Oscar C. Badger
Encyclopedia
Oscar C. Badger received appointment as a midshipman
in the United States Navy
on 9 September 1841 and, after a tour of duty in Independence
, served in Saratoga
along the Atlantic coast of Africa
.
that landed on the west coast of Africa in 1843 and destroyed the Berribee villages. In the sidewheel steamer Mississippi
, during the Mexican-American War, he participated in the expedition that captured the Mexican town of Alvarado
in the spring of 1847.
; completed his course of study there; and was warranted a passed midshipman
on 10 August 1847.
and served successively in Supply, the frigate
Savannah
, and the sloop
Vincennes
. He returned to shore in 1853 for a tour of duty at the United States Naval Observatory
located in Washington, D.C.
In 1855, he returned to the Pacific Squadron for duty in the sloop John Adams
and, that autumn, participated in an expedition to the Fiji Islands to redress wrongs suffered by members of the crews of American whalers and merchant ships at the hands of natives. The landing party destroyed the village of Vutia. To round out his pre-Civil War service, Badger was assigned in turn to Plymouth
, Macedonian
, Minnesota
, and, lastly, to the Washington Navy Yard
.
early in that conflict. In her, he participated in a series of actions against Confederate batteries along the Virginia
bank of the Potomac River
. During the Peninsula Campaign
, he took part in the siege of Yorktown, Virginia
. In 1862 , he was transferred to the western theater to superintend the arming of river gunboats. In mid-1863, he was switched to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron and participated in the attack on shore batteries on Morris Island
on 11 July 1863. A week later, he commanded Patapsco
in an attack on Fort Wagner
and, a month after that, led the ironclad in a series of operations against Forts Wagner, Gregg
, and Sumter
. On the night of 22 August 1863, he took command of the ironclad Montauk
for another try at Fort Sumter.
Weehawken
on the night of 1 September 1863. During that action, he was severely wounded in the leg by a flying metal splinter. He spent the remaining years of the Civil War ashore performing ordnance duty at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and serving as inspector of cannon at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
.
—a unit of the North Atlantic Squadron
—and, in her, rendered assistance to the victims of a fire that destroyed Basseterre on St. Kitts in the Leeward Islands
. In 1868, he came ashore for equipment duty at the Portsmouth, New Hampshire
, Navy Yard. He returned to sea in 1871 in command of Ticonderoga
of the South Atlantic Fleet. He commanded the receiving ship Ohio
at Boston, Massachusetts, in 1873 and 1874 and served again at the Washington Navy Yard
between 1875 and 1878.
. During 1880, he was stationed in Washington for special duty. While serving at the Naval Asylum in Philadelphia
, Badger was promoted to commodore in November 1881. After commanding the Boston Navy Yard
between 1881 and 1885, Badger retired in August 1885. He died on 20 June 1899.
was named for Commodore Oscar C. Badger (a cousin of Secretary of the Navy George Edmund Badger
), the father of Rear Admiral Charles Johnston Badger—the son of the commodore and the father of the admiral—was also honored by the naming of the destroyer
USS Charles J. Badger (DD-657)
, and the grandfather of Admiral Oscar C. Badger. The ocean escort USS Badger (DE-1071) honors all four men.
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...
in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
on 9 September 1841 and, after a tour of duty in 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...
, served in Saratoga
USS Saratoga (1842)
USS Saratoga, a sloop-of-war, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the Battle of Saratoga of the American Revolutionary War. Her keel was laid down in the summer of 1841 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard...
along the Atlantic coast of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
Service in Africa and during the Mexican-American War
While serving in the latter ship, he saw his first action in the punitive expeditionPunitive expedition
A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a state or any group of persons outside the borders of the punishing state. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong behavior, but may be also be a covered revenge...
that landed on the west coast of Africa in 1843 and destroyed the Berribee villages. In the sidewheel steamer Mississippi
USS Mississippi (1841)
USS Mississippi, a paddle frigate, was the first ship of the United States Navy to bear that name. She was named for the Mississippi River. Her sister ship was . Her keel was laid down by the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1839; built under the personal supervision of Commodore Matthew Perry. She was...
, during the Mexican-American War, he participated in the expedition that captured the Mexican town of Alvarado
Alvarado, Veracruz
Alvarado is a city in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city also serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. It is located 64 km from the city of Veracruz, Veracruz, on Federal Highways 180 and 125...
in the spring of 1847.
Attended the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland
Badger then attended the Naval School (as the U.S. Naval Academy was then called) at Annapolis, MarylandAnnapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
; completed his course of study there; and was warranted a passed 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...
on 10 August 1847.
