George F. Pearson
Encyclopedia
George Fredrick Pearson was Rear-Admiral of the U. S. Navy, commanding the Pacific Squadron
during the later part of the American Civil War
.
, in 1799 but lived most of his life in Massachusetts
. He entered the U.S. Navy March 11, 1815, as a midshipman
, and his first ship was the frigate
United States
. In 1820 Midshipman Pearson served on the ship of the line
Independence
. In 1822 he was on the ship of the line Franklin
and passed for promotion at the West India station.
George F. Pearson was commissioned Lieutenant on Jan. 13, 1825, and was given duty on the West India station. Lt. Pearson's assignment was on the schooner
Porpoise
in the Mediterranean in 1826. In 1828, he was with the Mediterranean Squadron on the sloop-of-war
Ontario
. In 1829 he took a leave of absence which lasted until 1831 when he joined the sloop of war Boston
on the Mediterranean Station. From 1832 to 1836, he was again on leave, or waiting for orders or stationed as Ordinary at Boston
until he was assigned to the USS Constellation
as flagship for Commodore Alexander Dallas
of the West Indies Squadron
where it conducted operations supporting the Second Seminole War
.
Pearson was promoted to Commander
on September 8, 1841. After the sloop of war USS Boston completed repairs it set sail from New York under the command of Commander Pearson on November 7 1846, to join the Home Squadron blockading the eastern coast of Mexico
. Eight days out of port, USS Boston ran aground on Eleuthera
Island in the Bahamas after encountering a storm. USS Boston was wrecked beyond salvage, but her entire crew survived the disaster.
On September 14, 1855, George F. Pearson was promoted to Captain. In 1860 Person was given command of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
in Kittery, Maine
.
On October 4, 1864, Commodore George F. Pearson was given Command of the Pacific Squadron
, serving at that post from 1864 to 1866 as Acting Rear Admiral aboard his flagship USS Lancaster
. Under his command Commander Henry Kallock Davenport suppressed the so-called Salvador Pirates
, a Confederate Navy plot to capture one of the two Panama Railroad steamships and turn it into a Confederate commerce raider to capture a gold-laden Pacific Steamship Company vessel.
His squadron continued to protect American lives and property in Mexico and became in the same mission in Peru
, defending them from attack by either side both during the Spanish blockade during the Peruvian War with Spain
.
. Its captain, unaware of war's end, was attacking American whaling
ships in the North Pacific as late as August 1865.
From 1866 to 1869 the Pacific Squadron was split into North and South Pacific Squadrons. Pearson served as South Pacific Squadron's first commander, as Rear Admiral in command of the South Pacific Squadron being promoted to Rear Admiral on Retired List, July 25, 1866. His squadron continued to be involved in protecting American interests in Panama and the Pacific coast of South America due to the ongoing war by Peru
, Ecuador
and Chile
with Spain.
After being relieved of duty in the Pacific, he returned to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where he died, July 1, 1867, at the age of 68.
Pacific Squadron
The Pacific Squadron was part of the United States Navy squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially with no United States ports in the Pacific, they operated out of storeships which provided naval supplies and purchased food and obtained water from local...
during the later part of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Early life and career
George F. Pearson was born in Portsmouth, New HampshirePortsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...
, in 1799 but lived most of his life in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. He entered the U.S. Navy March 11, 1815, as a midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
, and his first ship was the frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
United States
USS United States (1797)
USS United States was a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy and the first of the six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794...
. In 1820 Midshipman Pearson served on the ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
Independence
USS Independence (1814)
The third USS Independence was a wooden-hulled, three-masted ship, originally a ship of the line and the the first to be commissioned by the United States Navy...
. In 1822 he was on the ship of the line Franklin
USS Franklin (1815)
The third USS Franklin of the United States Navy was a 74-gun ship of the line.-History:Built in 1815 under the supervision of Samuel Humphreys and Charles Penrose, she was the first vessel to be laid down at the Philadelphia Navy Yard....
and passed for promotion at the West India station.
George F. Pearson was commissioned Lieutenant on Jan. 13, 1825, and was given duty on the West India station. Lt. Pearson's assignment was on the schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
Porpoise
USS Porpoise (1820)
The first USS Porpoise was a topsail schooner in the United States Navy.Porpoise was built in 1820 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine...
in the Mediterranean in 1826. In 1828, he was with the Mediterranean Squadron on the sloop-of-war
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
Ontario
USS Ontario (1813)
The second USS Ontario was a three-masted, wooden-hulled sloop of war in the United States Navy, bearing 16 guns, and saw service during and following the years of the War of 1812 and in the Second Barbary War...
