ADMIRAL JOHN RODGERS JR. - MANUSCRIPT DOCUMENT SIGNED 06/18/1868 CO-SIGNED BY: ADMIRAL JOSEPH LANMAN, COMMODORE FOXHALL ALEXANDER PARKER, COMMODORE WILLIAM DANFORTH WHITING, REAR ADMIRAL STEPHEN DECATUR TRENCHARD - HFSID 273027

FIVE PROMINENT MEMBERS OF THE UNION NAVY SIGN A DOCUMENT DIRECTING ANOTHER OFFICER TO TRANSFER MEN AND EQUIPMENT TO THE PORTSMOUTH NAVY YARD
 
UNION NAVY: JOHN RODGERS, JR., FOXHALL A. PARKER, STEPHEN D. TRENCHARD, WILLIAM D. WHITING and JOSEPH LANMAN. Manuscript DS: "John Rodgers" as Commandant, 1p, 7½x9¾, ruled sheet. Boston, 1865 June 18. On letterhead of the U.S. Navy Yard, Commandant's Office to M[urray] S. Day, Navy Yard, Boston. Begins: "Sir". In full: "You are hereby detached from the U.S.S. '[illegible]', and will report to Cmdr Wm. D. Whiting Comd'g that vessel to take charge of a draft of Eleven (11) First Class Firemen and Sixteen (16) Coal Hoarers, and proceed with them by the 7.30 train tomorrow morning to Portsmouth N.H., and deliver them as you may be directed by Rear Admiral 'Lanman' Comd'g that Station, After performing this duty, you will return to New York and report, as directed by Admiral Godner Very Respectfully". Also signed: "F.A. Parker" as Captain and Executive Officer and "Stephen D. Trenchard" as Captain in Command on front. Docketed on verso by "Wm. D. Whiting" as Comdr Comdg. and "Joseph Lanman" as Commandant. JOHN RODGERS, JR. (1812-1882), the son of Commodore John Rodgers (1772-1838), commanded the Boston Naval Station from the end of the Civil War until 1869. Rodgers, who had served on the North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition (1852-1856), had engaged in the attack on Fort Sumter in 1863, and he later captured the Confederate ironclad, Atlanta. Promoted to Rear Admiral in December 1869, Rodgers commanded the Asiatic Squadron before returning to the U.S. to head the Mare Island Naval Station and the Naval Observatory. During the Civil War, STEPHEN DECATUR TRENCHARD (1818-1883), the son of Captain Edward Trenchard (1784-1824), was aboard the U.S.S. Rhode Island when it captured the schooner Aristides off Charlotte Harbor, Florida. The Rhode Island, a supply ship, also captured a British schooner, the Vixen, as it attempted to run the blockade off Cape Fear, North Carolina. Trenchard is best known for commanding the Rhode Island on its mission to tow the Union ironclad, Monitor, from Hampton Roads, Virginia to either Beauford, North Carolina or Port Royal, South Carolina in late December 1862. The Monitor sunk during a storm before Trenchard its entire crew could be rescued and transferred to the Rhode Island. Trenchard, who was promoted to Commodore in 1871, was later a Rear Admiral in charge of the North Atlantic Squadron. WILLIAM DANFORTH WHITING had been attached to the steam frigate, Niagara, when the first Atlantic cable was laid in 1857. The executive officer of the sloop, Vandalia, at the capture of Port Royal in 1861, Whiting commanded the steamer, Wyandotte, of the South Atlantic blockade and in the Potomac flotilla. Promoted to Lieutenant Commander in July 1862, he participated in attacks on Charleston and later assisted in the capture of the lower end of Morris Island (1863-1864). In 1864-1865, Whiting commanded the Savannah in the Eastern Gulf station. After the Civil War, he commanded the Tioga, the Saratoga and the Miantonomoh before taking command of the Worcester, the flagship of the North Atlantic Squadron (1871-1875). On the ship's first cruise, it carried food and clothing for the relief of French sufferers of the Franco-Prussian War. In 1878, Whiting was appointed Chief of the Bureau of Navigation and Office of Detail with the rank of Commodore, serving until failing health and almost total blindness led to his being relieved from duty in October 1881. Whiting was then placed on the retired list, with the rank of Commodore, by a special act of Congress. FOXHALL ALEXANDER PARKER (1821-1879) was Executive Officer at the Washington Navy Yard from 1861-1862. During that time, he cooperated with the Army of the Potomac, built Fort Dahlgren and drilled seamen in artillery and small arms, greatly contributing to Admiral Andrew H. Foote's successful operations with the Mississippi flotilla. Parker, who became Commander on July 16, 1862, had charge of two steam gunboats, the Mahaska and the Wabash. From September 1863 until the end of the Civil War, he commanded the Potomac flotilla. Promoted to Captain in July 1866, Parker became Commodore in 1872, and he was Chief Signal Officer of the Navy from 1873-1876. Parker was also a prolific writer, contributing to newspapers and magazines and writing a number of military books. JOSEPH LANMAN (1811-1874) began his naval career with the Brazil, West Indies and Pacific Squadrons. During the Civil War, he was Captain of the Saranae of the Pacific Squadron in 1862, and Lanman served on the Minnesota, of the North Atlantic Blocking Squadron, from 1864-1865. As part of the 2nd Division of Admiral Porter's squadron, Lanman participated in two attacks on Fort Fisher. Landman, who was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1867, served as Commandant of the Portsmouth Navy Yard until commanding the South Atlantic Squadron off the coast of Brazil until his retirement in 1872. Great association document signed by five members of the Union Navy. Lightly creased with folds, not at signatures. Tape strip at upper right margin of verso lightly shows through at upper left margin. Ink notes (unknown hand) at upper left margin of front, pencil notes (unknown hand) relating to the other signers at upper and lower panels of verso, which is lightly soiled. Overall, fine condition.