Quarterdeck and Bridge

by Harold D. Langley

NAVAL HISTORY PHOTOGRAPH

ROBERT FIELD STOCKTON (1796–1866) WAS ONE OF THE MOST INTELLIgent and versatile officers of the U.S. Navy during the Age of Sail. His background, education, philosophy, and personal qualities all contributed to making him an effective and highly esteemed officer and man. He was the first career naval officer to be elected to the U.S. Senate, and he was also mentioned as a candidate for President. But Stockton did not find political life particularly appealing, nor would he consent to any compromise of the principles that he believed to be right. He returned to private life and devoted himself to his family. He is well remembered for his contributions to the development of steam power in the Navy and to ending the practice of punishment by flogging.

The Stockton family had a long and honored association with New Jersey. Robert Stockton’s immigrant ancestors were Quakers who acquired a large tract of land in the Princeton area. His paternal grandfather, Richard Stockton, was a member of the first graduating class of Princeton College, a lawyer, a member of the Executive Council of the Colony, and an associate justice of its Supreme Court. When the Revolution began, he sided with the rebels and was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. While a chairman of a committee of the Continental Congress, he was captured by the British in New York and imprisoned for a month. The hardships that he endured in prison undermined his health and he never fully recovered. He died in 1781.¹

The future commodore’s father, Richard Stockton, was the eldest son of the signer of the Declaration of Independence. A prominent lawyer, and a Federalist, he had a political career that included a term in the U.S. Senate (1796–1799), four unsuccessful bids for the governorship of New Jersey (1801–1804), and a term in the U.S. House of Representatives (1813–1815).² From the experiences of his grandfather and his father, young Robert F. Stockton learned of the demands and obligations of public service and a sense of duty to his country. From his lawyer father, he learned to think critically and to get to the heart of every question. His father’s example in politics and in law taught him the virtue of patience and discretion and the importance of principles. Robert was raised in a Federalist environment and much admired the men of that persuasion whom he met through his father. In later life he said that if he had been of age in those days, he would probably have been a Federalist himself.3

As a young man Robert Stockton led a rather sheltered life. Much of the time, he was privately tutored, and, for the most part, his contacts with other boys his age was limited to those who lived near his home.

During the brief period that Robert attended a local school, he proved himself among his peers and gained a reputation for personal courage and for coolness and self-possession in times of crisis. He made an effort to be respectful and courteous to all whom he met, but he was quick to repay any insult or act of aggression. He cultivated a high-minded and generous attitude. For school bullies, he had nothing but contempt. Whenever he found one of them preying on a weaker boy, he assisted the victim.⁴

In 1808, at the age of thirteen, he entered Princeton College where he distinguished himself in mathematics, languages, and elocution. He does not seem to have had a clear idea of what he wanted to do in life. No doubt he gave some thought to following in his father’s footsteps, but the study of the law held no great appeal. In his more reflective moments Stockton might well have decided that it would be hard to surpass his grandfather and his father in the field of law. Possibly he was looking for a more active career. Whatever the case, this was the time when the English-speaking world was reading about the life and exploits of Horatio Lord Nelson, the British naval officer who died in the act of defeating the combined French and Spanish fleets in 1805. Young Stockton was inspired by Nelson’s exploits and dreamed of emulating him.⁵

For a long time, there seemed to be little hope of a naval career in the United States. Under President Thomas Jefferson the naval force had been cut back, and a heavy reliance was placed on gunboats. With no Navy to protect them on the high seas, American merchant ships were caught in the middle of a war between France and Great Britain and were seized by both sides for blockade violations. The impressment of American seaman by British naval officers was a further gross abuse of national pride and honor. These events undoubtedly fanned the patriotic ardor of young Stockton.

It was not until 1811 that he was able to apply for a midshipman’s warrant. When he was accepted, he still had a year and a half to go to finish college. Why his father let him drop out of school is not known. Very possibly his father felt that a little time at sea would be a maturing experience. Ordered to join the frigate President, then at Newport, Rhode Island, Stockton left Princeton in February 1812 and reported to Commodore John Rodgers, the most widely known senior officer of the Navy.6 So began a long and important association for young Stockton.

The President and the Essex sailed for New York on 28 March, and Stockton got his first taste of sea duty when the ships encountered a heavy gale that carried them south of the Delaware Bay. When war was declared in June, Rodgers promptly took his squadron to sea. Six days later, off Nantucket, they sighted the British thirty-two-gun frigate Belvidera and gave chase. A running fight ensued. On board the President a bow gun exploded, killing one midshipman and wounding fourteen men, including Rodgers. The President lost ground and sustained some damage from British shot. Rodgers was unable to overtake the enemy vessel. The pursuit was called off and the rest of the squadron came up to join the flagship.⁷

Ever since reporting for duty, Stockton had observed Rodgers and the other officers on board the ship and noted their strengths and weaknesses. He could not help but be impressed with Rodgers, especially after he was wounded. With a fractured leg, Rodgers was supported by two of his men while he continued to command.⁸ Here was an officer whom Stockton could emulate.

Rodgers had also taken the measure of Stockton. The military deportment and coolness in battle of this young and inexperienced officer were impressive. Rodgers and other officers noted that Stockton was prompt in his discharge of every duty; that he was quick to anticipate what was needed in every given situation; and that he was courteous, respectful, and had a sprightly disposition. Stockton’s brief experience in battle had whetted his appetite for more excitement. The young midshipman’s outlook and manner also made him a favorite with the crew, to whom he became known as “Fighting Bob.”⁹

At the time of the British campaign against Baltimore, Rodgers was ordered to report to Washington, and he brought Stockton with him. Impressed with Stockton, Secretary of the Navy William Jones had the young man assigned to him as an aide. While on this duty, Stockton volunteered to ride over to British-occupied Alexandria, Virginia, to investigate some cannonading. His coolness and willingness to take chances added to the regard with which he was held by his civilian superior.¹⁰

But the life of an aide to the Secretary did not commend itself to Stockton. He requested and received permission to return to Rodgers, who was then involved in preparing the defense of Baltimore. A part of those preparations involved the training of seamen to execute the rudiments of military drill and maneuvers. Although they were eager to fight, Rodgers had great difficulty in fashioning the men into an effective land force.¹¹ Stockton undoubtedly reached Baltimore in time to participate in some of the training. Many years later, in California, Stockton would be called upon to transform another body of sailors into infantry and would draw upon the experience of Rodgers.

Stockton took part in the defense of Fort McHenry and exposed himself to enemy fire on several occasions to carry messages to and from Rodgers’s headquarters. When Rodgers learned that barges carrying British troops were headed for the Lazaretto, he sent Stockton with a detachment of Pennsylvania riflemen to the site of the suspected landing. For his gallantry in action at Fort McHenry and in other battles, Stockton received honorable notices from his superiors. On 9 December 1814 he was promoted to lieutenant.12

It had long been obvious that Stockton would never return to college to complete his studies. His early years in the Navy were spent mastering the details of his profession, then he turned to educating himself through books. He read history, international law, ethics, moral philosophy, and religion. His favorites were the Bible and the works of Cicero, Shakespeare, and Lord Bacon. A Princeton professor who knew him well, later, said that Stockton was one of the best-informed men he had ever met. No matter what the subject under discussion, Stockton could make some worthwhile observations on the topic. Princeton gave him an honorary master’s degree in 1821.¹³

In the war with Algiers, Stockton showed an unusual interest in the effects of naval gunnery. While the frigate Guerriere was closing to attack the Algerian frigate Mishouri, Stockton, in the accompanying schooner Spitfire, requested permission to station himself on his ship’s bowsprit to observe the effect of the broadside. His request was approved. The Spitfire moved close to the stern of the enemy ship. From his precarious perch, Stockton observed two of the Guerriere’s broadsides. To his commanding officer he reported that the Guerriere was firing widely and suggested that the Spitfire aim her long thirty-two-pound cannon on the cabin windows of the pirate vessel. This was done, and in half an hour the Algerian ship was taken.¹⁴

The incident was an early indication that Stockton was studying the most effective way to use guns in a manner well beyond the other lieutenants. It was also a way of bringing himself to the attention of his superiors.

