John D. Sloat

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John Drake Sloat
Military Governor of California
In office
July 7 – 29, 1846
Preceded byPío Pico (civil governor)
Succeeded byRobert F. Stockton
Personal details
Born(1781-07-26)July 26, 1781
Battles/warsWar of 1812
Capture of the sloop Anne
Mexican–American War

John Drake Sloat (July 26, 1781[1][2] – November 28, 1867) was a commodore in the United States Navy who, in 1846, claimed California for the United States.

Life

He was born at the family home of Sloat House in Sloatsburg, New York, of Dutch ancestry. He was orphaned at an early age, his father, Captain John Sloat, having been mistakenly shot and killed by one of his sentries two months before he was born,[3] and his mother dying a few years later.

Appointed

Portsmouth Navy Yard.[4]

California

The monument commemorating John D. Sloat.

In 1844 Sloat was appointed to command the

military Governor of California for only twenty-two days, before handing over the office to Robert F. Stockton.[5]

Later, his poor health forced Sloat to take commands ashore, where he commanded the

]

Legacy

Sloat Ave. in Monterey, California.

Two destroyers were named USS Sloat in his honor as well as the World War II Liberty ship, the SS John Drake Sloat.

The town, Sloat, California, in Plumas County, California was named for him in 1910.

A major street, Sloat Boulevard, and the Commodore Sloat Elementary School, both in San Francisco, California are named for him.

John Sloat Elementary School located in Sacramento, California is named for him.

Streets located in

Carthay Circle neighborhood of Los Angeles
bear his name.

There is a monument erected in his honor on the

Presidio of Monterey
U.S. Army post.

His hometown of Sloatsburg, New York is named after his grandfather, Stephen Sloat.

Dates of rank

  • Midshipman - 12 February 1800
  • Sailing Master - 10 January 1812
  • Lieutenant - 24 July 1813
  • Master Commandant - 21 March 1826
  • Captain - 9 February 1837
  • Reserved List - 27 September 1855
  • Retired List - 21 December 1861
  • Commodore on Retired List - 16 July 1862
  • Rear Admiral, Retired List - 25 July 1866

Gallery

  • Base of John Sloat memorial
    Base of John Sloat memorial
  • Sloat memorial overlooking Monterey Bay
    Sloat memorial overlooking Monterey Bay
  • 1905 lithograph (origin unknown)
    1905 lithograph (origin unknown)
  • Sloat medallion on Native Sons Building, San Francisco
    Sloat medallion on Native Sons Building, San Francisco

Notes

Further reading

Knickerbocker Commodore: The Life and Times of John Drake Sloat, 1781-1867 by Bruce A. Castleman, 2016, State University of New York Press

https://sites.rootsweb.com/~mdannear/firstfam/watkins.htm[permanent dead link]

References