Early life

Louis Kempff was born in 1841 in Belville

Belville

Belville can refer to:A location*Belville, Córdoba Province, Córdoba, Argentina** the Belville meteorite of 1937, which fell in Córdoba, Argentina *Belville, North Carolina, United StatesA toy*Belville , a line of Lego...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. After passing the entrance exams, he received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy

United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

 at Annapolis, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

 on September 21, 1857.

Civil War

Towards the end of his senior year at Annapolis, 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...

 erupted and Louis Kempff was detached from the Naval Academy and called into active service in May 1861. Midshipman Kempff was assigned to the USS Wabash, a steam frigate in the Atlantic Blockading Squadron

Atlantic Blockading Squadron

The Atlantic Blockading Squadron was a unit of the United States Navy created in the early days of the American Civil War to enforce a blockade of the ports of the Confederate States...

. On November 7, 1861, Louis Kempff participated in the Battle of Port Royal

Battle of Port Royal

The Battle of Port Royal was one of the earliest amphibious operations of the American Civil War, in which a United States Navy fleet and United States Army expeditionary force captured Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, between Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina, on November 7, 1861...

, near Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

. On August 1, 1862, Midshipman Kempff was commissioned as a Lieutenant and subsequently assigned to the USS Connecticut

USS Connecticut (1861)

USS Connecticut was a large steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Her primary task was to prevent ships from penetrating the Union blockade of Southern ports....

. At the close of the Civil War, Lt. Kempff was aboard the USS Sewanee in the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

.

Later Naval career

Following the Civil War, Lt. Kempff continued serving aboard the USS Sewanee; on July 25, 1866, Louis Kempff was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...

. On March 7, 1876, Louis Kempff was promoted to Commander. Kempff was thereafter assigned to the Mare Island

Mare Island

Mare Island is a peninsula in the United States alongside the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait juncture with the east side of San Pablo Bay. Mare Island is considered a peninsula because no full...

 Navy Yard and Station where he served as commander of the station's Department of Equipment and Recruiting. On October 25, 1885, Commander Kempff assumed command of the USS Adams

USS Adams

Three ships of the United States Navy have been named Adams, the first two after the second President, and the third after Lieutenant Samuel Adams, a hero of the Battle of Midway....

. Kempff subsequently served on the Board of Inspection and Survey

Board of Inspection and Survey

The Board of Inspection and Survey is a U.S. Navy organization whose purpose is to inspect and assess material condition of Naval vessels.The Board is currently headquartered at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Virginia.- INSURV teams :...

 in San Francisco, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 during which time he was promoted to Captain. Kempff's final promotion came on March 3, 1899 when he was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral.

Later life

Following his service in the Boxer Rebellion, Louis Kempff continued to serve in the United States Navy; following the events of the Boxer Rebellion, Rear Admiral Kempff became the Commandant–in–charge of the Pacific Naval District. Admiral Kempff continued in this capacity until his retirement in 1903. Following his retirement form military service, Louis Kempff became an active participant in the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States

The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, also known by its acronym MOLLUS or simply as the Loyal Legion, is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by officers of the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps of the United States who "had aided in maintaining the honor,...

.