Joseph Berry Breck (July 12, 1828 – July 26, 1865) was an officer in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
.
Biography
Breck was born in
Maine
Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
, the son of Benjamin Dunton Breck and Jane S. Simmons. Breck had a successful career in the American mercantile marine as a
shipmaster
A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the ship, inc ...
and businessman, and at the outbreak of the Civil War was engaged in the Pacific and China trade, but soon offered his services to the
Navy Department.
He was eventually commissioned as an Acting Ensign on February 27, 1863.
From April 24, 1863
he commanded the screw
steamer , taking a prominent part in the destruction of the saltworks at
Masonboro Inlet
Masonboro Inlet is an inlet in New Hanover County, North Carolina, separating the town of Wrightsville Beach from Masonboro Island. The inlet was used as a hideout by Confederate blockade runners during the Civil War
A civil war is a wa ...
, North Carolina, on August 27, 1864, and on many other expeditions ashore.
He received rapid promotion; to Acting Master on August 8, 1863, to Acting
Volunteer Lieutenant on November 16, 1863, and to Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Commander on November 25, 1864.
Although his health was much impaired, Breck remained in command of ''Niphon'' until invalided out of the service by a medical board in November 1864.
(His younger brother Lowell Mason Breck (1839–1863), who served under him aboard ''Niphon'', was also invalided out of the Navy suffering from "
consumption
Consumption may refer to:
* Eating
*Resource consumption
*Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically known as consumption
* Consumer (food chain), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms
* Consumption (economics), the purchasing of n ...
", from which he soon died.
) Seeking a climate conducive to his recovery Lt-Cdr. Breck travelled to San Francisco, California, but died on July 26, 1865, soon after his arrival there.
He was buried in
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia.
...
.
Personal life
Breck was married twice, firstly to Fredonia Gaston, and after her death to Ellen Francis Newell, by whom he had four children; twin daughters, who died in infancy, and two sons. The eldest son, John Leslie Breck (1860–1899)
became a noted
impressionist
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
painter, while the younger, Edward Breck (1861–1929)
was a scholar, journalist, champion golfer and fencer, and an officer of
U.S. Naval Intelligence during the Spanish–American and First World Wars.
Namesake
The destroyer (1919–1930) was named for him.
See also
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breck, Joseph Berry
1828 births
1865 deaths
Union Navy officers
Military personnel from Maine
United States Navy officers
People of Maine in the American Civil War
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery