Roger Nelson Stembel (December 27, 1810 – November 20, 1900) was an officer of the
United States Navy during the
Civil War.
Early life
Stembel, born in
Middletown, Maryland
Middletown is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 4,136 as of the 2010 census. Located in the Middletown Valley that stretches between the Catoctin Mountains on the east and South Mountain on the west, the town ...
, was appointed
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 Afr ...
in the
United States Navy on March 27, 1832.
He served in the
West Indies,
Mediterranean,
Home
A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...
,
Brazil, China, and
East India Squadrons prior to the Civil War.
Civil War
During the Civil War, Stembel served in the
Western Gunboat Flotilla during 1861 and 1862. He participated in the
engagements of Lucas' Bend, September 9, 1861;
Belmont
Belmont may refer to:
People
* Belmont (surname)
Places
* Belmont Abbey (disambiguation)
* Belmont Historic District (disambiguation)
* Belmont Hotel (disambiguation)
* Belmont Park (disambiguation)
* Belmont Plantation (disambiguation)
* Belmon ...
, November 1861;
Fort Henry, February 1862; and the
bombardment and capture of Island No. 10 in March and April 1862. While commanding the ''Cincinnati'', Stembel was seriously wounded in an engagement with
Confederate rams near
Fort Pillow on May 10, 1862, and invalided in 1863.
Stembel was assigned shore duty at
Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania in 1864 and 1865. After being promoted to
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in 1866, he commanded in the
European Squadron from 1865 to 1867. He was stationed at
Boston,
Massachusetts in 1869 and was promoted to
Commodore in 1871. In that year, he assumed command of the North Squadron of the
Pacific Fleet; and, in 1872, he assumed command of the Pacific Fleet as well.
With the fall of Confederate
Fort Henry he, along with Captain
Seth Ledyard Phelps
Seth Ledyard Phelps (January 13, 1824 – June 24, 1885) was an American naval officer, and in later life, a politician and diplomat. Phelps received his first commission in United States Navy as a midshipman aboard the famous USS ''Independen ...
, were sent by flag officer
Andrew Hull Foote to hoist the American flag over the captured fort, marking the turning point of the Civil War.
[ Slagle, 1996, p. 162]
He retired on December 27, 1872, and was promoted to
rear admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
on June 5, 1874. Admiral Stembel died in New York City on November 20, 1900. He is buried in
Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.
The destroyer was named in his honor. Stembel was the son in law of
James McBride of Hamilton, Ohio, and therefore connected with several prominent politicians related to the
Lytle family.
See also
*
Ulysses S. Grant
*
Bibliography of the American Civil War
References
Sources
*
*
External links
Arlington National Cemetery: Roger Nelson Stembel Stembel Family History; see Henry Stembel
1810 births
1900 deaths
United States Navy rear admirals
People from Middletown, Maryland
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
{{AmericanCivilWar-bio-stub