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 ...

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

Africa Squadron The Africa Squadron was a unit of the United States Navy that operated from 1819 to 1861 in the Blockade of Africa to suppress the slave trade along the coast of West Africa. However, the term was often ascribed generally to anti-slavery oper ...

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

Lavallette, New Jersey Lavallette is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 1,875, At the age of 10, he accompanied his father, a chaplain, on a cruise in the frigate , commanded by Stephen Decatur, Sr. After serving in the Merchant navy, merchant marine, La Vallette entered the United States Navy on June 25, 1812, as Master (naval), sailing master. On September 11, 1814, he was an Acting (rank), acting lieutenant aboard the corvette , the flagship of Commodore Thomas Macdonough at the Battle of Lake Champlain, where the British were defeated in a decisive engagement of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

. La Vallette distinguished himself during the battle, winning promotion and a medal. He received his commission as lieutenant on December 9, 1814. La Vallette's first command came in June 1817, taking the schooner on a survey of Virginia's coast and harbors. He then served on a number of larger ships, and in 1824 was assigned to . He served in the Mediterranean Squadron (United States), Mediterranean Squadron under Commodore Isaac Hull, he was acting captain for several months, and served on the ship until 1828. After leaving ''Constitution'', La Vallette held a series of routine assignments, before being ordered to take the sloop-of-war to Guayaquil, Ecuador, to protect the United States interests during a revolution. He sailed from the United States in May 1833, rounding Cape Horn, and finally reaching Guayaquil in February 1834. After receiving assurances that American lives and property would be protected, he returned home, making the voyage from Valparaíso to Hampton Roads in a little more than two months. He formally Anglicisation, anglicized his name to Lavallette in 1830. Lavallette was promoted to Master Commandant, master commandant on March 3, 1831, and to Captain (naval), captain on February 23, 1840. From 1842 to 1845, La Vallette served as commandant of the Navy Yard at Pensacola, Florida. During his time as commandant, a government contractor requested that La Vallette order his sailors to assist in the search for escaped slaves used in construction of the Navy Yard, but La Vallette refused. During the Mexican–American War, Lavallette commanded the frigates and the , directing operations against Guaymas in the Gulf of California on November 19–20, 1847. He played a key role in the capture of Mazatlán and in 1848, served as Military Governor of Mazatlán, and the crew of the ''Congress'' comprised the occupying garrison. In 1851 he commanded the

Africa Squadron The Africa Squadron was a unit of the United States Navy that operated from 1819 to 1861 in the Blockade of Africa to suppress the slave trade along the coast of West Africa. However, the term was often ascribed generally to anti-slavery oper ...

. On July 30, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Lavallette a rear admiral on the retired list.

Death and legacy

Lavallette died on November 18, 1862, at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia Naval Yard Hospital and was interred in Laurel Hill Cemetery. Two destroyers 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 ...

were named in his honor. The Borough of

Lavallette, New Jersey Lavallette is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 1,875,