Charles Carroll Simms (1824–1884) a native of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

, became a

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 ...

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 ...

in 1839. He served in the U.S. Navy for more than two decades, achieving the rank of

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 ...

in 1854. He was dismissed from the service in April 1861, after his state left 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 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, and briefly was an officer in Virginia's Navy. Commissioned as a

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

in the

Confederate States Navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American ...

in June 1861, during that year he commanded the steamer CSS ''George Page'' and was assigned to the steamer CSS ''Rappahannock''. Also commanded CSS Appomattox in coastal North Carolina until it was scuttled in February 1862. As an officer of the

ironclad An ironclad is a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by Wrought iron, iron or steel iron armor, armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships ...

CSS ''Virginia'', he took part in her March–May 1862 actions in the vicinity of

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

. Subsequently, he served in the

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-ste ...

s CSS ''Nansemond'' on the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Ches ...

, and CSS ''Selma'' in

Mobile Bay Mobile Bay ( ) is a shallow inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. Th ...

. During the

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

's final year, while assigned to the

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ...

Squadron, he commanded the ironclads CSS ''Baltic'' and CSS ''Nashville''. First Lieutenant Simms surrendered to Federal forces in early May 1865 and was paroled soon afterwards. Simms was born 30 Mar 1824 in Virginia to John Douglas Simms and Eleanor Carroll Brent. He married Elizabeth James Nourse about 1852 and he died 18 Dec 1884 in Georgetown, Washington, D. C. He and his wife are buried in

Rock Creek Cemetery Rock Creek Cemetery is an cemetery with a natural and rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, off Hawaii Avenue, NE, in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. It is across the stre ...

in Washington D.C. The Simms family was one of public service. His father, John Douglass Simms, was a Chief Clerk of the Navy Department and Acting

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

in 1841 with the resignation of

George E. Badger George Edmund Badger (April 17, 1795May 11, 1866) was a slave owner and Whig U.S. senator from the state of North Carolina. Early life Badger was born on April 17, 1795, in New Bern, North Carolina. He attended Yale College (where he was a ...

. Col. Charles Simms, grandfather of Charles Carroll Simms, was, among other things, an officer in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolu ...

and Mayor of

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

References

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.'' Confederate States Navy commanders Military personnel from Virginia United States Navy officers People of Virginia in the American Civil War 1824 births 1884 deaths {{AmericanCivilWar-bio-stub