Two Navies Capture a Slave Ship

By John Pentangelo
HRNM Director

The sloop-of-war USS Constellation, launched from Shiphouse B at Portsmouth, Virginia’s Gosport Navy Yard in 1854, served as flagship of the U.S. Navy’s Africa Squadron from 1859-1861. The squadron patrolled the west coast of Africa to suppress the transatlantic slave trade and protect legal American commerce. During this cruise, Constellation captured two slave ships, and worked with the British Royal Navy to capture a third. The capture occurred during the first months of the American Civil War. Constellation was soon called home to a nation divided and a Navy with a new mission.

USS Constellation capturing the slaver bark Cora in 1860 (NHHC)

On May 19, 1861, Constellation came to an anchor five miles off Shark’s Point at the mouth of the Congo River. The Congo River Basin was a hive of slave trading activity in the region and much of it occurred upriver where large wooden warships could not approach. The paddle steamer HMS Prometheus hailed Constellation to share information about several vessels waiting to take on slaves at Punta da Lenha. The location was a major slave-trading complex consisting of fifteen slave “factories” approximately twenty miles up the Congo River. Constellation’s captain, John S. Nicholas, knew of a suspicious American vessel there but, as he informed Commander Norman B. Bedingfeld of Prometheus, he could not get up the river to investigate. Bedingfeld offered his sloop to tow a boat upriver and Captain Nicholas immediately dispatched a cutter under the command of Lieutenant Philip C. Johnson.

Armed with pistols and cutlasses, Lieutenant Johnson’s force of fifteen officers and men rowed over to Prometheus. To avoid detection, Bedingfeld waited until after darkness fell on May 20th to steam past Shark’s Point. The British commander was sure that local spies would alert traders upriver of this combined operation. They arrived at Punta da Lenha at 10 p.m. and found the American brigantine Triton at anchor.

Commander Philip C. Johnson, photo taken during or shortly after the Civil War (NHHC)

According to one Constellation crewmember, Triton’s master thought Johnson and his band were English. He hoisted the American ensign because the United States treaty with Great Britain did not give the Royal Navy rights to search American vessels. So when Johnson boarded, Triton’s master resisted inspection. The lieutenant showed his U.S. Navy buttons and the cutter’s boat flag and then proceeded to search the brig. He determined that the crew had made all preparations to take on a cargo of slaves. The party discovered a false deck where slaves would be held, coppers, and a hold full of rice and water in excess of the crew’s needs. Prometheus towed the prize to the flagship the next day. On May 25, Nicholas returned the favor by tipping Bedingfeld off to the location of the Spanish schooner Jacinto. Prometheus captured and burned Jacinto because it was in a state of disrepair.

Officers and politicians of both nations celebrated the operations. Bedingfeld lamented that this type of work had not occurred sooner, as he saw several American vessels at Punta da Lenha that later shipped slaves. Indeed, this was the sort of action required to seriously curb the trade. Like many slavers, Triton had been captured before. The gunboat USS Mystic took the brig (then registered out of New Orleans) almost a year earlier on July 16, just off of Black Point.

Captain Nicholas ordered Midshipman George A. Borchert and a prize crew to sail Triton to Norfolk. The captain asked Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles to discharge the prize crew since upon reaching the United States they had served two years on station. Triton ultimately anchored at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on July 9, 1861. The U.S. government confiscated the brig after court proceedings.

With his mission completed, Midshipman Borchert, a native of Georgia, immediately tendered his resignation from the United States Navy. While aware of sectional conflict during his cruise and secession, he arrived home to find two nations at war. By the end of the month he was appointed a midshipman in the Confederate States Navy. At the same time, his former shipmates across the Atlantic were receiving disturbing mail about secessionists firing on Fort Sumter. Constellation’s capture of the slave ship Triton was a successful mission that occurred just weeks after the Confederate seizure of several federal installations such as the Gosport Navy Yard. When Constellation anchored off Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in September, Shiphouse B in Portsmouth, Virginia, was destroyed by fire and the shipyard was in the hands of the Confederacy.

Lord Dunmore's Navy in Hampton Roads, 1775-1776, Part III: From Great Bridge to Gwynn's Island

By Matthew Krogh
Contributing Writer

Editor's Note:  This is the third installment in a series about Virginia's last royal governor, John Murray, Fourth Earl of Dunmore, who tried to establish a base of operations in Hampton Roads in an attempt to retain power during the early months of the Revolutionary War. 