After the war with Algiers, Stockton returned to the Mediterranean in the new ship-of-the-line Washington, the flagship of Commodore Isaac Chauncey. Peacetime routine was dull, and officers had few opportunities to advance themselves. Frustration often prompted younger officers to utter hostile, unguarded remarks that led to duels. Discipline among the officers deteriorated. Two events that took place in the squadron greatly influenced Stockton.

First, Captain John Orde Creighton of the Washington was brought to trial for striking a midshipman, accusing him of lying, and threatening to throw him overboard. The court-martial board, with Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry presiding, did not allow the midshipman to present the testimony of two lieutenants and arbitrarily ended the trial. The court found Creighton not guilty. This verdict so outraged the midshipmen of the squadron that fifty-one of them sent a petition to Congress asking for protection from tyrannical officers. It was the view of members of Congress that the petition was insubordinate, and they took no action on it.15

Another outrage took place when Commodore Perry, acting in an arbitrary manner, removed from command John Heath, the captain of the marines on Java. When the relief from command was not followed by charges, Heath sent a note to Perry and asked what the next step was to be. Perry summoned Heath to his cabin, and, during a high-pitched discussion, struck the marine. Heath proffered charges, with Perry making countercharges. The same court that had tried Creighton now tried Perry, and Creighton was one of the judges. The court found both men guilty but sentenced them only to a reprimand. Once again, the verdict outraged the junior officers. Fifty of them—midshipmen, lieutenants, and marines—sent a memorial to Congress that protested the partiality of the court-martial.¹⁶

Stockton signed this memorial, which marked the real beginning of his interest in naval reform.

Although Stockton could do little to reform the Navy as a whole, he could do something about those under his immediate command. He set about teaching his subordinates his philosophy of command. Stockton believed that a commander must inspire his officers to respect him and to be deferential to his position and sense of honor. It was the commander’s obligation to demonstrate to everyone his dedication to justice and fairness. An officer was expected to be a gentleman, and a gentleman should not do wrong himself or allow anyone else to do it without punishment. As for the subordinates, they must respect and obey their superiors. One of the basic lessons that all officers must learn, according to Stockton, was that they remain cool under all circumstances. “Remember, Gentlemen,” he would say, “that there is always time enough to fight; keep cool; never get in a passion, under the grossest provocation.”¹⁷

The young lieutenant applied this principle in an effort to curtail dueling. Stockton himself was a good shot, and he fought duels with British officers in the Mediterranean in the interest of demanding respect for the officers of the U.S. Navy, not to avenge his personal honor. When an American midshipman challenged him to a duel, Stockton met the man ashore at the appointed place. The midshipman fired and missed. Stockton fired into the air. The seconds determined that honor had been satisfied. All involved in this encounter became firm friends of Stockton, and the midshipman became a zealous upholder of shipboard discipline.

Increasingly, Stockton devoted himself to compromising disputes between officers and discouraging duels. His success in this effort led others to enlist his effort to arbitrate questions. In Stockton’s view, it was rarely necessary for a gentleman to fight a duel. A gentleman was always willing to make whatever explanations were proper. If the offended person was also a gentleman, he would be satisfied with honest explanations.18 This code of conduct was palatable to junior officers because it came from someone who had proved his personal courage on a number of occasions.

Because he had some knowledge of the law and was a good speaker, Stockton found himself in demand as a counsel in courts-martial. In this, as in other affairs, he was a conscientious officer, and he had some successes in this area as well. It may well have pleased him to reflect that by a strange quirk of fate he was now acting as a lawyer, as his father and grandfather had done before him.¹⁹

As a result of several disciplinary problems in the squadron, Commodore Charles Stewart relieved four officers and sent them to the sloop-of-war Erie, under Stockton’s command, for passage home. Stockton made the journey during the winter and arrived in late January 1820 without any mishaps. Secretary of the Navy Smith Thompson expressed his satisfaction with Stockton’s report of his voyage and added that it was “evidence of your active exertion, and prudence as commander of the ship.”²⁰

For his next assignment, Stockton asked the Secretary “for the most dangerous, the most difficult and the most unpromising employment at the disposal of the government.” This turned out to be an assignment in the schooner Alligator to the west coast of Africa, where Stockton was to seize any American ships that were involved in slave trade.

While he was in Washington on official business, Stockton was approached by two leaders of the American Colonization Society and asked if he would acquire some land on the west coast of Africa that could become a colony for the resettlement of ex-slaves. He was willing to undertake the mission, provided that he was not bound by detailed instructions and was free to exercise his own discretion. The society agreed to these terms. Stockton was to work with Dr. Eli Ayres, the society’s agent in Africa, who also held a commission as a naval surgeon.

In the fall of 1821, Stockton went to sea again in the Alligator.²¹ Given the humanitarian nature of the enterprise, it seemed appropriate to Stockton to put into action some of his ideas on leadership. He decided to see whether discipline could be maintained without the use of the cat-o’-nine tails. Remembering Captain Creighton’s penchant for flogging men, Stockton was determined to have none of that on board his ship. So, while the ship was still within sight of the shore, he ordered that the cat-o’-nine tails be thrown overboard. He would command obedience and discipline by other means. The experiment proved to be a success, and thereafter Stockton became an advocate of the abolition of flogging.22

As for the mission of the American Colonization Society, Stockton explored the coast of Africa and determined that the region around Cape Mesurado would be suitable for the proposed colony. With some difficulty and using the threat of force, he persuaded the local tribal rulers to cede the area. The colony subsequently established became the Republic of Liberia. Stockton developed a strong interest in the work of the society, and a few years later, when he returned to New Jersey, he organized a branch of the society in his native state and served as its first president.²³

Turning his attention now to the slave trade, Stockton zealously seized ships that he suspected were American vessels operating under foreign flags. Unfortunately, four of them turned out to be French, and a minor diplomatic crisis resulted. A Portuguese slaver made the mistake of firing on him, and he seized that as a prize as well. The Secretary of the Navy was obliged to tell Stockton to restrict his activities to ships flying the American flag.²⁴

The Alligator, under Stockton’s command, was next assigned to the West Indies as a part of the government’s effort to eliminate piracy in that area. The ship became a part of the newly created West India squadron under Commodore James Biddle. In the course of this duty Stockton went to Charleston, South Carolina, where he met and fell in love with Harriett Maria Potter, the only daughter of John Potter, a wealthy merchant. His overtures were encouraged, and the couple was married in Charleston on 4 March 1823. The marriage brought Stockton control of property in the South and close ties with his wife’s father and friends. As a result, Stockton developed a great sympathy for the people and problems of the South.²⁵

When Stockton took his bride to Princeton, and while on leave from active service, he found himself caught up in the politics of the day. The question was who would succeed James Monroe in the presidential election of 1824. The Federalists had ceased to be a force on the national scene but were still active in some states. In the dominant Democratic-Republican Party of Monroe, five major figures were competing for the office. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams was the candidate from the Northeast. Senator Andrew Jackson of Tennessee and Representative Henry Clay of Kentucky were the candidates of the West. There were two candidates from the South: Secretary of War John C. Calhoun of South Carolina and Secretary of the Treasury William H. Crawford of Georgia.

