John Drake Sloat (July 26, 1781 – November 28, 1867) was a

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 ...

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, in 1846, claimed

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Life

He was born at the family home of Sloat House in

Sloatsburg, New York Sloatsburg is a village in the town of Ramapo in Rockland County, New York, United States. Located east of Orange County, it is at the southern entrance to Harriman State Park. The population was 3,039 at the 2010 census. The village is named ...

, of Dutch ancestry, and was orphaned at an early age, his father, Captain John Sloat, having been mistakenly shot and killed by one of his own sentries two months before he was born, and his mother dying a few years later. Sloat was brought up by his maternal grandparents. Appointed midshipman in the Navy in 1800, he was sailing master of the frigate under Commodore Stephen Decatur during 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 ...

, and was promoted to lieutenant for conspicuous gallantry in the capture of the frigate . Sloat then commanded the schooner during which he fought the March 1825 naval campaign against the pirate ship of

Roberto Cofresí Roberto Cofresí y Ramírez de Arellano (June 17, 1791 – March 29, 1825), better known as El Pirata Cofresí, was a pirate from Puerto Rico. He was born into a noble family, but the political and economic difficulties faced by the island as a c ...

. He later served on the ships and , and from 1828 commanded the sloop with the rank of

master commandant Master commandant was a rank within the early United States Navy. Both the Continental Navy, started in 1775, and the United States Navy created by the United States Congress, in 1796, had just two commissioned ranks, lieutenant and captain. Maste ...

, to which he had been promoted in 1826. He was promoted to captain in 1837, and from 1840 to 1844 was in charge of the

Portsmouth Navy Yard The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Founded in 1800, PNS is U.S. Navy's oldest continuo ...

California

In 1844 Sloat was appointed to command the

Pacific Squadron The Pacific Squadron was part of the United States Navy squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially with no United States ports in the Pacific, they operated out of storeships which provided naval s ...

, and in 1845, as tensions with

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

grew, he was instructed to land in Alta California and claim it for the United States if war broke out. Receiving a report of fighting on the

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

border while off

Mazatlán Mazatlán () is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding '' municipio'', known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip ...

, he raced north (the British were reportedly interested in California too), engaged in a skirmish called the

Battle of Monterey The Battle of Monterey, at Monterey, California, occurred on 7 July 1846, during the Mexican–American War. The United States captured the town unopposed. Prelude In February 1845, at the Battle of Providencia, the Californio forces had ous ...

, raised the flag over the Customs House at

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bot ...

on July 7, 1846, and issued a proclamation announcing that California was now part of the United States. He was a military Governor of California for only twenty-two days, before handing over the office to

Robert F. Stockton Robert Field Stockton (August 20, 1795 – October 7, 1866) was a United States Navy commodore, notable in the capture of California during the Mexican–American War. He was a naval innovator and an early advocate for a propeller-driven, steam-p ...

. Later, his poor health forced Sloat to take commands ashore, where he commanded 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 tha ...

1847–51, directed the construction of the Stevens Battery in 1855, and helped plan the

Mare Island Navy Yard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates t ...

. He retired with the rank of captain in December 1861, and was promoted to rear admiral on the retired list in July 1866. Sloat was a Freemason, and belonged to

St. Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day Demre ...

lodge No. 321 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He died in

New Brighton, New York New Brighton is a neighborhood located on the North Shore of Staten Island in New York City. The neighborhood comprises an older industrial and residential harbor front area along the Kill Van Kull west of St. George. New Brighton is bounded by ...

, and was buried in Brooklyn's

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several blo ...

Legacy

Two destroyers were named in his honor as well as the World War II

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Ma ...

, the SS John Drake Sloat. The town, Sloat, California, in Plumas County, California was named for him in 1910. A major street, Sloat Boulevard, and the Commodore Sloat Elementary School, both in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, California are named for him. John Sloat Elementary School located in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

is named for him. Streets located in Monterey, California, East Garrison, California, Sacramento, California, and the Carthay Circle neighborhood of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

bear his name. There is a monument erected in his honor on the

Presidio of Monterey The Presidio of Monterey (POM), located in Monterey, California, is an active US Army installation with historic ties to the Spanish colonial era. Currently, it is the home of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLI-FLC). ...

U.S. Army post. His hometown of

is named after his grandfather, Stephen Sloat.

Dates of Rank

*Midshipman - 12 February 1800 *Sailing Master - 10 January 1812 *Lieutenant - 24 July 1813 *Master Commandant - 21 March 1826 *Captain - 9 February 1837 *Reserved List - 27 September 1855 *Retired List - 21 December 1861 *Commodore on Retired List - 16 July 1862 *Rear Admiral, Retired List - 25 July 1866

Gallery

Base of John Sloat memorial.jpg, Base of John Sloat memorial Sloat memorial overlooking Monterey Bay.jpg, Sloat memorial overlooking Monterey Bay John D. Sloat.jpg, 1905 lithograph (origin unknown) Sloat medallion - Native Sons Building - San Francisco, CA - DSC03980.jpg, Sloat medallion on Native Sons Building, San Francisco

Notes

References

Proclamation to the Inhabitants of California
(7 July 1846). * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sloat, John American people of the Bear Flag Revolt Commanders of the California Republic United States military governors of California People of the Conquest of California Military personnel from California United States Navy personnel of the Mexican–American War United States Navy rear admirals (upper half) American people of Dutch descent 1781 births 1867 deaths Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery Namesakes of San Francisco streets People from Sloatsburg, New York 19th-century American politicians