Posted to the Pacific Squadron
By 1850, he was posted to the Pacific SquadronPacific 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...
and served successively in Supply, 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"...
Savannah
USS Savannah (1842)
The second USS Savannah was a frigate in the United States Navy. She was named after the city of Savannah, Georgia.Savannah was begun in 1820 at the New York Navy Yard, but she remained on the stocks until 5 May 1842, when she was launched...
, and the sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
Vincennes
USS Vincennes (1826)
USS Vincennes was a 703-ton Boston-class sloop of war in the United States Navy from 1826 to 1865. During her service, Vincennes patrolled the Pacific, explored the Antarctic, and blockaded the Confederate Gulf coast in the Civil War. Named for the Revolutionary War Battle of Vincennes, she was...
. He returned to shore in 1853 for a tour of duty at the United States Naval Observatory
United States Naval Observatory
The United States Naval Observatory is one of the oldest scientific agencies in the United States, with a primary mission to produce Positioning, Navigation, and Timing for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Department of Defense...
located in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
In 1855, he returned to the Pacific Squadron for duty in the sloop John Adams
USS John Adams (1799)
The first John Adams was originally built as a frigate in 1799, converted to a corvette in 1809 and later converted back to a frigate in 1830 for use in the United States Navy...
and, that autumn, participated in an expedition to the Fiji Islands to redress wrongs suffered by members of the crews of American whalers and merchant ships at the hands of natives. The landing party destroyed the village of Vutia. To round out his pre-Civil War service, Badger was assigned in turn to Plymouth
USS Plymouth (1844)
USS Plymouth was a sloop-of-war constructed and commissioned just prior to the Mexican-American War. She was heavily gunned, and traveled to Japan as part of Commodore Matthew C. Perry’s effort to force Japan to open her ports to international trade...
, Macedonian
USS Macedonian (1836)
The second USS Macedonian, was a three-masted, wooden-hulled sailing frigate bearing 36-guns of the US Navy and was rebuilt from the keel of the first at Gosport Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia, beginning in 1832; and was launched and placed in service in 1836, Capt...
, Minnesota
USS Minnesota (1855)
USS Minnesota was a wooden steam frigate in the United States Navy. Launched in 1855 and commissioned eighteen months later, the ship served in east Asia for two years before being decommissioned...
, and, lastly, to the Washington Navy Yard
Washington Navy Yard
The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...
.
Service in the American Civil War
He was serving in the national capital at the outbreak of the Civil War, and took command of the screw steamer AnacostiaUSS Anacostia (1856)
USS Anacostia was a steamer, constructed as a tugboat, that was first chartered by the United States Navy for service during the Paraguay crisis of the 1850s and then commissioned as a U.S. Navy ship. She later served prominently in the Union Navy during the American Civil War.-Under charter to...
early in that conflict. In her, he participated in a series of actions against Confederate batteries along the Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
bank of the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
. During the Peninsula Campaign
Peninsula Campaign
The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B...
, he took part in the siege of Yorktown, Virginia
Yorktown, Virginia
Yorktown is a census-designated place in York County, Virginia, United States. The population was 220 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1634....
. In 1862 , he was transferred to the western theater to superintend the arming of river gunboats. In mid-1863, he was switched to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron and participated in the attack on shore batteries on Morris Island
Morris Island
Morris Island is an 840 acre uninhabited island in Charleston Harbor in South Carolina, accessible only by boat. The island lies in the outer reaches of the harbor and was thus a strategic location in the American Civil War.-History:...
on 11 July 1863. A week later, he commanded Patapsco
USS Patapsco (1862)
USS Patapsco was a Passaic-class ironclad monitor in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for the Patapsco River in Maryland.-Built in Wilmington, Delaware:...
in an attack on Fort Wagner
Fort Wagner
Fort Wagner was a beachhead fortification on Morris Island, South Carolina, that covered the southern approach to Charleston harbor...
and, a month after that, led the ironclad in a series of operations against Forts Wagner, Gregg
Fort Gregg
Fort Gregg was a Confederate fort located near Petersburg, Virginia.The battle for Fort Gregg occurred on April 2, 1865, in Dinwiddie County near the outskirts of Petersburg.-External links:* at the Historical Markers Database...
, and Sumter
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...
. On the night of 22 August 1863, he took command of the ironclad Montauk
USS Montauk (1862)
The first USS Montauk was a single-turreted monitor in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.It saw action throughout the war and was used as the floating prison for the conspirators in the Abraham Lincoln assassination and was the site of the autopsy and identification of assassin...
for another try at Fort Sumter.