. In 1829 he took a leave of absence which lasted until 1831 when he joined the sloop of war Boston
USS Boston (1825)
The fourth USS Boston was an 18-gun sloop of war, launched on 15 October 1825 by the Boston Navy Yard and commissioned the following year, Master Commandant Beekman V. Hoffman in command....
on the Mediterranean Station. From 1832 to 1836, he was again on leave, or waiting for orders or stationed as Ordinary at Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
until he was assigned to the USS Constellation
USS Constellation (1797)
USS Constellation was a 38-gun frigate, one of the six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794. She was distinguished as the first U.S. Navy vessel to put to sea and the first U.S. Navy vessel to engage and defeat an enemy vessel...
as flagship for Commodore Alexander Dallas
Alexander J. Dallas (U.S. Navy officer)
Alexander James Dallas was an officer in the United States Navy....
of the West Indies Squadron
West Indies Squadron (United States)
The West Indies Squadron, or the West Indies Station, was a United States Navy squadron that operated in the West Indies in the early nineteenth century. It was formed due to the need to suppress piracy in the Caribbean Sea, the Antilles and the Gulf of Mexico region of the Atlantic Ocean...
where it conducted operations supporting the Second Seminole War
Second Seminole War
The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between various groups of Native Americans collectively known as Seminoles and the United States, part of a series of conflicts called the Seminole Wars...
.
Pearson was promoted to Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
on September 8, 1841. After the sloop of war USS Boston completed repairs it set sail from New York under the command of Commander Pearson on November 7 1846, to join the Home Squadron blockading the eastern coast of Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Eight days out of port, USS Boston ran aground on Eleuthera
Eleuthera
Eleuthera is an island in The Bahamas, lying 50 miles east of Nassau. It is very long and thin—110 miles long and in places little more than a mile wide. According to the 2000 Census, the population of Eleuthera is approximately 8,000...
Island in the Bahamas after encountering a storm. USS Boston was wrecked beyond salvage, but her entire crew survived the disaster.
On September 14, 1855, George F. Pearson was promoted to Captain. In 1860 Person was given command of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard , often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard located in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It is used for remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships...
in Kittery, Maine
Kittery, Maine
Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,543 at the 2000 census. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals...
.
Civil War
On December 21, 1861, Captain Pearson was put on the Retired List, but continued in command of the Portsmouth Naval Yard, being promoted to Commodore on Retired List, July 16, 1862.On October 4, 1864, Commodore George F. Pearson was given Command of the Pacific Squadron
Pacific Squadron
The Pacific Squadron was part of the United States Navy squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially with no United States ports in the Pacific, they operated out of storeships which provided naval supplies and purchased food and obtained water from local...
, serving at that post from 1864 to 1866 as Acting Rear Admiral aboard his flagship USS Lancaster
USS Lancaster (1858)
The first USS Lancaster was a screw sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War through the Spanish-American War....
. Under his command Commander Henry Kallock Davenport suppressed the so-called Salvador Pirates
Salvador Pirates
Salvador Pirates was the name given to the band of Confederate Navy sailors that attempted to seizea Panama Railroad coastal steamer on the high seas...
, a Confederate Navy plot to capture one of the two Panama Railroad steamships and turn it into a Confederate commerce raider to capture a gold-laden Pacific Steamship Company vessel.
His squadron continued to protect American lives and property in Mexico and became in the same mission in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, defending them from attack by either side both during the Spanish blockade during the Peruvian War with Spain
Chincha Islands War
The Chincha Islands War was a series of coastal and naval battles between Spain and its former colonies of Peru and Chile from 1864 to 1866, that began with Spain's seizure of the guano-rich Chincha Islands, part of a series of attempts by Isabel II of Spain to reassert her country's lost...
.
Later life
After the Civil War ended in May 1865, Pearson's Pacific Squadron had to deal with the CSS ShenandoahCSS Shenandoah
CSS Shenandoah, formerly Sea King, was an iron-framed, teak-planked, full rigged ship, with auxiliary steam power, captained by Commander James Waddell, Confederate States Navy, a North Carolinian with twenty years' service in the United States Navy.During 12½ months of 1864–1865 the ship...
. Its captain, unaware of war's end, was attacking American whaling
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
ships in the North Pacific as late as August 1865.
From 1866 to 1869 the Pacific Squadron was split into North and South Pacific Squadrons. Pearson served as South Pacific Squadron's first commander, as Rear Admiral in command of the South Pacific Squadron being promoted to Rear Admiral on Retired List, July 25, 1866. His squadron continued to be involved in protecting American interests in Panama and the Pacific coast of South America due to the ongoing war by Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
and Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
with Spain.
After being relieved of duty in the Pacific, he returned to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where he died, July 1, 1867, at the age of 68.