Henry Knox Thatcher (26 May 1806 – 5 April 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

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

Early life and career

Thatcher was born in Thomaston,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

(after 1820 in Maine) to Ebenezer Thatcher and his wife, Lucy (daughter of Major General

Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806) was an American military officer, politician, bookseller, and a Founding Father of the United States. Knox, born in Boston, became a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionar ...

and

Lucy Flucker Knox Lucy Flucker Knox (August 2, 1756 – June 20, 1824) was an American revolutionary. She was the daughter of colonial official Thomas Flucker and Hannah Waldo, daughter of Samuel Waldo. She married Henry Knox, who became a leading officer in the ...

). Appointed to the

U.S. Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as commissioned officers in the United States Army. The academy was founded ...

at West Point in 1822, Thatcher was absent on sick leave for most of the first year and resigned in April 1823. He then received an appointment as a

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 ...

in the Navy on 4 March 1823. Thatcher spent most of the next four years on board the

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 ...

in the Pacific. He became a

passed midshipman A passed midshipman, sometimes called as "midshipman, passed", is a term used historically in the 19th century to describe a midshipman who had passed the lieutenant's exam and was eligible for promotion to lieutenant as soon as there was a vac ...

on 4 March 1829, and in 1830–1831 served in the schooner and sloop of war 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 ...

. Thatcher was promoted to lieutenant on 28 February 1833 and served aboard the

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 ...

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

. Thatcher then served on the frigate in the Mediterranean Squadron in 1834–1835; had special duty in 1837; and returned to the Mediterranean in the frigate in 1840. He served aboard the

receiving ship A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. 'Hulk' may be used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, an abandoned wreck or shell, or a ship whose propulsion system is no longer maintained or has been r ...

at Boston in 1843–1846, then in the sloop-of-war , part of 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 ...

in 1847–1850. After duty at

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

in 1851, he commanded the storeship in 1852. Promoted to commander on 14 September 1855, while serving as Executive Officer of the Naval Asylum at

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 ...

, Thatcher then commanded the small sloop of war in the Pacific in 1857–1859. He was Executive Officer of the Boston Navy Yard from November 1859 to November 1861, and thus played a role in the vast expansion of the Navy that began with the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861.

Civil War

Thatcher was promoted to captain in 1861, and while commanding the large sloop of war in the Mediterranean, attained the rank of commodore on 3 July 1862. Thatcher was the first commanding officer of the

storeship Combat stores ships, or storeships, are ships used to store naval supplies. They are used to deliver supplies such as provisions and fuel to combat ships on extended deployments. The United States US Navy, Navy operated the and es and the Royal ...

''New Hampshire'' upon its commissioning in May 1864. He commanded the

screw frigate Steam frigates (including screw frigates) and the smaller steam corvettes, steam sloops, steam gunboats and steam schooners, were steam-powered warships that were not meant to stand in the line of battle. The first such ships were paddle stea ...

in the

North Atlantic 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 ...

in 1864–1865, and a division of Admiral Porter's squadron at the two battles of

Fort Fisher Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865. The fort was located on one of Cape Fear Riv ...

in December 1864 and January 1865. Thatcher was then appointed to command of the Western Gulf Squadron, immediately commencing operations in cooperation with General Canby, commander of the

Army of West Mississippi The Army of West Mississippi was a Union army that served in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. It was virtually the same force as the Army of the Gulf, but was renamed when it became a part of the Military Division of West Mississi ...

, in the capture of

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

. After a brief and vigorous bombardment, Spanish Fort and

Fort Blakeley The Battle of Fort Blakeley took place from April 2 to April 9, 1865, in Baldwin County, Alabama, about north of Spanish Fort, Alabama, as part of the Mobile Campaign of the American Civil War. At the time, Blakeley, Alabama, had been the count ...

were captured by the Union Army on 9 April 1865. With the key defences of the city lost, the Confederate troops evacuated Mobile on April 12. A formal surrender was demanded by General Granger and Acting-Rear Admiral Thatcher, and possession taken of the city. On 10 May, the Confederate naval forces in the Gulf surrendered to Thatcher.

Sabine Pass Sabine Pass is the natural outlet of Sabine Lake into the Gulf of Mexico. It borders Jefferson County, Texas, and Cameron Parish, Louisiana. History Civil War Two major battles occurred here during the American Civil War, known as the First an ...

and

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

, the only remaining rebel-held fortified points on the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...

, capitulated on 25 May and 2 June 1865.

Post-war career

Thatcher remained in command in the Gulf of Mexico until May 1866, receiving promotion to rear admiral on 25 July 1866, and commanded the

North Pacific Squadron The Pacific Squadron of the United States Navy, established c. 1821 and disbanded in 1907, was a naval squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Developing from a small force protecting United States commerc ...

in 1867–68. There he was presented with a medal and made a Knight of the Order of Kamehameha I by King

Kamehameha V Kamehameha V (Lota Kapuāiwa Kalanimakua Aliʻiōlani Kalanikupuapaʻīkalaninui; December 11, 1830 – December 11, 1872), reigned as the fifth monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipaʻa": immovable, firm, s ...

of the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

, an honor that he was permitted to accept by virtue of a special Act of Congress. Though put on the retired list on 26 May 1868 when he reached the age of 62, Thatcher served as

Port Admiral Port admiral is an honorary rank in the United States Navy, and a former appointment in the British Royal Navy. Royal Navy In British naval usage, the term 'port admiral' had two distinct (and somewhat contradictory) meanings, one generic, one sp ...

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on ...

, in 1869–1870. By right of his descent from his grandfather, Major General

, Thatcher was a member of the Massachusetts

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of milita ...

. He became president of the Massachusetts Society in 1871. Thatcher and his family settled in

Winchester, Massachusetts Winchester is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located 8.2 miles (13.2 km) north of downtown Boston as part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. It is also one of the List of Massachusetts locations by per capit ...

, where he spent the remaining nine years of his life. Rear Admiral Thatcher died at his home on 5 April 1880.

Namesakes

* Two U.S. Navy destroyers have been named in honor of Rear Admiral Thatcher; (1919–1940), and (1943–1948).

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thatcher, Henry 1806 births 1880 deaths United States Navy admirals Union Navy admirals People of Maine in the American Civil War People from Thomaston, Maine