roosevelt  was the oldest soldier and only general  in the first wave.  he and his son Quentin were also the only father-son pair in that wave.

Eisenhower's Words to the Men Attacking Normandy

From the June 6, 2018 Newsweek Magazine.

In his message to the Allied military, Eisenhower informed them that they were about to"embark upon a Great Crusade" and noted "the eyes of the world are upon you."

"The tide has turned!  The freemen of the world are marching together  to Victory!  I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle.  We will accept nothing less than full victory."

But, just in case things didn't turn out so well, he already had another message in case it failed.

Thankfully he didn't have to use it.

They Were There at Omaha Beach, June 6, 1944-- Part 2

Veteran Ray Wagner, 94, also spoke at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library.  Wagner's Duck boat sank as his Army division landed on Omaha Beach during the D-Day assault.

Wagner, who grew up and still lives in Chicago, was hit in the knee by shrapnel and later received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star.

"I can only say that I am happy to be here.  I know a lot of people aren't.  If it wasn't for them, half of us wouldn't be either," he said.

They Were There At Omaha Beach-- Part 1

From the June 6, 2019, Chicago Tribune  "A Day Like No Other" by Ron Grossman.

Veteran Richard Rung, 94, spoke at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library on Wednesday.  Rung participated in the D-Day landing at Omaha Beach with the U.S. Navy and helped send ammunition supplies to the troops.

He spent two months in Europe and then served in the Pacific theater.  Rung grew up in Buffalo, N.Y., and now lives in Carol Stream.  "I am not only in history, but history is in me," he said.  "Omaha is not 75 years ago for me.  Periodically, it can be yesterday."

They Were There.

The Family of Minerva and John Rodgers-- Part 2: A Son Lost At

JERUSHA RODGERS  (1819-1883)--  daughter

WILLIAM PINKNEY RODGERS (1821-1891)--  Buried Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, D.C.

HENRY RODGERS  (1822-1854)--  Lieutenant, U.S. Navy.  Lost on sloop USS Albany.

ANN MINERVA RODGERS MACOMB  (1826-1916) --  Married John Navarre Macomb (1811-1889) USMA 1828 Civil War Union colonel.  Grandson of Declaration of Independence signer Philip Livingston.

They also had several grandsons and great grandsons who were U.S. Navy officers.

--Brock-Perry

The Family of Minerva and John Rodgers-- Part 1: Two Sons Fought in Civil War

As I already said, John Rodgers was a famous naval officer who was the brother of George Washington Rodgers who married Anna Maria Perry, daughter of Christopher R. Perry.  Two of her brothers were Oliver Hazard Perry and Matthew Calbraith Perry.

John Rodgers (1772-1838) married Minerva Denison in 1806 and they had eight children.

Their children:

COL. ROBERT SMITH RODGERS (1809-1891)  Married Sarah Perry in 1841.  She was the sister of Oliver Hazard Perry and Matthew Calbraith Perry.  He was a Union colonel in the Civil War.

FREDERICK RODGERS  (1811-1828)--  Midshipman U.S. Navy.  Drowned near Norfolk, Virginia, 5 April 1828.

JOHN RODGERS (1812-1882)--  Civil War naval officer.  Commanded the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.

LOUISA RODGERS MEIGS (1816-1879)--  Married Montgomery Cunningham Meigs, a Union Civil War general.  Buried in Arkansas.

And More.  --Brock-Perry

John Rodgers, U.S. Navy-- Part 2: Quasi-War, Barbary War and War of 1812

United States Navy officer.

He married Minerva Denison in 1806 and they had eight children.  Many of the children served in the military.

He became a hero in the pre-War of 1812 naval squabbles with France and Great Britain.  Served with distinction in the Quasi-War with France.  Helped defeat the Tripolitan naval forces in the Barbary War and defeated  a British sloop-of-war  in 1811, which brought back a measure of respect  for the U.S. Navy in the wake of the USS Chesapeake-HMS Shannon affair.

He commanded several squadrons in the War of 1812 and helped defend to successfully defend Baltimore against the British  in 1814.

After the war, he was named President of the U.S.  Navy Board of Commissioners (which included fellow  commodores Isaac Hull and David D. Porter).

--Brock-Perry

John Rodgers, U.S. Navy-- Part 1

From Find-A-Grave.

He was the brother of George Washington Rodgers who married Anna Maria Perry, the daughter of Christopher R. Perry, the father of Oliver Hazard Perry and Matthew Calbraith Perry.

Birth:  11 July, 1772 in Havre de Grace, Maryland

Death:  1 August 1838  (age 66)  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Buried:  Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C.

Range 56, Site 152