Reenactor Ted Yates of the 7th Virginia Regiment sends his regards to forces loyal to the erstwhile governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore, at the most recent reenactment of the 1775 Battle of Great Bridge. (Photograph by M.C. Farrington)

At the beginning of December 1775, Lord Dunmore sensed that victory was at hand against his rebellious subjects, writing that he would soon “reduce this colony to a proper sense of their duty.” His recruitment of several hundred slaves and loyalists resulted in two units he called the Queen’s Own Loyal Virginia Regiment and the Ethiopian Regiment. Despite these advantages and his optimism, Dunmore’s infantry forces were soundly beaten at Great Bridge.

This map, entitled "A View of the Great Bridge near Norfolk in Virginia where the action happened between a Detachment of the 14th Regt. & a body of Rebels," shows, from north to south, (A) "A Stockade Fort thrown up before the action by the Regulars;" (B) "Entrenchments of the Rebels;" (C) "A narrow Causeway by which the Regulars were forced to advance to the attack;" and (D) "The Church occupied by the Rebels." It is believed to have been made by Lieutenant John Batut, who oversaw construction of Fort Murray. (Courtesy of the Clements Library, University of Michigan.)  

There, Dunmore constructed Fort Murray on a marshy promontory on the Elizabeth River but sallied forth with his soldiers and sailors to thrash the Americans massing on the other side of the bridge. The one sided defeat caused him to return his troops and supplies to Norfolk as he licked his wounds under the protection of the Royal Navy. Many loyalists packed up what they could aboard their own schooners and sailed to the British fleet for protection. Dunmore did not depart, however, and many wayward shots were fired at the Otter and other ships after Colonel Woodford and Colonel Robert Howe occupied Norfolk on December 14. The suffering increased as cold weather, starvation, and disease set in. Dunmore himself wrote, “It was a melancholy sight to see . . . whole families obliged to betake themselves on board of Ships.” With circumstances worsening, corpses were often dumped unceremoniously into the Elizabeth River by the British and several hundred men from the Ethiopian Regiment died.

Reenactors portraying sailors from HMS Otter join soldiers of the 14th Regiment of Foote defending against Virginia militiamen during the most recent Battle of Great Bridge reenactment, held in Chesapeake, Virginia.  (Photograph by M.C. Farrington)

Out of options, Captain Matthew Squire, whose ship Otter came under fire daily, sent boats ashore to obtain supplies. Citizens in Norfolk later met to discuss trade with Dunmore’s Navy but the motion was denied. On December 17, the Otter and Kingfisher sailed toward the Norfolk distillery where they expected to protect the recently seized brig Snow loaded with 4,000 bushels of salt. With 15 sailors rowing toward the Snow, patriots on shore warned them to turn back. Captain Squire and Colonel Howe then engaged in a verbal duel. Squire wanted the Snow released and threatened to attack Norfolk. Howe held fast and confirmed that he would “give orders to fire upon any boat that attempts to take her away.”

On December 21 the Liverpool under Captain Henry Bellew arrived along with the store ship Maria and 400 marines changing the odds in Dunmore’s favor. Lord Dunmore, in a rash move, positioned the Liverpool, the Otter, the Kingfisher, and the Dunmore abreast of Norfolk’s waterfront. This formation triggered a mass exodus from Norfolk by its citizens as an attack appeared imminent. With this show of strength, Captain Bellew again requested supplies from the Virginians adding that he wished to avoid the “effusion of the blood of the innocent.” On December 30 Bellew and Howe exchanged heated pleasantries as Bellew demanded that American militia “avoid being seen” and implied that all women and children should leave Norfolk. On New Year’s Day 1776, 100 ships’ guns opened a terrific fire with shot and shell upon a mostly empty Norfolk continually for 25 hours. Torch bearing British marines soon followed and fought hand to hand combat with sentries onshore. Dunmore even managed to have the Snow burned during the general confusion of the attack. Although driven back, the marines managed to burn 19 houses along the waterfront. Conversely, American troops burned over 800 in the next few days in a drunken melee of savagery and vengeance against this tory bastion. When the flaming bacchanalia subsided, over one-third of Norfolk had been destroyed, although Colonel Howe stopped the depredations by January 3. The Liverpool and Otter traded fire with Virginians on shore on January 21 in a final attempt to burn the few remaining dwellings. Dunmore no longer need worry about holding Norfolk.