No clear victor emerged in the election, and the question was referred to the House of Representatives. As a result, Adams became the President and Calhoun the Vice President. Clay was subsequently appointed Secretary of State in the new administration. The Jacksonians charged that the will of the people had not been done and that Adams had won the office through bargain and corruption. Thus, the campaign of 1828 started four years early.26

In 1824, Stockton favored John Quincy Adams, but he was disappointed in his actions as President. At Princeton, Stockton established a newspaper and began to write occasional editorials for it. Not surprisingly, he was drawn into politics. He became an ardent supporter of Andrew Jackson and shared the widespread enthusiasm that followed the triumph of the general in the presidential elections of 1828 and 1832.²⁷

Meanwhile, Stockton was recalled to active duty in November 1826 and given the job of superintending the survey of the harbors of Savannah, Georgia, and Beaufort, South Carolina. Southerners were eager to see a naval base established in Georgia or the Carolinas, and the survey was a part of that effort. While engaged in this work, Stockton received word of the death of his father in March 1828. He requested and received a leave of absence to settle his father’s affairs. So began a decade of activity in New Jersey.²⁸

With the death of his father, Stockton came into possession of the family homestead, “Morven,” as well as land and other capital. This inheritance, together with other property that he inherited and that which he acquired by purchase and by marriage, made him quite comfortable.²⁹ He was now prepared to risk it all to support internal improvement in his native state.

The people of New Jersey noted New York’s success with the Erie Canal and believed that they could reap similar benefits by linking the Delaware and Hudson Rivers. Several groups sought governmental assistance for at least three competing routes. When Congress refused to provide aid, the state legislature turned to private investors and chartered several canal companies. The first one, chartered for the New Brunswick-to-Bordentown route, was unable to sell its stock, and the second one, the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company, was doing little better when Stockton bought a controlling interest in 1830.

One of the major problems facing the company was the legislature’s chartering of the Camden and Amboy Railroad Company at the same time. Stockton knew that the canal could not succeed if it had to compete with a virtually parallel railroad from the very beginning. To meet the challenge, he applied to the state for the right to build another railroad from Trenton to New Brunswick. He argued that unless he could build the proposed route, the Camden and Amboy Railroad would be a monopoly. The state responded by consolidating the two companies and by giving the combined company the authority to build the Trenton–New Brunswick connection. As a result, both the canal and railroad lines were built, and New Jersey enjoyed a system that not only did not incur any public debt, but actually paid large sums to the state for charter rights and transit duties.³⁰

Before all this became a reality, however, the very difficult problem of raising capital had to be overcome. Rebuffed by New York and Philadelphia investors, Stockton turned to his father-in-law, John Potter, who raised between a third and a half of the required funds in Charleston, South Carolina. On the New Jersey front, the struggle to build and maintain the company developed Stockton’s political and managerial skills to a high degree. Yet, for the rest of his life, he was quite defensive about his association with a monopoly.31

In 1838, Stockton traveled to England to obtain a loan to help the company to weather the financial crisis caused by the panic of 1837. His success in negotiating a large loan at a low interest rate added to his reputation in the business community. The trip was also to have enormous implications for the U.S. Navy because at that time he met John Ericsson, a Swedish engineer.³²

Ericsson was trying to convince the officials of the Royal Navy of the value of his iron-hulled steam vessel powered by a screw propeller. A ride in the craft convinced Stockton that it was just what his company needed. He ordered one of the boats and had Ericsson design a fifty-horsepower engine for it.³³

A few months after Stockton returned from Europe, the Navy Department ordered him to sea as the executive officer in the ship-of-the-line Ohio, under command of Commodore Isaac Hull. Stockton was now a master commandant, having been promoted to that rank on 27 May 1830.³⁴ After his many years ashore, the return to active duty must have had its difficult moments. Stockton was forty-two years old and had been used to a comfortable existence. Now he must adjust once again to the rigor and discomfort of shipboard life.

During the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, Stockton had additional opportunities to observe the state of naval discipline. Commodore Hull was a humane officer who enjoyed the respect and affection of the crew; it was his habit to reduce the sentences of men convicted of offenses. The ship itself was in the charge of Captain Joseph Smith, a tall officer, with a penetrating eye, who had a strong interest in temperance and who called himself the seamen’s friend. But in his zeal to stop drunkenness and other evils, he punished the men severely by flogging. As a result, he lost the respect of the men and failed in his efforts to improve them. It seems likely that this experience simply reinforced Stockton’s view that flogging could be eliminated and that there were better and more effective ways to lead men.³⁵

In Europe, Stockton was detached from the ship to carry dispatches to the American Minister to Great Britain. While in that country he studied the latest improvements in naval architecture and visited navy yards, depots, and manufacturing plants. The trip to England provided an opportunity to witness the trials of the iron screw steamer he had ordered from Ericsson. They were most impressive. Named the Robert F. Stockton, the completed vessel crossed the Atlantic under sail in 1839 and was used for many years as a tugboat on the Delaware and Raritan Canal.³⁶

Stockton was most impressed with Ericsson’s work and saw opportunities for the application of his genius in America. His encouraging comments came at a time when the British Admiralty rejected Ericsson’s design for a screw steamer. Stockton had Ericsson build a model of a screw steamer for naval use that was sent to the Navy Department. The warm encouragement of Stockton led Ericsson to emigrate to the United States. Meanwhile, Stockton learned that he had been promoted to captain on 8 December 1838. He returned to the United States full of enthusiasm for modernizing the Navy.37

Back home, Stockton found resistance to his ideas in official circles. Some of the older naval officers and even the Secretary of the Navy were hostile about moving toward steam-powered warships. The only thing that Stockton could hope for was a change in administration, and the election of 1840 was approaching.

Thoroughly disenchanted with the Van Buren administration, Stockton took a leave of absence and worked actively in New Jersey to support the Whig Party candidate, General William Henry Harrison. Harrison died in April 1841, and the new President, John Tyler, and his Secretary of the Navy, George E. Badger, were more receptive than their predecessors to building steam vessels and improving the naval forces of the nation.³⁸

Much encouraged by the change, Stockton sent the model of the steam warship to Secretary Badger in April 1841. As a result, the Navy Department authorized the construction of “a steamer of six hundred tons on the plan proposed by Captain Stockton; steam to be the main propelling power upon Ericsson’s plan.” Thus, Ericsson’s genius and Stockton’s connections and sponsorship combined to produce the first steam-powered screw vessel in the U.S. Navy. When completed, the vessel was a full-rigged ship of 954 tons that used steam as auxiliary power. For armament, it carried twelve forty-two-pound carronades and two 12-inch wrought iron guns reinforced by tiers of hoops. One of these, known as the “Oregon,” had been designed by Ericsson in England and brought to the United States. The other gun, known as the “Peacemaker,” was forged for Stockton by Hamersley Forge and bored and finished under Ericsson’s direction. The names of the guns had a special significance at a time when there was a diplomatic crisis with Great Britain over the Oregon Territory.³⁹

In the process of building the ship, additional funds were required, and Stockton put his own money into the project. By the time the vessel was finished, he had developed a proprietary attitude toward it and considered it “his” ship. It was named the USS Princeton in honor of the captain’s hometown. An unfortunate change took place in Stockton at this time: he encouraged the notion that the ship was the product of his ideas alone. Evidence of this is contained in Stockton’s 5 February 1844 letter to the Secretary of the Navy, in which he described the virtues of the Princeton and her guns without mentioning John Ericsson. When the Princeton went to Washington to demonstrate her capabilities to government officials, Ericsson, left in New York, was angry at his exclusion from the official party.