Appointed fleet captain of the South Atlantic Blockade
Soon thereafter, Badger was appointed fleet captain, ad interim, of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron and, in that office, took part in another attack on Fort Sumter while in the flagshipFlagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
Weehawken
USS Weehawken (1862)
The first USS Weehawken was a Passaic-class ironclad monitor in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.Weehawken was launched on 5 November 1862 at Jersey City, New Jersey by Zeno Secor & Company; sponsored by Ms. Nellie Cornstock; and commissioned on 18 January 1863, Captain John...
on the night of 1 September 1863. During that action, he was severely wounded in the leg by a flying metal splinter. He spent the remaining years of the Civil War ashore performing ordnance duty at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and serving as inspector of cannon at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
.
Post-Civil War service with the fleet
Sometime during 1866 he took command of the sidewheel steamer PeoriaUSS Peoria (1863)
The first USS Peoria was a double-ended sidewheel steamer in the United States Navy.Peoria was built at the New York Navy Yard; launched on October 29, 1863, and commissioned on December 26, 1866, Commander Oscar C. Badger in command....
—a unit of the North Atlantic Squadron
North Atlantic Squadron
The North Atlantic Squadron was a section of the United States Navy operating in the North Atlantic. It was renamed as the North Atlantic Fleet in 1902. In 1905 the European and South Atlantic Squadrons were abolished and absorbed into the North Atlantic Fleet. On Jan...
—and, in her, rendered assistance to the victims of a fire that destroyed Basseterre on St. Kitts in the Leeward Islands
Basseterre
Basseterre , estimated population 15,500 in 2000, is the capital of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the West Indies. Geographically, the Basseterre port is located at , on the south western coast of Saint Kitts Island, and it is one of the chief commercial depots of the Leeward Islands...
. In 1868, he came ashore for equipment duty at the Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth, 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...
, Navy Yard. He returned to sea in 1871 in command of Ticonderoga
USS Ticonderoga (1863)
The second USS Ticonderoga was a 2526-ton Lackawanna-class screw sloop-of-war laid down by the New York Navy Yard in 1861; launched on 16 October 1862; sponsored by Miss Katherine Heaton Offley; and commissioned at New York on 12 May 1863, Commodore J. L...
of the South Atlantic Fleet. He commanded the receiving ship Ohio
USS Ohio (1820)
The second USS Ohio was a ship of the line of the United States Navy. She was designed by Henry Eckford, laid down at New York Navy Yard in 1817, and launched on 30 May 1820. She went into ordinary and in the ensuing years decayed badly. Refitted for service in 1838, Ohio sailed on 16 October 1838...
at Boston, Massachusetts, in 1873 and 1874 and served again at the Washington Navy Yard
Washington Navy Yard
The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...
between 1875 and 1878.
Final military service
His last sea duty came in 1878 and 1879 when he commanded the frigate ConstitutionUSS Constitution
USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. Named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America, she is the world's oldest floating commissioned naval vessel...
. During 1880, he was stationed in Washington for special duty. While serving at the Naval Asylum in Philadelphia
Philadelphia Naval Asylum
The Philadelphia Naval Asylum, later the Naval Home, was a hospital, the Philadelphia Naval School, and a home for retired sailors for the United States Navy from 1834 to 1976, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
, Badger was promoted to commodore in November 1881. After commanding the Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
between 1881 and 1885, Badger retired in August 1885. He died on 20 June 1899.
Honored in ship naming
Badger (Destroyer No. 126)USS Badger (DD-126)
USS Badger was a in the United States Navy during World War I. She was named for Commodore Oscar C. Badger.Badger was launched 24 August 1918 by New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey; sponsored by Mrs. Henry F. Bryan, granddaughter of Commodore Badger; commissioned 29 May 1919,...
was named for Commodore Oscar C. Badger (a cousin of Secretary of the Navy George Edmund Badger
George Edmund Badger
George Edmund Badger was a Whig U.S. senator from the state of North Carolina.Badger was born on April 17, 1795 in New Bern, North Carolina. Following a partial college education at Yale University, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1814...
), the father of Rear Admiral Charles Johnston Badger—the son of the commodore and the father of the admiral—was also honored by the naming of the destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
USS Charles J. Badger (DD-657)
USS Charles J. Badger (DD-657)
USS Charles J. Badger was a Fletcher-class destroyer of the United States Navy, named for Rear Admiral Charles J. Badger ....
, and the grandfather of Admiral Oscar C. Badger. The ocean escort USS Badger (DE-1071) honors all four men.
See also
- Mexican-American War
- American Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe 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...
- Oscar C. Badger IIOscar C. Badger IIOscar Charles Badger II was an admiral of the United States Navy who served in both World Wars, and, as a junior officer, received the Medal of Honor.-Early history:...