Lord Dunmore had made a strategic mistake by putting Norfolk to the torch amidst his own tempestuous attitude. He did this despite recruiting thousands of men from Norfolk to his standard. With triumph slipping through his fingers he sought to destroy what he could not have resulting in a pyrrhic victory. Indeed, firing on Norfolk was considered barbaric and ill advised by most Britons since it was the best staging area and supply center in the Chesapeake. On January 5 the Naval Committee wrote to the Virginia Convention saying “The Congress attentive to the safety and security of every part of the united Colonies, and observing the peculiar distresses that the Colony of Virginia is liable from a Marine enemy, have with all possible expedition fitted out a small fleet of Armed Vessels, which they have ordered in the first place to the Bay of Chesapeak, if the winds and weather permit.” Dunmore’s time was running out as colonial leaders moved resources to Hampton Roads.

This closeup of a 1781 map made by Lieutenant James Straton of the Royal Engineers, under the command of General Benedict Arnold and Colonel John Graves Simcoe after the British returned to Hampton Roads, shows the Gosport Yard just south of Portsmouth.  Note the reference to the road to Great Bridge, the strategic point on the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River. (Library of Congress, Geography and Maps Division)  

With Norfolk destroyed, Colonel Howe’s men attempted to destroy Dunmore’s original headquarters – Gosport, the naval supply empire built by Andrew Sprowle. British marines tried to protect the buildings there but Patriot forces succeeded in burning the distillery, warehouses, and homes. The frigate Roebuck arrived in the Elizabeth River with additional troops in February. With Norfolk untenable, Dunmore relocated to Portsmouth a few days later where he continued his forays into the countryside and into the Chesapeake Bay. In March 1776, General Charles Lee arrived in Williamsburg to take command of Virginia’s forces and made it a priority to rid the Old Dominion of Lord Dunmore and his navy. He stationed detachments in a ring around Portsmouth, seized the properties of loyalists, and attempted to burn merchants vessels offshore at Norfolk. On May 20, Lee fought a repeat of the Battle of Hampton when he attacked Dunmore’s fleet from the safety of the ruins of the Norfolk wharf.

This 1777 pilot's map published in London, which is oriented at a 90-degree angle to most typical maps, shows Norfolk, shown as "burnt," and Gwynn's Island, where Dunmore's fleet relocated four months after the burning of Norfolk. (Library of Congress, Geography and Maps Division)    

Dispossessed of his will to continue in the present condition Dunmore set sail soon after with 100 vessels and several hundred former slaves, marines, troops, sailors, and loyalists, including Sprowle. They headed for Gwynn’s Island in the Chesapeake Bay where Dunmore hoped to establish a new beachhead for the British. He had not given up on Virginia yet.

Editor's note: Matthew Krogh is a reenactor with HM Sloop Otter

That's News to Me! An Armstrong Gun on CSS Virginia?

By Elijah Palmer & Joseph Miechle
Hampton Roads Naval Museum Educators

A short time ago, while researching a different project, a colleague ran into an interesting vignette which mentioned CSS Virginia several days after the Battle of Hampton Roads. Our interest was piqued by an assertion made within the March 12, 1862 Richmond Dispatch article seen below:

"The Virginia, it is intimated, while up here, has changed her forward and aft pivot guns for two of the celebrated Armstrong guns, which lately found their way into this vicinity."

This statement quickly raised many questions. But first, what was so special about Armstrong guns to make them "celebrated?" Early Armstrong cannon from the mid-1850s were a unique British design that was breech-loading. As was popular technology at the time, there were bands on the breech to reinforce the cannon when it fired, as sometimes the guns burst (as happened onboard USS Princeton in 1843). These guns had an advantage over muzzle loading, smooth-bore cannon as they had a higher rate of fire, greater accuracy, and longer range. By the time of the Civil War, there were naval variants of the Armstrong guns, as can be seen on HMS Warrior. Clearly these cannon were seen as advanced technology, most likely due to the aforementioned advantages.

We knew that the Confederates could have been well aware of Armstrong guns, but the real question was whether it was even possible for the South to have acquired them. Could some of these new cannon have made their way through the blockade to Norfolk? Could these guns have done more damage to the Monitor in a future fight? And if this article were true, why had we not heard of this before? If it was not true, was this an honest mistake or was it propaganda building on the events of the Battle of Hampton Roads? To add to our uncertainty was a report from one of the postwar salvage operations of the wreck of CSS Virginia which mentioned a "large Confederate banded rifled gun."