On 28 February 1844 the Princeton made a cruise down the Potomac River to show the power of her large guns. On board were the President, members of his cabinet, members of Congress, and a number of ladies. Earlier, Ericsson had suggested that the demonstration be done with a gun of his own design, but Stockton preferred the one with which he was associated. The assembled guests were impressed by the power of the cannon. On the way back to Washington, the captain was requested to fire it one more time. He consented, but on this occasion, the gun exploded and killed the Secretaries of State and Navy, as well as four other persons. Stockton himself was badly scorched, but he continued to give his attention to all around him. Subsequently, he asked for a court of inquiry to investigate the accident.

Shortly after the news of the explosion reached Ericsson in New York, he received a letter from one of the Princeton’s officers requesting that he come to Washington for the investigation. This Ericsson refused to do, nor would he accept any responsibility for the accident. The court exonerated Stockton of any blame for the explosion of the gun, but Stockton never forgave Ericsson, and in retaliation for what he considered Ericsson’s failure to support him, he used his influence to prevent the government from paying Ericsson for his services in building the Princeton. This was the most petty and dishonorable aspect of Stockton’s naval career, and it tarnished his reputation as an exponent of the new technology in warfare.40

Before the diplomatic crisis with Great Britain over the Oregon Territory was settled, a new threat of war with Mexico emerged as a result of efforts to bring the republic of Texas into the Federal Union. The problem for Mexico was that Texas, in arguing that its border was the Rio Grande, was asserting control over a region well beyond the actual settlements of the republic. For anti-slavery-minded Northerners, the admission of Texas ran a risk of increasing the power of the Southerners in the Senate, as well as bringing on a war. The decision on Texas was so controversial that it was not until the closing days of the Tyler administration that it was admitted to the Union by a joint resolution of Congress. A troublesome issue was thus removed from the public agenda before newly elected President James K. Polk took office.⁴¹

From Stockton’s point of view, the admission of Texas was a highly desirable thing. A thoroughgoing expansionist, he believed that God had ordained the Americans to occupy the areas of the West.⁴² Given this point of view and his close association with the outgoing administration, it is not surprising that Stockton was chosen by President Tyler to carry to Texas the news that Congress had approved the annexation. It was now up to the Texas legislature to accept this and to enter the Union as a state. The business was not without risk. At the news of the passage of the joint resolution in Texas, the Mexican government broke off diplomatic relations with the United States. The Mexican minister at Washington went home to his country to help organize resistance to the United States.43

As Stockton saw it, the new Democratic administration headed by President Polk had come into office on a platform that promised the reoccupation of the Oregon Territory and the annexation of Texas. These actions might provoke a war with Great Britain, with Mexico, or with both. If war came with both and Stockton had a chance to make a choice, he wanted to test his skill against the British on the high seas. He had not forgotten the thrill of combat under John Rodgers. Of the two contestants, Britain was the bigger threat. Therefore, it seemed wise to resolve the Mexican question as quickly as possible in order to be free to cope with Great Britain, if necessary.

In Texas it was reported that the Mexicans were preparing for war and might possibly have the assistance of a European power. There seemed to be no time to lose. Why wait until the Mexicans were ready to fight? Why not resolve the question according to the United States’ own time table?⁴⁴

For Stockton this meant that someone in Texas had to take the initiative. When he arrived in Texas, he found that Texan politicians were quibbling over the terms of the annexation and that European diplomats were trying to convince them not to accept the incorporation. Fearing that Texas might yet be lost to the Union, Stockton suggested to Texas President Anson Jones that Texas should become more hostile toward Mexico. He argued that if Mexico went to war, the United States could neutralize the threat before any Europeans got invoked. Jones hoped to establish more friendly relations with Mexico and rejected Stockton’s suggestion that Texas manufacture a war for the convenience of the United States.

Although there was strong pro-annexation sentiment among the Texas people, their leaders were not enthusiastic about risking war. Most likely, Stockton talked about his ideas with the American chargé d’affaires in Texas. If so, he learned quickly that Polk’s administration was committed to resolving the problems with Mexico through diplomacy. Disgusted at the turn of events, Stockton returned to the East and reached Philadelphia in June 1845.⁴⁵

The commodore’s action in Texas was an example of his boldness. The record shows that he had no authorization from the President or the Navy Department to do as he did. Stockton was prepared to take risks because he was convinced that, if he were successful, the administration would overlook some irregularities. Also, he believed that Mexico would fight, and he communicated these thoughts to his superiors.

In the fall of 1845, Stockton was given the command of the frigate Congress and instructions to carry a U.S. commissioner to the Hawaiian Islands. The captain also carried sealed orders that were not to be opened until he was beyond the Virginia Capes. Stockton was very much afraid that he was being sent to the Pacific just as war with Mexico was about to break out. His old ship, the Princeton, had been assigned to Commodore David Conner in the Gulf of Mexico. If war should come instead with Great Britain, he would be far from that as well. But orders were orders, and Stockton was determined to do his best in any situation into which fate cast him.46

While the Congress was preparing for sea, her chaplain, Walter Colton, received a consignment of some three hundred to four hundred books for the ship’s library. These were on religious as well as miscellaneous subjects, and they came from the American Tract Society, the Sunday School Union, and the Presbyterian Board of Publications. Knowing that there was no appropriation for such books, Stockton purchased them himself for his crew. In addition, the American Tract Society supplied Bibles for the crew. Delighted with this windfall, Chaplain Colton wrote in his journal: “No national ship ever left a port of the United States more amply provided with books suited to the habits and capacities of those on board.”⁴⁷

Religious ideas were important in shaping Stockton, so it followed in his mind that they could influence others. Born a Presbyterian, he became an Episcopalian at the time of his marriage and subsequently served as a vestryman at Trinity Church in Princeton. As a naval officer, he insisted that religious services be performed on board his ship every Sunday. He cultivated the friendship of chaplains and supported their work.

Among the people he was close to was Charles S. Stewart, who had a strong opinion about the degrading effects of punishment by flogging. His ideas reinforced Stockton’s own views. In human affairs, Stockton believed that people responded to reason and that kindness begat kindness. He was not above flogging if all other possibilities were exhausted, but, unlike many other officers in his day, he did not consider it his first recourse. He took pains to make his men believe that, as their commander, he was like a parent, stern and demanding at times but always concerned, sympathetic, and forgiving. This approach was quite effective on board his ships.⁴⁸

Stockton’s efforts to promote harmony in the Congress included keeping the men informed of their mission. When Stockton opened his sealed orders, he learned that after he discharged his passengers in Hawaii, he was to sail for Oregon and California. He promptly shared this information with his crew. No one knew what to expect when the Congress anchored in Monterey Bay, California, on 15 July 1846 and found a squadron under the command of Commodore John D. Sloat in control of the area. Stockton promptly went to confer with the senior officer.49 So began one of the most controversial aspects of Stockton’s career.

The meeting between Sloat and Stockton produced some surprises. The senior commander told Stockton that his health was bad and that he intended to transfer the command as soon as possible. It developed that the previous May, while Sloat’s squadron was at Mazatlán, Mexico, he had received a message from the squadron’s surgeon, then in Guadalajara, Mexico, that there had been fighting between Mexican and American troops along the Rio Grande. Sloat promptly relayed this information to the American consul at Monterey, California, by way of Captain William Mervine in the sloop-of-war Cyane. Sloat remained in Mazatlán until he learned of General Zachary Taylor’s victories at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma in northeastern Mexico.

