George Campbell Read (January 9, 1788August 22, 1862) was a

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 ...

officer. He 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 ...

, commanded the '' USS Chippewa'' during 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 ...

, commanded 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 ...

from 1837 to 1840 including during the

Second Sumatran expedition The Second Sumatran expedition was a punitive expedition by the United States United States Navy, Navy against inhabitants of the island of Sumatra. After Malay Peninsula, Malay warriors or pirates had massacred the crew of the American merchant ...

in 1838, commanded the

Africa Squadron The Africa Squadron was a unit of the United States Navy that operated from 1819 to 1861 in the Blockade of Africa to suppress the slave trade along the coast of West Africa. However, the term was often ascribed generally to anti-slavery oper ...

from 1846 to 1847, and the Mediterranean Squadron from 1847 to 1849. He commanded the

Philadelphia Naval Asylum Naval Square is a gated community within the Graduate Hospital neighborhood of Philadelphia that served as the first United States Naval Academy from 1834 to 1845, when the Naval Academy formed in Annapolis. It continued as a retirement home f ...

from 1839 to 1846, the Philadelphia Navy Yard from 1850 to 1853, and the Philadelphia Naval Asylum again 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 ...

from 1861 to 1862. He was promoted to

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 July 1862.

Early life

Read was born on January 9, 1788, in Ireland and emigrated to the United States at an early age. At the age of 16, Read entered service in the United States Navy as a midshipman on April 2, 1804.Edward W. Callahan, ed. ''List of Officers of the Navy of the United States and the Marine Corps from 1775 to 1900''. New York: L. R. Hamersly, 1901.

Career

Read first joined the crew of in 1806 under the command of his uncle, Captain Hugh G. Campbell. On April 25, 1810, after six years of service, Read was promoted to lieutenant, and he served aboard USS ''Constitution'' under Commodore Isaac Hull during the War of 1812. After the victory of the '' USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere'', Read was assigned by Hull to board the British vessel, accept her surrender, remove the prisoners, and set her ablaze. Read was served under Commodore Stephen Decatur aboard during the naval action USS ''United States'' vs HMS ''Macedonian''. In 1813, he served on the '' USS John Adams'', and commanded the ''

USS Scorpion USS ''Scorpion'' may refer to: * , a block sloop in commission from 1812 to 1814 that was part of Joshua Barney's Chesapeake Bay Flotilla in the War of 1812. * , a schooner in commission from 1813 to 1814 serving on the upper Great Lakes in the Wa ...

'' and '' USS Vixen''. In 1814, he commanded the '' USS Conquest''. He received Congressional silver medals for his service on the ''Constitution'' and ''United States'' during the War of 1812. He was stationed in Boston from 1815 to 1817. He was promoted to master commandant in 1817 and commanded the '' USS Hornet''. As a lieutenant, Read commanded the brig during the Second Barbary War in 1815. He was promoted to commander in 1816, and served in the Mediterranean and off the coast of Africa. After a promotion to captain in 1825, he took command of USS ''Constitution''. In April 1832, Read was given command of the ''USS Constellation'' for a two-year voyage off the coast of northern Africa. Upon return to the United States, Read was accused of cruelty by one of his crew. Read demanded to be tried by Courts-Martial as soon as possible. A trial took place in Baltimore, Maryland on June 23, 1835. Testimony revealed that the accuser, a midshipman, had refused to go aloft the mast when ordered by Read. Read responded by ordering the midshipman bound with rope and hauled to the top of the mast. Read was found guilty of "conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman" and "Oppression" and he was suspended from duty for one year. He commanded the

from 1837 to 1840 and took part in retaliatory actions against the pirates and raiders who preyed on American shipping in India. He commanded the

Second Sumatran Expedition The Second Sumatran expedition was a punitive expedition by the United States United States Navy, Navy against inhabitants of the island of Sumatra. After Malay Peninsula, Malay warriors or pirates had massacred the crew of the American merchant ...

which was undertaken in response to the massacre of the merchant ship ''Eclipse''. In 1840,
Around the World: A Narrative of a Voyage in the East India Squadron, Under Commodore George C. Read.
', was published by Charles S. Francis, which described the travels of the East India Squadron. From 1839 to 1846, Read commanded the Philadelphia Naval School. He served on a Naval board with Commodores Thomas ap Catesby Jones,

Matthew C. Perry Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a United States Navy officer who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War. He led the Perry Expedition that Bakumatsu, ended Japan' ...

, and Captains Elie A. F. La Vallette and Isaac Mayo for the examination of midshipmen entitled to promotion. He next commanded the

from 1846 to 1847 and the Mediterranean Squadron from 1847 to 1849. He commanded the Philadelphia Navy Yard from 1850 to 1853. When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, Read was again in charge of the

. Read was promoted to rear admiral on the retired list in July 1862.

Personal life

Read married Elizabeth Dale (1807-1863), the daughter of Commodore Richard Dale, in July 1829. He died on August 22, 1862, and was interred in

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery, also called Laurel Hill East to distinguish it from the affiliated West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, Bala Cynwyd, is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls, Philadelphia, East Falls neighborhood ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

Legacy

The naval patrol ship '' USS Commodore Read'' was named in his honor.

References

Citations

External links