Could this have been an Armstrong? Or was it a Brooke gun? From The Daily Journal (Wilmington, NC), June 23, 1867. Special thanks to Dr. Anna Holloway for providing this article. 

 Any new guns would have had to come through the blockade, which was an unlikely possibility.  Was there a chance that any Armstrong cannon were at Gosport Navy Yard when it was captured? An examination of the list of guns captured and their disposition quickly put that theory to rest. Strike one! If somehow they had made it through the blockade and been put on the Confederate ironclad, it would not have made much of a difference in a future fight against USS Monitor. Tests from the time showed that, owing to the relatively small gunpowder charge necessary, the Armstrong shell could not penetrate much iron. This would have been especially true of the Monitor's turret, which was protected by 8-inch-thick iron plating. Strike two! But this knowledge was likely not widespread at the time, so reports of the "celebrated Armstrong guns" would have still carried weight.

So could the newspaper report have been an honest mistake? CSS Virginia did replace damaged cannons after the battle, but it seems to be a stretch that someone could have mistaken these guns for the other. While a later triple-banded variant of the Brooke rifle might be confused at first glance, the rounder edges of the Armstrong seem to be quite unique and the Brooke gun was not produced until months after the article. Adding to this doubt was the fact that no Armstrong guns should have been available for purchase. The inventor of the Brooke gun, John Mercer Brooke (also one of the designers of CSS Virginia) wrote in a July 1862 letter that the Confederates did not have any breech-loading guns (alluding to the Armstrong). He continued that "their manufacture is confined to the government shops of England." Strike three! 

An illustration of a single banded Brooke rifle.

A double-banded Brooke rifle mounted on fortifications. (Photo by Joseph Miechle)

Judging from the inspirational language in the rest of the paragraph from the Richmond Dispatch, it appears likely that this was a propaganda piece. Considering that the Armstrong gun was only manufactured in Great Britain, could this have been a trick to show Northern (& Southern) readers that the Confederacy had British support? Indeed, as a New York Times article discussed after the fall of Fort Fisher in January 1865, there were questions about how a large Armstrong cannon was in Confederate possession when the "English Government claims the exclusive right to use [them]."** While the Times writer went on to lay the blame directly on Armstrong himself, he also said that an investigation was needed to fully lay the matter to rest. If there were still questions near the end of the war, how much more so before the Emancipation Proclamation or the Union victories in July 1863? At the very least, the guns were known as new technology, so any Southern reader would likely be excited, while a Northern reader would possibly be dismayed.

In the end, our research put a quick death to some tantalizing possibilities. While perhaps we did not make any significant new discoveries to add to the historiography, we did come away from the experience both more knowledgeable and perhaps a bit wiser. Sometimes the fun of researching history is all about the hunt.

* Letter from John M. Brooke to Stephen Mallory, July 16, 1862, in Ironclads and Big Guns of the Confederacy: The Journal and Letters of John M. Brooke, ed. George M. Brooke, Jr. (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2002), 102.
**"Armstrong Gun at Fort Fisher." New York Times, January 29, 1865.

Brick-By-Brick 2016: The Winners

The entrants' creations for this year's contest were no less varied than those of real vessels taking to the sea from Hampton Roads.  For example, the cruise ship passengers (left) lining the rails of  Jett Starcher's entry could have appeared at the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center in downtown Norfolk (coincidentally where the event was held), while the two Sailors (right) aboard their MK V Special Operations Craft by Joseph Joiner are an everyday sight at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story. (Photo by M.C. Farrington)

On Saturday, 2,081 visitors attended Hampton Roads Naval Museum's Fifth Annual "Brick by Brick: LEGO Shipbuilding" event at the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center in Downtown Norfolk.  Over 100 of them entered their ships into the event's shipbuilding contest, which was divided by age classes and by where the models were created.  If the models were made outside the museum using parts provided by the builder, they were judged in the "Home Built" section, while models made between 10 am and 2 pm (the judging deadline) at the event with parts provided by the museum were judged in the "Museum-Made" section.

Category: Home Built

Fan Favorite:

"Brick of the Sea" by Jett Starcher.