Further confirmation of the war came from Mexico City by way of another message from the squadron’s surgeon. It was not until 8 June—twenty-two days after the first report of fighting—that Sloat sailed for Monterey in the Savannah, arriving there on 1 July. Five days later he learned that a small group of soldiers under Brevet Captain John C. Fremont of the Topographical Engineers had abandoned their scientific survey work and were actively supporting a revolt by American settlers. Sonoma and San Francisco were under control of this group. What was Sloat to do?

It probably seemed reasonable to Sloat that Fremont had acted under orders from Washington. If so, it was important to have a meeting with him as soon as possible to determine what was to be done. Meanwhile, Sloat was concerned that the British had their eyes on California, and he wanted to forestall any movement by them in that direction. Accordingly, he ordered the seizure of Monterey and San Francisco, and this was accomplished on 7 and 9 July, respectively. Sonoma was also occupied.

Fremont hastened to Monterey and conferred with Sloat in a meeting unsatisfactory to both. Fremont wanted an official endorsement of what he had done thus far and support for further operations in California. Sloat was surprised and shocked to learn that Fremont had acted on his own authority and without knowing about the war with Mexico. This news induced Sloat to break off the meeting. He was delighted when Stockton arrived and was only too happy to turn the naval and land command over to the younger officer. Arrangements for the change of command were completed on 29 July, and Sloat departed for home.⁵⁰

While seizing Monterey, Commodore Sloat had issued a proclamation announcing the outbreak of war and the annexation of California. It spoke of the advantages that the area would have as a part of the United States and promised that all who did not wish to remain there could return to Mexico after the war. The real estate titles of the Californians and the church would be recognized. Items furnished to the Americans would be bought at a fair price. This moderate and statesmanlike document was in accord with American Consul Thomas Larkin’s hopes that the conquest of California would be peaceful. Larkin knew that long before the arrival of Fremont or Sloat, Californians had been discontented under Mexican rule.51

Stockton’s assessment of the situation was different. He knew that the U.S. government was anxious to acquire California. He was suspicious of the British naval vessel in California waters and thought the British might support Mexican efforts to resist the American occupation. Even if no British support were forthcoming, however, Mexico was bound to react to the loss of California. Stockton thought it wise to complete the conquest as soon as possible, before the Mexicans discovered how small and scattered the American forces were.⁵²

Stockton’s force consisted of the Portsmouth at San Francisco, with her men holding the garrisons ashore; the frigate Savannah at Monterey; and the Warren at Mazatlán. This left only the frigate Congress, the sloop-of-war Cyane, and 160 men under Fremont to seize and control the rest of California. To Stockton it seemed clear that he must move quickly with all the men he could muster.

On his own authority, he designated Fremont’s organization “the California battalion of United States troops” and promoted their leader to the rank of major. Arrangements were made to establish volunteer garrisons at Sutter’s Fort, Sonoma, San Juan Batista, and Santa Clara. Stockton informed Chaplain Colton that he would function as the mayor of Monterey until further notice.⁵³

The commodore’s supreme confidence in his own judgment and his “take charge” personality led him to issue a rather arrogant and bombastic proclamation that blamed the Mexicans for the war and for outrages against Fremont and his scientific group. To avenge these wrongs, points had been seized in California. Mexican officials had departed, and anarchy reigned until Stockton brought order. General Jose Maria Castro, the Mexican commander in California, was to be driven out of the country; local officials must recognize American authority. Consul Larkin told the authorities in Washington that the assertions in the proclamation did not come from him. One of Stockton’s subordinate officers considered the proclamation rather unintelligible.⁵⁴ It was not a happy note on which to begin. One can only assume that Stockton was trying to intimidate the Mexicans with rhetoric.

Stockton’s strategy was to increase Fremont’s strength as quickly as possible by moving Fremont’s battalion via the Cyane to San Diego, California. After acquiring horses there it would move inland to prevent Castro’s retreat from Los Angeles. Then, Stockton would land his sailors and marines at San Pedro and move against Castro. While Stockton was transforming his men into infantry, Larkin tried to arrange a truce and a conference between the commanders. Stockton refused to talk to Castro unless California declared its independence under the protection of the United States. Castro could agree to no such terms, but his force was too small to oppose the Americans. He left California. Stockton’s force marched to Los Angeles where it was joined by Fremont’s followers.55

In Los Angeles Stockton issued a new proclamation, stating that California belonged to the United States and would soon have a government and laws similar to those of other American territories. An election date for civil officers was announced. Meanwhile, a civil and military government would be in power with Stockton as governor. In forming a civil government the commodore exceeded his instructions and the provisions of the Constitution. Stockton justified his actions on the grounds that it was important for the tranquillity of the area to have a functioning civil government that could protect civil property rights, maintain the American presence, and free his forces for an attack on Mexico. He was also concerned about the influx of Mormons into the area. As events later proved, neither the President nor the Secretary of the Navy accepted these arguments.⁵⁶

No sooner had Stockton reported to the Secretary of the Navy that peace reigned in California than a revolt broke out in Los Angeles and spread to other points. All the territory south of San Luis Obispo reverted to Mexican control. An army expedition under General Stephen Watts Kearney marched overland from New Mexico, suffered a defeat in a battle with the Mexicans in California, and joined Stockton at San Diego. The balance of power in California now shifted; the combined army and naval units, along with Fremont’s forces, defeated the Mexican troops that opposed them, and the reconquest of California was completed in January 1847.⁵⁷

When the fighting stopped, a smoldering feud between Stockton and Kearney intensified over the issue of who was in control of the area. Kearney pointed to his instructions from the President stating that he was to establish a new territorial government in California, as he had already done in New Mexico. Stockton based his claims on the Navy Department’s orders to Sloat. The commodore argued that the general’s orders had been superseded by events. Stockton then proceeded to appoint Fremont the governor. In February, new orders from Washington placed the authority in Kearney’s hands.⁵⁸

The commodore left California on 20 June and traveled overland to Washington where he visited President Polk on 25 November. Later, Stockton returned to Washington to give testimony in court-martial proceedings against Fremont. The court found Fremont guilty of mutiny, disobedience, and prejudicial conduct and sentenced him to be dismissed from the service. Polk approved all but the mutiny finding and restored Fremont to duty. Instead, Fremont resigned.⁵⁹

It had become clear to Stockton that the authorities in Washington disapproved of his actions in California, but the general public did not. On his return from the West, he was cheered by crowds and offered testimonial dinners, which he declined until after he returned home; then he attended a reception in his honor in New Jersey and a banquet in Philadelphia.60

Although all this was personally gratifying, Stockton was worried about the debate on Negro slavery and Southern threats to secede from the Union. Stockton believed that God had plans for the United States and the breakup of the Union would retard them. He was, therefore, willing to support any compromise that would hold the states together. The commodore did not believe that the federal government had a right to interfere with slavery in the states. His own connection with the South through his wife naturally gave him a good insight into the views of Southerners, but his own views of the blacks and their future was unique.

