John Randolph Tucker
(January 31, 1812 ? June 12, 1883), an American naval officer who served in the navies of three nations. He was a commander in the
United States Navy
, captain in the
Confederate States Navy
, and rear admiral in the
Peruvian Navy
. As president of the Peruvian Hydrographic Commission of the
Amazon
, he contributed to the exploration and mapping of the upper
Amazon Basin
.
Early life
[
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]
He was born in
Alexandria, Virginia
to merchant captain John Tucker, originally from
Bermuda
, and Susan Douglas, daughter of Dr. Charles Douglas, an English physician.
United States Navy
[
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]
Tucker became a
United States Navy
Midshipman
on June 1, 1826, at age fourteen, and had service afloat in the
Mediterranean
and
Brazil
Squadrons prior to his promotion to Lieutenant on December 20, 1837. During the
Mexican?American War
, he served as a
lieutenant commander
in the
Gulf of Mexico
, commanding
USS
Stromboli
until illness forced him to return north. From 1849 until 1855, he was assigned to the Home Squadron (1849?1852) and Mediterranean Squadron (1852?1855) flagships. Tucker received his commission as
commander
on September 14, 1855, when he became commanding officer of
USS
Pennsylvania
. He later served as
ordnance
officer at the
Norfolk Navy Yard
.
[1]
Confederate States Navy service
[
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]
CSS
Chicora
, with John Randolph Tucker in command, and
CSS
Palmetto State
attacking Union warships in Charleston Harbor, January 31, 1863
Commander Tucker resigned from the U.S. Navy when Virginia seceded from the
Union
on April 18, 1861, becoming a commander in the Virginia Navy and, in June, the
Confederate States Navy
. In 1861?62, he was the commanding officer of
CSS
Patrick Henry
, armed with 10 guns and manned by 150 officers and sailors, participating with her in several combat actions, including supporting the ironclad
CSS
Virginia
in the
Battle of Hampton Roads
. In April 1862 he took command of the
James River Squadron
, which included the
Patrick Henry
and
Virginia
.
[2]
During the
Federal Navy
's attack on the
Drewry's Bluff
fortifications in May 1862, he commanded one of the defending batteries in the
Battle of Drewry's Bluff
.
[3]
In July 1862, Tucker was ordered to
Charleston, South Carolina
, where he took command of the
ironclad
CSS
Chicora
.
[4]
The following January 31, he led his ship in a successful attack on Union warships off that port engaging several Federal ships, including the
USS
Keystone State
, in a gun battle. He became commander of the Confederate warships at Charleston in March 1863, remaining in that post until the city fell in February 1865. During that time, he was promoted to
captain
and aggressively pursued spar-torpedo warfare against U.S. warships. He was ordered to
scuttle
his vessels and retreat to
Wilmington, North Carolina
after General
William T. Sherman
with his army came to Charleston. Tucker formed a marine detachment from the crews of ships which became known as
Tucker's Marine Brigade
.
[5]
During the
U.S. Civil War
's last weeks he served with his men in the defenses of
Richmond, Virginia
, the Confederate capital, manning
Fort Darling
on
Drewry's Bluff
on the
James River
while the
Confederate States Army
was facing its final destiny at
Appomattox, Virginia
. He surrendered in the field on April 6, 1865, at the
Battle of Sailor's Creek
, southwest of Petersburg, and remained a
prisoner of war
until July 24. After his release, he returned to the South to work as an agent of the Southern Express Company of
Raleigh, North Carolina
.
[6]
Peruvian Navy
[
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]
In 1866, the Peruvian Minister to the United States contacted Tucker to arrange an interview in
Washington, D.C.
At that time,
Peru
and
Chile
were in the
Chincha Islands War
with Spain, and the Peruvian President, General
Mariano Ignacio Prado
, invited Tucker to join their Navy as a
rear admiral
, bringing with him two staff officers of his choice. Prado planned for Tucker to lead the allied fleet of Peru and Chile against the Spanish, leading a campaign against
the Philippines
. Tucker accepted the position and went to Peru with Captain
David Porter McCorkle
and Commander
Walter Raleigh Butt
. After arriving at
Valparaiso, Chile
, Tucker raised his flag on board the Peruvian armored frigate
Independencia
.
