Roswell Hawks Lamson was an officer 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...

 during 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...

.

Biography

Born in Burlington, Iowa

Burlington, Iowa

Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,663 in the 2010 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in the 2000 census. Burlington is the center of a micropolitan area including West Burlington, Iowa and Middletown, Iowa and...

, Lamson accompanied his natal family as Oregon Trail

Oregon Trail

The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...

 pioneers of 1847. He was appointed 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...

 on 20 September 1858, the first Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

ian to receive an appointment. After graduating in 1862, completing his training on active duty, he saw action in the Civil War. He commanded USS Mount Vernon

USS Mount Vernon (1859)

The first USS Mount Vernon was a wooden-screw steamer in the United States Navy.Mount Vernon was built at Brooklyn, New York, in 1859; chartered by the Navy in May 1861 for three months; purchased by the Navy at New York on 12 September 1861; and commissioned at New York, Commander Oliver S...

 in joint Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

-Navy operations on the Nansemond River

Nansemond River

The Nansemond River is a tributary of the James River in the U.S. state of Virginia. The Nansemond River Bridge crosses the river near its mouth. Both it and the former State Route 125 bridge, demolished in 2008, were once toll bridges. The river begins at the outlet of Lake Meade north of...

, and he played an important role in the capture of batteries at Hill's Point

Battle of Suffolk (Hill's Point)

The Battle of Suffolk at Hill's Point, also known as the Battle of Fort Huger, took place from April 11 to May 4, 1863, in Suffolk, Virginia, as part of Confederate Lt. Gen...

.

While in command of USS Gettysburg

USS Gettysburg (1858)

The first USS Gettysburg was a steamer in the Union Navy.The ship was built in Glasgow, Scotland in 1858, named Douglas, and operated for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company between Liverpool, United Kingdom and Douglas on the Isle of Man until November 1862...

, he was in the forefront of the attack on Fort Fisher

Battle of Fort Fisher

Two battles were fought over Fort Fisher during the American Civil War. The first battle was a failed attempt by the Union army and Navy to capture the fort. The second battle was a successful operation which led to the fall of the fort and the city of Wilmington, North Carolina.* First Battle of...

, and he gallantly piloted the powder boat USS Louisiana

USS Louisiana (1861)

The second USS Louisiana was a propeller-driven iron hull steamer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.-Steamboat Origins:...

 in under the fort. On January 15, 1865, Lamson led a landing party of sailors and U.S. Marines from the Gettysburg in an assault on Fort Fisher which was taken that day. He resigned from the Navy in 1866 and returned to Oregon, where he was appointed to be clerk of U.S. Customs.

In 1895, he was appointed lieutenant and placed on the retired list.

Lamson died in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

. He is the featured subject of an article in Oregon Magazine Storming the Ramparts