As Stockton saw it, God intended to use the blacks in America as the means of civilizing Africa. He believed that no white man could survive there. The slaves and their ancestors had been taken from their tribal environment and exposed to the superior civilization of the Anglo-Saxons. Slavery was a time of suffering, but it was an ordeal through which the blacks must go to prepare them for the work ahead. Their situation was similar to that of the Jews in Egyptian bondage before Moses led them to the promised land. The establishment of Liberia was a step toward the development of Africa, and as such, freed blacks should be encouraged to settle there. Slavery would end when God was ready to use the blacks for his work in Africa. Until that time, slaves had to be trained to be self-supporting. This comfortable philosophy allowed Stockton to believe that there was cruelty and injustice in the institution of slavery, but that slavery itself was not a sin. It was the duty of the states to correct injustices. Abolitionists would drive the Southern states out of the Union and would not free any slaves.⁶¹

These views and his national stature made Stockton an appealing compromise candidate in some circles, but he was not interested in political office. He resigned his commission in the Navy on 28 May 1850 to devote himself to private affairs. In a letter to a Trenton newspaper in November 1850, Stockton turned down the suggestion that his name should be placed in nomination for the U.S. Senate. He hoped that the honor would go to someone who was pledged to uphold the Union. Members of the New Jersey state legislature believed that no one had a stronger dedication to the Union than Stockton. He was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-second Congress, which met in special session on 4 March 1851.⁶²

During his time in the Senate he made speeches advocating improved harbor defenses and against intervention in European affairs, but his most famous effort came about as a result of an attempt to reintroduce punishment by flogging in the Navy.63

Flogging in the Navy and merchant marine had been abolished by a provision in an appropriation bill passed on 28 September 1850. The President signed the bill into law, and Congress adjourned on the same day. Because no substitute punishments were indicated, there was a feeling in some parts of the Navy that the measure was hasty and ill conceived. The Secretary of the Navy received letters from officers who asked for instructions on how to deal with unruly seamen. The Secretary of the Navy asked Congress to revise the whole system of punishments at once. On 17 December 1851, Senator Richard Broadhead of Pennsylvania introduced a memorial, signed by a large number of citizens, urging that punishment by flogging be reintroduced. This stirred Stockton to action. After expressing his amazement that any group of people would advocate such a thing, Stockton gave notice that he would oppose the suggestion.

When the proposition was considered on 7 January 1852, Stockton was ready. He spoke with feeling about the superiority of the American sailor and how he had proved his worth in war and peace. Stockton protested: “The theory that the Navy cannot be governed, and that our national ships cannot be navigated, without the use of the lash, seems to me to be founded in that false idea that sailors are not men—not American citizens—have not the common feelings, sympathies, and honorable impulses of our Anglo-American race.” The commodore related how men would undergo all sorts of hardship for a commander they loved and who they believed cared for them. Punishment by flogging destroyed a sailor’s self-respect, pride, and patriotism. A new and more civilized age had dawned. In the state prisons, the worst offenses were no longer punished by flogging. Why then, he asked, did people want to restore “this relic of barbarism” to the Navy?

Stockton went on to describe his own quarter century of association with seamen in various parts of the world. He told what they had done as infantry in the California campaigns. “American sailors, as a class,” argued Stockton, “have loved their country as well, and have done more for her in peace and war, than any other equal number of citizens.” Yet the sailor enjoyed little in the way of comfort; was treated as an outcast on shore; and often died poor. Some now argued that he should again be flogged like a felon. As far as he was concerned, said Stockton, he would rather see the Navy abolished than to see flogging restored. Officers of the Navy who thought that the sailor was more influenced by fear than by affection were wrong. “You can do infinitely more with him by rewarding him for his faithfulness than by flogging him for his delinquencies,” Stockton asserted. It was much more effective to punish minor infractions by stopping the sailor’s allowance of tobacco, tea, sugar, or coffee. To improve the Navy and its discipline, Stockton recommended a system of rewards and punishments, the abolition of the grog ration, and a restructuring of the recruiting service.

Efforts to refute Stockton’s arguments were made by George E. Badger of North Carolina, a former Secretary of the Navy, and by Stephen Mallory of Florida, but they were futile. No one could bring to the subject the range of firsthand experience and conviction possessed by the commodore. The petition to reestablish flogging was referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs, where it died. The Congress now had to consider a new code of discipline. This code was not completed and enacted into law until 1862.64

In beating back the effort to restore flogging, Stockton reached the apex of his career as a naval reformer. He was the right man in the right place to win the battle. No one could match his credentials. He had had a wide-ranging and full career and had proved himself successful in business, in politics, and as a naval officer. On board his own ship, he had demonstrated that a system of humane discipline was not only possible but also efficient. It was now up to other officers to learn how to apply those lessons. He had repaid his own men for their devotion. In the Senate of the United States, he had proclaimed the virtues of the American sailor. By his action in stopping the restoration of a cruel punishment, he helped to start a systematic reexamination of the whole body of regulations. The result was both a new code and a fresh perspective on how the Navy should function.

By the time the new regulations came about, Stockton was long gone from the Senate. He had been a reluctant candidate for the honor, and, when his wife’s father died, he found himself obliged to deal with many additional questions in regard to the estate. Accordingly, he resigned his seat in the Senate on 10 January 1853 and served from then until his death as president of the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company. He was mentioned as a possible presidential candidate by the new American Party in 1856, but he seems to have given little encouragement to such talk. The widening sectional rift of the following years worried him. By 1859, the extreme positions of the Democrats and Republicans on the slavery issue led him to return to politics. Now embracing the American Party, Stockton argued that, if it immediately reorganized itself and softened its stand against immigrants, it could attract the conservative, patriotic, and moderate men who loved the Constitution and wished to preserve the Union.⁶⁵

When remnants of the American and Whig Parties later combined to form the Constitutional Union Party, they accepted Stockton’s ideas but turned to others for candidates. After Lincoln and the Republicans won the election of 1860 and secession of the Southern states was threatening the future of the Union, Stockton tried to help. As a delegate to the Peace Conference in Washington that year, he tried unsuccessfully to work out a compromise solution to the crisis. During the Civil War, Stockton was deeply distressed by the suffering on both sides and withdrew from active participation in public affairs. The nation was in the midst of determining a reconstruction policy for the South when Stockton died on 7 October 1866.66

Stockton’s naval career had been a checkered one, broken by various leaves of absence. He had the typical experiences of the day: combat against the British during the War of 1812; tours in the Mediterranean and chasing pirates in the Caribbean; and surveying expeditions along the coast. In addition, Stockton shared the aggressive spirit of his contemporaries as demonstrated by his belligerent actions against Mexico. It is for these things that he is best remembered, but in a way this is wrong, for Stockton was not a typical or average officer. He was unlike most of his fellow officers in that the sea was not his entire life. Ashore, he had a highly successful business career, was a popular—if reluctant—politician, and was active in reform movements such as the American Colonization Society. An early advocate of “white man’s burden,” Stockton believed that Americans were divinely ordained to inspire the “lesser peoples” of the world. Within the Navy, he was an early exponent of steam propulsion. Through his influence, John Ericsson, the future designer of the Monitor, came to America. With Ericsson, Stockton supervised the construction of the USS Princeton, the first American screw-propeller-driven sloop-of-war.

Stockton was also a reformer. He ran the ships under his command without the lash, thus serving as an example of a new style of leadership; in the Senate, he prevented the reintroduction of flogging. In these and other ways, Stockton was a link between the Old Navy of sailing ships and men driven to their work and the New Navy of steam propulsion and professionalism.

NOTES

1. Richard B. Morris, “Richard Stockton,” in Allen Johnson and Dumas Malone, eds., Dictionary of American Biography, 20 vols. (New York, 1928–1936), 17:46–47 (hereafter cited as DAB).