After the judging on Saturday, February 6, Jett Starcher begins preparing his entry, dubbed Brick of the Sea, for transport.  According to Starcher, about 200 hours of work went into the model cruise ship, which was constructed not only with a fully detailed bridge and pool deck, but also with ten interior compartments, including a galley and dining room, gym, movie theater, several staterooms, and an engine room. (Photo by M.C. Farrington).  

Ages 4-6:

Rex and Geoffrey K's model of RMS Titanic looms over the works of other entrants in the four to six year-olds division of the shipbuilding contest (Photo by M.C. Farrington)

                1^st place: "Titanic," by Rex & Geoffrey K.

                2^nd place: "SS Aurora," by Edward B.



As HRNM Volunteer Coordinator Tom Dandes (left) assists William Bassett in preparing the Lego ship Aurora for transport home, his son Edward reacts to his win. (Photo by M.C. Farrington).  

Ages 7-9:

"Noah's Ark" by William S. (Photo by M.C. Farrington).  

                1^st place: "Noah's Ark," by William S.

                2^nd place: "USS Enterprise," by Keith S.


Ages 10-12:

"Blue Mist" by Luke L. (Photo by M.C. Farrington).  

                1^st place: "Blue Mist," by Luke L.

                2^nd place: "Tonto," by Bow C.

Ages 13-16:

A highly-detailed scale Vietnam-era riverine Command and Communications Boat (CCB) took first place for the 13-16 year-old division. (Photo by M.C. Farrington).  

                1^st place: "CCB Monitor," by Jack K.

                2^nd place: "Skidbadnir," by Nathan C.

Ages 17+:

Another highly-detailed historical model rendered with Legos was this winning Civil War-era diorama by Mark Anderson. (Photo by Diana Gordon)



                1^st place: "Merrimac at Gosport Navy Yard," by Mark Anderson.

                2^nd place: "HM Brig Sophie," by Jack Beute

Category: Museum-Made

Fan Favorite:

"Fisherman's Speed Boat"

Ages 4-6:

                1^st place: "Puller Ship," by Conner B.

                2^nd place: "USA Battleship," by Zac O.

Ages 7-9:

                1^st place: "USS Strouss," by Tristan S.

                2^nd place: "USS Emerson," by Emerson D.

Ages 10-12:

                1^st place: "JC Coast Guard," by Caroline P.

                2^nd place: "USS Virginia 2060"

 Ages 13-16:

                1^st place: "Voyage," by Hode.

                2^nd place: "USS Massachusetts," by Scott E.



Ages 17+:

                1^st place: "USS Dove," by Grace A.
                2^nd place: "Underwater Drone," by Cardell A.

CONGRATULATIONS to all the winners! 

If there are any questions about them or for any other questions relating to the contest, please call Special Events Coordinator Don Darcy at (757) 322-3168.

Unexpected Enemies in the Civil War: The Japanese (Part Two)

By Elijah Palmer
Hampton Roads Naval Museum Educator

Shortly after USS Wyoming's attack on Shimonoseki, the French also launched a punitive strike with two ships and some marines against the anti-foreign Choshu clan holding the straits. However, this was only a minor setback for the rebel Japanese and the important trading passage remained closed to foreign ships. For the time being, negotiations replaced military action in trying to resolve the issue.

USS Jamestown (from Official Records)

The situation in Japan remained uncertain for many months in late 1863 and early 1864. The Choshu and other anti-foreign factions were opposing the Japanese government in many places. The situation was dangerous for non-Japanese, as they were attacked in many instances (the American minister to Japan had to be protected by troops). Various foreign governments attempted to negotiate with the Prince of Nagato (Choshu), but met with little success. By May 1864, the American minister to Japan requested Captain Cicero Price to bring the Gosport-built USS Jamestown to Yokohama as soon as possible "in view of the probability of a combined movement against the Prince of Nagato."* It seemed at this point that the Europeans and Americans were getting tired of fruitless negotiations as the Shimonoseki Straits remained closed. In July, Price reported that war was being threatened, as the British and Dutch were massing ships and troops. The next month, an American steamer was attacked near the Choshu lands, which did not surprise Price: "[He] is the most rebellious of the daimios, and it is he whom the combined treaty powers propose to attack."

