Samuel Livingston Breese (August 6, 1794 – December 17, 1870) 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 ...

. His active-duty career included service in 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

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 ...

Early life

He was born in Utica on August 6, 1794, and grew up in Whitesboro, New York. He was the son of Arthur Breese (1770–1825) and his first wife, Catherine (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Livingston) Breese (1775–1808). Among his siblings was younger brother Sidney Breese, who later became a

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from Illinois, and sisters, Sarah Breese (wife of Bleeker Lansing and James Platt), and Elizabeth Breese (wife of William Malcolm Sands) as well as a half-sister, Sarah Ann (née Breese) Walker.

Samuel Morse Samuel Finley Breese Morse (April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872) was an American inventor and painter. After establishing his reputation as a portrait painter, Morse, in his middle age, contributed to the invention of a Electrical telegraph#Morse ...

was a cousin. His maternal grandfather was farmer and author Henry Beekman Livingston, a descendant of

Robert Livingston the Elder Robert Livingston the Elder (13 December 1654 – 1728) was a Scottish-born merchant and government official in the Province of New York. He was granted a patent to 160,000 acres (650 km2/ 250 sq mi) of land along the Hudson River, becomin ...

, the 1st Lord of

Livingston Manor Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the Province of New York granted to Robert Livingston the Elder during the reign of George I of Great Britain. Located between the Hudson River and the Massachusetts border, the Livingston Manor was locate ...

. He attended

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

as part of the Class of 1813, but did not graduate.

Career

Breese 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 ...

in the United States Navy on September 10, 1810. During the War of 1812, he served under Commodore Thomas Macdonough at the Battle of Lake Champlain, and for gallant conduct at Plattsburgh received a sword and a vote of thanks from the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

. He was commissioned as

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on April 28, 1816,

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

in December 1835, and

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 ...

on September 8, 1841. He was attached to the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1836, and to the naval rendezvous at

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

in 1841. He served in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

against the

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

from 1826 to 1827, and was in the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

during the war between Turkey and Greece. He commanded 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 ...

of the Mediterranean squadron in 1845, and was in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

commanding the during the

in 1846 and 1847 where he took part in the capture of Tuxpan,

Tabasco Tabasco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Tabasco, 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It i ...

, and Vera Cruz. For a short time, he was

Military Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' may ...

of Tuxpan. In 1848 he performed special duty on the lakes, and from 1853 until 1855, commanded the

Norfolk Navy Yard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a United States Navy, U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest ...

. From 1856 until 1859 he was commander of the Mediterranean Squadron, and from 1859 until 1861 served as commandant of the

Brooklyn Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York, U.S. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a se ...

Flag rank and retirement

On July 16, 1862, he was commissioned a Commodore and placed on the retired list, and on 3 September 1862, was one of the thirteen Commodores first selected to fill the list of Rear Admirals, when that rank was introduced into the United States Navy in 1862. Placed on the retired list, he was appointed lighthouse inspector in the same year. He was made Port Admiral at Philadelphia in 1869.''The National Cyclopædia of American Biography'', Volume 4. New York: James T. White & Company (1897), 438.

Personal life

Breese was twice married, and had no children from either marriage. In about 1825, Breese married his first wife, Frances Hogan Stout (1806–1853), the daughter of Capt. Jacob Stout and Fanny (née Carpender) Stout. Her elder brother was Charles Raintaux Stout. After the death of his first wife, he remarried on June 21, 1855, to his second wife, Emma Lovett (1819–1892), daughter of Thomas Sydney Lovett and Louisa (née Doubleday) Lovett. She survived him. Rear Admiral Breese died in

Mount Airy, Philadelphia Mount Airy is a neighborhood of Northwest Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Geography Mount Airy is bounded on the northwest by the Cresheim Valley, which is part of Fairmount Park. Beyond this lies Chestnut Hill. On the we ...

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 ...

, aged 76, and was buried in

Forest Hills Cemetery Forest Hills Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery, greenspace, arboretum, and sculpture garden in the Forest Hills section of Jamaica Plain, a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The cemetery was established in 1848 as a pu ...

Utica, New York Utica () is the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adiro ...

References

External links

Samuel Livingston Breese Papers, 1855-1870 MS 318
held b
Special Collection & Archives

Nimitz Library
at th
United States Naval Academy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breese, Samuel Livingston 1794 births 1870 deaths American expatriates in the Ottoman Empire United States Navy personnel of the War of 1812 Livingston family Military personnel from Utica, New York Schuyler family Union College (New York) alumni Union Navy admirals United States Navy rear admirals (upper half) United States Navy personnel of the Mexican–American War Woolsey family