Cornelius Kinchiloe Stribling (22 September 1796 – 17 January 1880) was a

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

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 ...

who served during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, the

Second Barbary War The Second Barbary War, also known as the U.S.–Algerian War and the Algerine War, was a brief military conflict between the United States and the North African state of Algiers in 1815. Piracy had been rampant along the North African "Barb ...

, the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

, and 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

Stribling was born at Pendleton, South Carolina, and left home at the age of 15. He was appointed

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

on 18 June 1812, the day the United States declared war on Great Britain. During the War of 1812, he served in from 1 January 1813 to April 1814 and in from then until April 1815. While assigned to ''Mohawk'' on

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

, Stribling participated in the blockade of

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

in the summer and fall of 1814. Soon after the end of the war, he returned to ''Macedonian'' and, in 1815, participated in the capture of two Algerine ships, a

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

and a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

, by

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

Stephen Decatur Commodore (United States), Commodore Stephen Decatur Jr. (; January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820) was a United States Navy officer. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in Worcester County, Maryland, Worcester County. His father, Ste ...

's squadron. In October 1815, Stribling was transferred to and returned home in that frigate at the end of 1817. On 1 April 1818, he was promoted to lieutenant and served successively in , , and , and again in ''Constellation'', during the campaigns against pirates in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

. In 1823, he was given command of two barges along the coast of Cuba and with them captured buccaneer

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

''Pilot'' after a running fight. In 1835, he commanded the re-commissioned ''Peacock'' (1828) on her second

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

conveying diplomatist Edmund Roberts, accompanied by Lieutenant Commanding A. S. Campbell the U. S. Schooner ''Enterprise'', both under the command of Commodore Edmund P. Kennedy, on the Commodore's way to establish the

East India Squadron The East India Squadron, or East Indies Squadron, was a Squadron (naval), squadron of American ships that existed in the nineteenth century. It focused on protecting American interests in the Far East, while the Pacific Squadron concentrated on ...

. During the Mexican War, Stribling was attached to the

ship-of-the-line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which involved the two column ...

and took part in operations against the coastal towns of

Lower California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was kno ...

and western Mexico. From 1850 to 1853, he served as Superintendent of the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

. On 1 August 1853, he was promoted to the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. From 1854 to 1855, he commanded and, between 1857 and 1859, he was Commandant at the

Pensacola Navy Yard Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United Sta ...

. After two years as Commander of the East India Squadron, Stribling returned home in 1861 to find the Union rent asunder by the Civil War. He supported the Union cause. Under the provisions of the Act of Congress, effective 21 December 1861, his long service required that he be placed upon the retired list. That action and a promotion to the rank of

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

took place on 2 August 1862. The exigencies of war soon brought him back to active duty. He commanded the

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries. Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during the American Revolution in 1776 at Front ...

until 23 September 1864, when he was ordered to assume command of the

East Gulf Blockading Squadron 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 Atlantic ...

. He held this post for the duration of the war. On 6 August 1866, he was appointed to the Lighthouse Board and remained with that organization until 18 September 1871, having served as president of the board from 15 March 1869. Rear Admiral Stribling died at

Martinsburg, West Virginia Martinsburg is a city in Berkeley County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 18,773 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making Martinsburg the largest city in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia a ...

, on 17 January 1880. He was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

Namesakes and honors

*Two ships have been named in his honor. *Stribling Walk, the central brick walkway of the United States Naval Academy, is also named for him. According to Naval Academy legend the walk has 11,880 bricks in it due to his death in January 1880.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stribling, Cornelius 1796 births 1880 deaths American military personnel of the Mexican–American War United States Navy personnel of the War of 1812 Military personnel from Martinsburg, West Virginia Superintendents of the United States Naval Academy Union Navy officers United States Navy admirals Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)

Biography

Namesakes and honors

See also

References

External links