2. Walter R. Fee, “Richard Stockton,” DAB, 17:47–48.

3. Alfred Hoyt Bill, A House Called Morven: Its Role in American History, 1701–1954 (Princeton, N.J., 1954); Samuel J. Bayard, A Sketch of the Life of Com. Robert F. Stockton (New York, 1856), 131.

4. Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 11; Alfred Hoyt Bill, “Fighting Bob: The Life and Exploits of Commodore Robert Field Stockton, United States Navy,” unpublished typescript manuscript, Princeton University Library.

5. Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 11–12.

6. Edward W. Callahan, ed., List of Officers of the Navy of the United States and of the Marine Corps from 1775 to 1900 (New York, 1901), 524. Stockton’s service record is in the Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Record Group (RG) 24, Abstracts of Service of Naval Officers 1798–1892, Microcopy M-330, roll 19, 73, National Archives; and Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 13.

7. Charles O. Paullin, Commodore John Rodgers, Captain, Commodore, and Senior Officer of the American Navy, 1773–1838 (Cleveland, 1910), 246–56.

8. Ibid., 255.

9. Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 15.

10. Paullin, Commodore Rodgers, 260–61, 284–89; and Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 18–19.

11. Paullin, Commodore Rodgers, 290–91.

12. Ibid., 294–95; Callahan, List of Officers, 524; and Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 20–22; Scott S. Sands, The Rockets’ Red Glare (Centerville, Md., 1986), 100.

13. Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 12; and Bill, “Fighting Bob,” 43.

14. Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 2; and Leonard F. Guttridge and Jay D. Smith, The Commodores (New York, 1969), 278.

15. Guttridge and Smith, Commodores, 283; U.S. Congress, American State Papers; Naval Affairs, ser. 8, Naval Affairs, 4 vols. (Washington, D.C., 1834–1861), 1:453–55.

16. Congress, State Papers, 1:502.

17. Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 28–29.

18. Ibid., 29–36.

19. Ibid., 36.

20. Ibid., 36–38; RG 45: Letters Sent by the Secretary of the Navy to Officers, National Archives (hereafter cited as Secretary of the Navy Letters).

21. RG 45: Letters Received by the Secretary of the Navy: Officers’ Letters (hereafter cited as Officers’ Letters); RG 24, Abstracts of Service of Naval Officers, 1798–1892, National Archives. Stockton was given the command of the Alligator on 21 August 1821. Also, see Bill, “Fighting Bob,” 43, and Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 39.

22. Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 40; and Bill, “Fighting Bob,” 44.

23. Bill, “Fighting Bob,” 40–47, 54; and Philip J. Staudenraus, The African Colonization Movement, 1816–1865 (New York, 1961), 50–51. Stockton’s letter to the American Colonization Society on the selection of the site is dated 16 December 1821 and is in the Peter Force Collection, Library of Congress, Series 9, roll 110.

24. Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 48–53. Stockton’s seizure of the Portuguese ship Marrianna Flora was subsequently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. See Henry Wheaton, Reports of Cases Argued and Adjudged in the Supreme Court, 1816–1827, 12 vols. (Philadelphia, 1816–1827), 11:50–52. A court also upheld Stockton’s seizure of the French ship Jeune Eugenie; see William Powell Mason, Reports of Cases in the Circuit Court of the United States for the First Circuit, from 1816–1830, 5 vols. (Boston, 1819–1831), 2:409–63. On the diplomatic aspects, see Charles Francis Adams, ed., Memoirs of John Quincy Adams, 12 vols. (Philadelphia, 1874–1877), 6:21–23, 27–29, 31. Additional information on Stockton’s seizures is in RG 45, Correspondence of the Secretary of the Navy Relating to African Colonization, 1819–1844, Microcopy M-205, National Archives, which includes letters sent and received. Other correspondence is in Secretary of the Navy Letters, M-149, roll 14. The letter of the Secretary of the Navy cited is on page 202. For an overview of the slave trade problem, see Peter Duignan and Clarence Clendenen, The United States and the African Slave Trade, 1819–1862 (Palo Alto, Calif., 1963).

25. Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 53–54; Bill, “Fighting Bob,” 49–55; and Secretary of the Navy Letters, M-149, roll 14, 261.

26. Robert V. Remini, The Election of Andrew Jackson (Philadelphia, 1963), 11–20.

27. For a succinct account of political developments in New Jersey, see Richard P. McCormick, The Second American Party System: Party Formation in the Jacksonian Era (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1966), 124–34. The newspaper that Stockton owned was The Princeton Courier. Stockton was a delegate from Somerset County to the Democratic-Republican (the dominant party of President Adams) state convention in September 1826. See Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 56–64; and Bill, “Fighting Bob,” 52.

28. Secretary of the Navy Letters, M-149, roll 17, 52, 56, 177, 328, 469, 504.

29. When his great-uncle Elias Boudinot died in 1821, Stockton received a bequest of ten thousand dollars. In 1826, Stockton built a house a hundred yards east of Morven. On the death of his father, the bulk of the estate was left to Robert. A trust fund of between sixty- and eighty-thousand dollars was established with Stockton and Samuel Bayard as trustees to provide for Richard Stockton’s widow and four daughters. According to Bill, some provisions in the father’s will were so complicated that the courts were still trying to resolve them fifty years after Richard’s death. When Robert was in Georgia in 1827, he bought a large sugar plantation near Cumberland Island and eighty or ninety slaves to work it. See Bill, “Fighting Bob,” 51–53, 55–57.

30. Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 65–68; and Bill, “Fighting Bob,” 59–64.

31. George R. Taylor, The Transportation Revolution 1815–1860 (New York, 1951), 51. Potter had made his own fortune in Anglo-American trade between the American Revolution and the War of 1812; see Bill, “Fighting Bob,” 49–50. For Stockton’s reply to a published letter from the citizens of Toms River, New Jersey, on the monopoly, see Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 68–75. McCormick points out that in New Jersey the Jacksonians became identified with the Camden and Amboy Railroad and the Whig Party with the New Jersey Railroad; see McCormick, Second American Party System, 131.

32. Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 66; and Bill, “Fighting Bob,” 64.

33. Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 66; Bill, “Fighting Bob,” 74; William Conant Church, The Life of John Ericsson (New York, 1890) 1:92–93; and John Elfreth Watkins, Biographical Sketches of John Stevens, Robert I. Stevens, Edwin A. Stevens, John S. Darcy, John P. Jackson, Robert F. Stockton (Washington, D.C., 1892), 16.

34. Callahan, List of Officers, 524.

35. For an enlisted man’s view of life in the Ohio under Captain Smith, see F. P. Torrey, Journal of the Cruise of the United States Ship Ohio, Commodore Isaac Hull, Commander in the Mediterranean, in the Years 1839, ’40, ’41, 48–50; and R. F. Gould, The Life of Gould, an Ex–Man-of-War’s Man with Incidents on Sea and Shore (Claremont, Calif., 1867), 137–38.

36. Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 76–77; Church, Life of Ericsson, 1:94–96; and James Phinney Baxter, The Introduction of the Ironclad Warship (Cambridge, Mass., 1933), 12–13.

37. Church, Life of Ericsson, 1:121, 123; and Callahan, List of Officers, 524. The Ohio sailed for the Mediterranean on 6 December 1838, two days before Stockton was promoted to captain. He learned of this later when he was in England.

38. Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 77–79; and Bill, “Fighting Bob,” 78–79. Bill points out that Stockton cultivated the friendship of President Tyler and entertained him at Morven. Tyler offered Stockton the post of Secretary of the Navy, which the captain declined.

39. Church, Life of Ericsson, 1:117–24; and Frank M. Bennett, The Steam Navy of the United States (Pittsburgh, 1896), 61–63.

