Commodore Garrett Jesse Pendergrast (December 5, 1802 – November 7, 1862) was an officer in 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 ...

, who served at the beginning of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

Early life and career

Pendergrast entered the navy as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Af ...

on January 1, 1812, was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on March 3, 1821, and to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

on September 8, 1841. On 27 October 1843 he recommissioned the sloop at Boston, sailing to the South Atlantic to join the

Brazil Squadron The Brazil Squadron, the Brazil Station, or the South Atlantic Squadron was an overseas military station established by the United States in 1826 to protect American commerce in the South Atlantic during a war between Brazil and Argentina. When th ...

, where he remained for over two years, finally returning to the New York Navy Yard in February 1846. Promoted to Captain on May 24, 1855, he commissioned the frigate on February 20, 1856. The ship would later become the . On September 24, 1860, Pendergrast sailed from Philadelphia aboard the sloop in order to assume command of the

Home Squadron The Home Squadron was part of the United States Navy in the mid-19th century. Organized as early as 1838, ships were assigned to protect coastal commerce, aid ships in distress, suppress piracy and the Atlantic slave trade, make coastal surveys, ...

, then operating off the coast of Mexico.

Civil War

At the outbreak of war in 1861, then Captain Pendergrast was in command of the frigate at the

Norfolk Navy Yard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility t ...

, having just returned from Vera Cruz, Mexico. At the age of 58, Pendergrast was one of the oldest officers in service. A native of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, he was married to Virginia Barron, the daughter of Commodore

James Barron James Barron (September 15, 1768 – April 21, 1851) was an officer in the United States Navy. He served in the Quasi-War and the Barbary Wars, during which he commanded a number of famous ships, including and . As commander of the frigate , h ...

. Upon the

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, she reportedly refused to accompany her husband in his allegiance to the United States and swore she would never live with him again. The first significant victory for the U.S. Navy during the early phases of the

Union blockade The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading. The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required the monitoring of of Atlanti ...

occurred on April 24, 1861, when Pendergrast and the ''Cumberland'', accompanied by a small flotilla of support ships, began seizing Confederate ships and privateers in the vicinity of

Fort Monroe Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...

off the Virginia coastline. Within the next two weeks, Pendergrast had captured 16 enemy vessels, serving early notice to the Confederate War Department that the blockade would be effective if extended. Promoted to

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 ...

on July 16, 1862, Pendergrast was assigned to command 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 ...

, and was holding that position when he died of a paralytic stroke on November 7, 1862. He is buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery,

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 ...

Family

His nephew was Lieutenant Commander Austin Pendergrast, who during the Civil War took command of when she was sunk by .

Dates of rank

*Midshipman - 1 January 1812 *Lieutenant - 3 March 1821 *Commander - 8 September 1841 *Captain - 24 May 1855 *Commodore, Retired List - 16 July 1862 https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/o/officers-continental-usnavy-mc-1775-1900.html

References

Notes Bibliography * ''The Civil War. The Blockade: Raiders and Runners''.

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Books, 1983.

External links