Frederick Rodgers

Frederick W. Rodgers
Rear admiral
Commands held	Delta ( prize ship ) USS Despatch USS Adams Receiving ship USS Independence USS Philadelphia Supervisor, Harbor of New York USS Massachusetts President, Board of Inspection and Survey Asiatic Squadron New York Navy Yard
Battles/wars	American Civil War Union blockade First Battle of Donaldsonville Actions at Port Hudson and College Point, Louisiana Spanish–American War Philippine–American War
Relations	Matthew C. Perry (grandfather)
Signature

Rodgers was born in Havre de Grace, Maryland, on 3 October 1842, a son of Robert Smith Rodgers (1809–1891) and the former Sarah Perry (1818–1905), a daughter of U.S. Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry (1794–1858).^[3][4] His brother, John Augustus Rodgers, also became a rear admiral in the Navy.

He was appointed as an acting midshipman on 25 September 1857 and attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, from 1857 to 1861, completing his studies just after the April 1861 outbreak of the American Civil War.^[5][6]

Promoted to midshipman on 1 June 1861 and to acting

After the war, Rodgers joined the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States—a military society of officers who had served in the Union armed forces.

Promoted to

After leaving the North Pacific Squadron, Rodgers performed ordnance duty at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., in 1872. He was the first commanding officer of the newly acquired steamer USS Despatch from 1873 to 1876, during which time the ship was engaged in special service. He was promoted to commander on 4 February 1875.^[5][6]

After duty as a

In May 1901, Rodgers became Senior Squadron Commander within the Asiatic Squadron, and, on 1 March 1902, he became the commander of the entire Asiatic Squadron, which was engaged in combat during the Philippine–American War at the time. He was the squadron's last commander, as at the end of his tour on 29 October 1902 the Asiatic Squadron was abolished and its responsibilities were assumed by the new United States Asiatic Fleet.^[5][9]

While in the Asiatic Squadron, Rodgers was at the center of a legal case, Frederick Rodgers v. United States, involving a claim Rodgers made for additional pay he believed was due him and eight other rear admirals in the wake of the passage by the United States Congress of the Navy Personnel Act of 3 March 1899. The Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments in the case on 26 February 1902 and ruled against Rodgers on 26 April 1902.^[10]

Rodgers was commandant of the New York Navy Yard from 1 April 1903 until 3 October 1904, when he retired from the Navy upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 62.^[11][12]

Retirement and death

In retirement, Rodgers lived in Washington, D.C., for a time. He was involved in various activities, such as serving in 1907 as senior member of a naval board considering land boundaries at Honolulu in the Territory of Hawaii.^[13]

Rodgers died of a stroke at his home in St. James on Long Island, New York, on 3 November 1917. He was survived by his wife and a son.^[3]

Rogers is buried at Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

See also

Notes

References

• Naval History and Heritage Command: Officers of the Continental and U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, 1775-1900.
• Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Independence II
• Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Santee
• Anonymous, "Admiral Rodgers Dead: Retired Veteran Was Once Commandant of New York Navy Yard," The New York Times, November 4, 1917.
• Hamersly, Lewis Randolph. The Records of Living Officers of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, Seventh Edition, New York: L. R. Hamersly Company, 1902.
• Tolley, Kemp, Yangtze Patrol: The U.S. Navy in China, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1971
  ISBN 1-55750-883-6
  .

• Text of 26 April 1902 United States Supreme Court ruling in Frederick Rodgers v. United States