40. Church, Life of Ericsson, 1:125–54; Bennett, Steam Navy, 70–71; and Baxter, Introduction of Ironclad, 13–14. In 1853, the U.S. Court of Claims decided the issue in favor of Ericsson, but Congress never appropriated the money to pay him.

41. For a recent study of the domestic and foreign implications of the annexation, see David M. Pletcher, The Diplomacy of Annexation: Texas, Oregon, and the Mexican War (Columbia, Mo., 1973), 139–207.

42. Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, Appendix, 70–71.

43. Ibid., 93; and Pletcher, Diplomacy of Annexation, 184–85.

44. Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 93–95. In a letter to Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft of 24 October 1845, Stockton spoke of his hopes. Among other things, he wrote: “My great object in the first place was to be prepared, in the event of a war with Mexico, to try to do something creditable to the Navy,” RG 45, Letters Received by the Secretary of the Navy, Captains’ Letters, M-125, roll 324, 205.

45. For a highly critical assessment of this episode, see Glenn W. Price, Origins of the War with Mexico: The Polk-Stockton Intrigue (Austin, Texas, 1967).

46. Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 95–96; Bill, “Fighting Bob,” 91–95; and K. Jack Bauer, Surfboats and Horse Marines: U.S. Naval Operations in the Mexican War, 1846–1848 (Annapolis, Md., 1969), 8–10.

47. Walter Colton, Deck and Port: or, Incidents of a Cruise in the United States Frigate Congress to California (New York, 1860), 19; and Harry R. Skallerup, Books Afloat and Ashore: A History of Books, Libraries, and Readings among Seamen during the Age of Sail (Hamden, Conn., 1974), 94–96.

48. Harold D. Langley, Social Reform in the U.S. Navy, 1798–1862 (Urbana, 111., 1967), 184–85; and Colton, Deck and Port, 44–45.

49. Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 97–98; Bauer, Surfboats, 158; and Justin W. Smith, The War with Mexico, 2 vols. (New York, 1919), 1:336. Smith says of Stockton: “The new Commodore seems to have been a smart, but vain, selfish, lordly and rampant individual, thirsting for glory; and little glory could be seen in following after his predecessor under so mild a policy.”

50. Bauer, Surfboats, 158–63; Bauer; Mexican War, 164–73; Allan Nevins, Fremont, Pathmaker of the West, 2 vols. (New York, 1955), 1:253–89; and Hubert Howe Bancroft, History of California, 7 vols. (San Francisco, 1884–1890), 5:199–214, 224–54.

51. Bancroft, History of California, 5:234–38.

52. Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 118; Bancroft, History of California, 5:251–54; and Bauer, Surfboats, 161–62.

53. Bauer, Mexican War, 168–74; Bancroft, History of California, 5:253–54; and Walter Colton, Three Years in California (New York, 1850), 17.

54. Bancroft, History of California, 5:255–60. Bancroft says that the proclamation “was made up of falsehood, of irrelevant issues, and of bombastic ranting in about equal parts.” He says it was “unworthy” of Stockton, and was dictated by Fremont and Lieutenant Archibald Gillespie, USMC, to advance their own interests. Stockton adopted their views because they exaggerated the problems he faced and the glory that success would bring. It would make a good impression in the United States, and in the event that war had not been declared, it would help to lay a foundation for his own defense and that of the U.S. government. For the reactions of Larkin and others to the proclamation, see the study of the war by Neal Harlow, California Conquered: War and Peace on the Pacific, 1846–1850 (Berkeley, Calif., 1982), 142.

55. Bancroft, History of California, 5:261–81; Smith, War with Mexico, 1:336–37; Bauer, Surfboats, 165–68; Bauer, Mexican War, 174–76; and Harlow, California Conquered, 142–54.

56. Bancroft, History of California, 5:281–85; Smith, War with Mexico, 1:336–37; Bauer, Surfboats, 165–68; Bauer, Mexican War, 174–76; and Harlow, California Conquered, 151–54. Stockton’s proclamation is published in Congress, House, Message from the President . . . at the Commencement of the Second Session of the Twenty-ninth Congress, 29th Cong, 2d Sess., H. ex. doc. 4, 669–70.

57. Bancroft, History of California, 5:288–407; Smith, War with Mexico, 1:238–346; Bauer, Surfboats, 171–200; Bauer, Mexican War, 183–93; and Harlow, California Conquered, 159–232.

58. Bancroft, History of California, 5:411–31; Bauer, Surfboats, 202–4; Bauer, Mexican War, 194–95; Harlow, California Conquered, 235–41; Dwight L. Clarke, Stephen Watts Kearney: Soldier of the West (Norman, Okla., 1961), 256–78; Bill, “Fighting Bob,” 139–41; and Congress, Senate, Report of the Secretary of the Navy, Communicating Copies of Commodore Stockton’s Despatches Relating to the Military and Naval Operations in California, 30th Cong., 2d Sess., 16 February 1849, S. ex. doc. 31, 1–37.

59. Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 154–67; Bill, “Fighting Bob,” 143–51; and Nevins, Fremont, 1:327–42.

60. Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 169.

61. Stockton’s ideas are set forth in his letter to Daniel Webster of 25 March 1850, which is printed in the appendix to Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 70–79.

62. Bayard, Sketch of Stockton, 185–86; and Bill, “Fighting Bob,” 162–64. Bill says that Stockton was elected “by means of a secret bargain with the Whigs in the legislature,” 162.

63. Stockton’s speeches are in the Congressional Globe, 32d Cong., 1st Sess. vol. 24, pts. 1, 2.

64. Congressional Globe, 32d Cong., 1st Sess., vol. 24, pt. 1, 218–23. Mallory’s speech is in the appendix to vol. 25, 108–19. On 2 March 1855, Congress passed “An Act to Provide a More Efficient Discipline for the Navy, that established a system of summary courts martial for minor offenses.” This, in turn, led to a major revision of the regulations of 1800 and to the enactment of a new code on 27 July 1862. See U.S. Statutes at Large, vol. 12, chap. 204, 603. Stockton’s views on flogging while he was an officer are set forth in his letter of 6 February 1850 to Secretary of the Navy William B. Preston, in Corporal Punishment and the Spirit Ration, RG 45, Reports of Officers, 1850, no. 17, National Archives.

65. Bill, “Fighting Bob,” 164–69. Bill says that it was believed that Stockton resigned in anticipation of being named Secretary of the Navy in the incoming administration of Democrat Franklin Pierce. If so, it did not seem to affect Stockton’s friendship with the President. Subsequently, Pierce was entertained at Morven. Bill also states that Stockton was hurt by association with the canal company monopoly in New Jersey and by his reactions to a collision of two trains on his line in New Jersey. Stockton refused to pay any compensation for the casualties or the loss of property. The commodore embraced the principles of the American Party in anticipation of getting the nomination of that group for the presidency. But, says Bill, public response to his name was so lukewarm that he withdrew it. Millard Fillmore became the party’s nominee. Stockton never sought public office again, although he returned to the Democratic Party after the election of 1856.

66. Robert Gray Gunderson, Old Gentlemen’s Convention: The Washington Peace Conference of 1861 (Madison, Wis., 1961), 12, 64, 67–70. Bill, “Fighting Bob,” 176–80, points out that during the Civil War Stockton kept away from all public demonstrations as much as he could. In 1863, his wife died, and he spent increasing amounts of time at his beach house in Sea Girt. Although loyal to the Union, he was largely a “silent and melancholy spectator” of the war.

FURTHER READING

NOTES