Commodore David Conner (1792 – 20 March 1856) was an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. He served in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

and led the Home Squadron during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the ...

. He led the successful naval assault during the

siege of Veracruz The Battle of Veracruz was a 20-day siege of the key Mexican beachhead seaport of Veracruz during the Mexican–American War. Lasting from March 9–29, 1847, it began with the first large-scale amphibious assault conducted by United States ...

which included the landing of 10,000 U.S. troops, the largest U.S. military amphibious assault at the time. He served on the

Board of Navy Commissioners The Board of Navy Commissioners was a United States Navy administrative body in existence from 1815 to 1842, with responsibility for the navy's material support. The three-member Board was created as part of an expansion of the U.S. Navy Depart ...

; as the first Chief of the

Bureau of Construction, Equipment, and Repair Bureau ( ) may refer to: Agencies and organizations *Government agency *Public administration * News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location * Bureau (European Parliament), the administra ...

; as a Special Diplomatic Agent to Mexico and commanded the Philadelphia Naval Yard.

Early life

Conner was born in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in ...

. He was the son of David Conner, an Irishman and Abigail Rhodes, who was of English descent. He worked in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

and then joined the U.S. Navy on 16 January 1809. He served his first few years as a midshipman on the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed an ...

Military career

During the

Conner served in during her chase of HMS ''Belvidera'' and her actions with in February 1813 and the March 1815 capture of . During the capture of the ''Penguin'' he was severely wounded in the hip and his recovery took almost two years. He was held as a prisoner of war by the British. He received promotion to Lieutenant in July 1813. In the decade following the war, Lieutenant Conner served in the Pacific, had shore duty at Philadelphia and commanded the schooner . Attaining the rank of Commander in March 1825, he was Commanding Officer of the sloops of war and before receiving promotion to Captain in 1835. He served as a Navy Commissioner in 1841 and 1842, and upon the establishment of the bureau system in the Navy became the first Chief of the

. Conner was given the title

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

, but his official naval rank remained unchanged. The title "commodore" added nothing to his pay or to his permanent rank of captain. Not until 1862, six years after Conner's death in 1856, did the title commodore come to signify a higher grade or an increased salary.Griffis, William Elliot. (1887)
''Matthew Calbraith Perry: A Typical American Naval Officer,'' pp. 154
155. During the

, Commodore Conner commanded the Home Squadron which operated in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

in 1846 and 1847. He successfully disrupted Mexican trade in the Gulf of Mexico with the Blockade of Veracruz. He attempted an operation up the Alvarado River but had to withdraw due to the lack of shallow draft vessels. On November 14, 1846, he captured

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fifth ...

as a base for future operations. He also participated in the naval assault against the city of Veracruz. Conner directed the naval assault and landing of 10,000 U.S. troops which was the largest amphibious assault by the U.S. to date. Conner fell ill toward the end of the siege of Veracruz and was replaced by his vice commander Matthew C. Perry. David Conner tombstone

Leaving seagoing service soon afterwards, Conner was assigned as Special Diplomatic Agent to Mexico by President Polk and subsequently commanded the

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the ci ...

. Ill health, however, kept him from seeing much other active employment. Commodore Conner died at Philadelphia on 20 March 1856 at age 64 and was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Legacy

Two

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed ...

s of the United States Navy have been named in his honor. The USS Conner (DD-72) was a Caldwell-class destroyer in service from 1918 to 1940 and the USS Conner (DD-582) was a Fletcher-class destroyer in service from 1943 to 1946.

References

* Griffis, William Elliot. (1887)
''Matthew Calbraith Perry: A Typical American Naval Officer.''
Boston: Cupples and Hurd. {{DEFAULTSORT:Conner, David 1792 births 1856 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Mexico United States Navy personnel of the War of 1812 Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) People from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania People from Pennsylvania in the War of 1812 United States Navy commodores United States Navy personnel of the Mexican–American War War of 1812 prisoners of war held by the United Kingdom