Although some Peruvian naval officers objected to a foreigner in command of their fleet, Tucker did his best to raise the battle preparedness of the combined navies of Peru and Chile. Several Peruvian naval officers, led by Captain
Lizardo Montero
, felt insulted at such a decision since they felt that they had shown they were just as capable as any other officers to lead and win a naval battle and resigned to their command commissions. Among these Manuel Ferreyros,
Aurelio Garcia y Garcia
and also, including
Miguel Grau Seminario
, later known as "the Knight of the Seas" at the
War of Guano and Salitre (1879-1883)
, they all resigned to their commissions due to Tucker's appointment. After the Spanish fleet left South America's Pacific coast, Tucker stepped down as fleet commander but remained a rear admiral because of the support of President Prado.
Peruvian Hydrographic Commission of the Amazon
[
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]
Tucker resigned from the
Peruvian Navy
in 1871. He was then appointed president of the Hydrographic Commission of Peru on the Amazon River, which included a group of American and Peruvian naval officers and engineers, James Henry Rochelle,
David Porter McCorkle
, Walter Raleigh Butt, and Thomas Wing Sparrow, among others.
[7]
The expedition surveyed the upper
Amazon River
and its tributaries and discovered two new rivers, the
Trinidad
and the
Herrera-yacu
. Tucker traveled to New York upon completion of the expedition to have maps and atlases made and the commission's findings published.
[8]
John Randolph Tucker died in his home at
Petersburg, Virginia
, on June 12, 1883. His remains were interred in
Norfolk, Virginia
where his wife was already laid to rest after she died in 1858 at age thirty-nine. His collected papers are preserved in the library of
Old Dominion University
.
Family
[
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]
On June 7, 1838, Tucker married Virginia Webb, daughter of U.S. Navy captain Thomas Tarleton Webb, and they had nine children.
See also
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Captain John Randolph Tucker, Confederate States Navy
,
Naval History and Heritage Command
- ^
Coski (1996), John M.
Capital Navy: The Men, Ships and Operations of the James River Squadron
, Campbell, CA: Savas Woodbury Publishers.
ISBN
1-882810-03-1
.
- ^
Craig L. Symonds.
Tucker, John Randolph
,
American National Biography Online
, February 2000. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
- ^
Scharf, J T.
History of the Confederate States Navy from Its Organization to the Surrender of Its Last Vessel: The Struggle with the Navy of the United States, the Engagements Fought in the Rivers and Harbors of the South and Upon the High Seas, Blockade-Running, the First Use of Iron-Clads and Torpedoes, the History of Privateering.
New York: Gramercy Books, 1996.
- ^
Tucker's Confederate Marine Brigade: From Drewry's Bluff to Appomattox Court House
,
Early County News
, February 10, 2010.
- ^
Rochelle, James H.
Life of Rear Admiral John Randolph Tucker, Commander in the Navy of the United States: With an Appendix Containing Notes on Navigation of the Upper Amazon River and Its Principal Tributaries.
Washington: Neale Pub. Co, 1903.
- ^
Clayton, Lawrence A.
Peru and the United States: The Condor and the Eagle
. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1999, p. 39?40.
- ^
J. H. Rochelle and T. R. Tucker.
Report of the Hydrographic Commission of Peru on the Amazon River
,
Journal of the American Geographical Society of New York
, Vol. 7 (1875), pp. 357?366.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Rochelle, James H.
Life of Rear Admiral John Randolph Tucker, Commander in the Navy of the United States, Captain and Flag-Officer in the Navy of the Confederate States, Rear Admiral in the Navy of the Republic of Peru, and President of the Peruvian Hydrographical Commission of the Amazon with an Appendix Containing Notes on Navigation of the Upper Amazon River and its Principal Tributaries
. Washington: Neale Pub. Co, 1903.
- Werlich, David P.
Admiral of the Amazon: John Randolph Tucker, His Confederate Colleagues, and Peru
. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1990.
External links
[
edit
]
This article incorporates text from the
public domain
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
.
Military offices
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Preceded by
|
Commander of the
James River Squadron
April 19, 1862 - May 1862
|
Succeeded by
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International
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National
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Other
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