The international fleet at Yokohama in 1864. Photograph by famed photographer Felice Beato, who would accompany the U.S. Navy's expedition to Korea in 1871 (from ocw.mit.edu)

Deeming that the straits could "only be opened by force," the treaty powers planned their attack. The British had nine ships, the Dutch had four and the French had three, but Jamestown was the only available American ship. However, the strong currents at Shimonoseki meant that the sailing sloop, lacking steam engines, would be nearly worthless in fleet maneuvers in those tight quarters. Yet the other foreign governments "wished...that the American flag should appear in the strait on the occasion of the attack...to show that we were in accord with the movement."

After thinking over the situation, Price and the American minister chartered a merchant vessel, the Ta-Kiang for the purpose of "carry[ing] a landing party, and in any and every way to assist in the common object," all while staying out of range of the enemy cannons (the owners of the Ta-Kiang had to protect their investment). Price sent a crew of 18 under the command of Lieutenant Fredrick Pearson, along with a 30-pound Parrott rifle, to the merchant ship. Pearson was ordered to defer to the British admiral in charge of the expedition and to do whatever was necessary in supporting the attack, with the caveat that Ta-Kiang was "not a man-of war, or prepared to attack the forts."

A 30-pound Parrott Rifle on a naval carriage (from Cincinnati Museum Center)

On September 4, 1864, the international fleet arrived at the entrance to the Shimonoseki Straits. The next afternoon, the fleet moved closer to the Japanese shore batteries and both sides opened fire. The battle lasted for over an hour, until the batteries were silenced. A British night landing took care of some of the guns as well. The battle was resumed early on the morning of September 6, with more cannon fire. At 8:30 a.m., Ta-Kiang towed two boats close to shore as part of a general landing. Pearson later reported that the crew fired eighteen shells from the Parrott rifle, so it is likely that these shots were fired in support of the landing. British, French and Dutch troops captured the Japanese batteries by noon, although they were contested throughout the day. Some of the wounded European troops were transported aboard Ta-Kiang as well.  

A Japanese depiction of the battle

European troops with a captured Japanese battery

The "gunboat diplomacy" of the treaty powers worked, as the rebellious Prince of Nagato agreed to open the straits to "all ships of all countries." In addition, he was forced to promise that the destroyed batteries would not be rebuilt. To ensure compliance of this new agreement, the Europeans left three warships to patrol the area. While not playing a terribly major role in this engagement, the American sailors "[performed their] part to the satisfaction of all concerned." They were able to contribute to the mission, and more importantly "show the flag," which the Navy has often done across the globe. 

*All quotations taken from The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies, Series 1, Vol. 3.

Captain Arthur Sinclair II, Early American Naval Hero

This historic painting depicts Virginia native Arthur Sinclair II (1780-1831), a man who became known for his naval exploits around the globe. As one of the Commonwealth’s most decorated naval war heroes, Sinclair served aboard USS Constellation in several of its important early engagements and was a Commanding Officer Afloat at Gosport Navy Yard from 1819 to 1830. Sinclair served during three wars: the Quasi-War with France, the Barbary Wars, and the War of 1812. His three sons also served in the U.S. Navy, but all three resigned in 1861 to fight with the Confederacy.

USS Constellation model 

For much of the War of 1812, Sinclair was assigned to the Great Lakes as part of Commodore Isaac Chauncey’s squadron, where he commanded the warship General Pike in an engagement on Lake Ontario in September 1813. For his valor during another engagement on Lake Erie in 1813, Sinclair received a presentation sword from the Commonwealth of Virginia (now in the Virginia Historical Society’s collection). In 1814, Sinclair commanded the Niagara on Lake Huron and Lake Superior, during which time he directed actions against Fort St. Mary’s and Fort Nautauwassauga. In September of 1818, under the direction of Captain John Cassin, Sinclair superintended the construction of a seventy-four-gun ship at Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth, Virginia. The following year, Sinclair was ordered to take over the commanding duties of Captain John Shaw at Gosport and became Commanding Officer Afloat there from 1819 until 1830. In addition to these duties, Sinclair was instrumental in the establishment of a nautical school for young officers of the Navy on the frigate USS Guerriere in 1821 (the Naval Academy would not open until 1845).  The school operated until 1828, when Guerriere was ordered to duty in the Pacific.

The painting of Arthur Sinclair is currently in the Hampton Roads Naval Museum’s collection.

(This blog post was written by HRNM's Public Relations Coordinator, Susanne Greene.)