Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 8-2012 Stephen C. Rowan and the U.S. Navy: Sixty Years of Service Cynthia M. Zemke Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Zemke, Cynthia M., "Stephen C. Rowan and the U.S. Navy: Sixty Years of Service" (2012). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 1263. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/1263 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STEPHEN C. ROWAN AND THE U.S. NAVY: SIXTY YEARS OF SERVICE by Cynthia M. Zemke A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in History Approved: _____________________ _____________________ S. Heath Mitton Timothy Wolters Committee Chair Committee Member _____________________ _____________________ Denise Conover Mark McLellan Committee Member Vice President for Research and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 2012 ii Copyright Cynthia M. Zemke 2012 All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Stephen C. Rowan and the U.S. Navy: Sixty Years of Service by Cynthia M. Zemke, Master of Science Utah State University, 2012 Major Professor: Dr. Denise Conover Department: History This thesis is a career biography, and chronicles the life and service of Stephen Clegg Rowan, an officer in the United States Navy, and his role in the larger picture of American naval history. The author has utilized mainly primary sources, including a journal kept by Rowan himself (transcribed from a microfilm copy of a handwritten journal, 900+ pages), and the Official Records of the United States military branches that were kept during the course of the Civil War. Rowan’s wartime experiences and the contributions he made during the Second Seminole War, the Mexican War, and the Civil War form the framework of this paper. It also covers the interim periods, during which Rowan participated in other pursuits of the US Navy, including exploration and diplomatic ventures. It concludes with a brief overview of Rowan’s accomplishments while serving in the Navy, and his family’s continued military service. This thesis outlines the larger role played by the Navy in each engagement, with particular emphasis on the theaters of war in which Rowan participated (the Californian and Mexican west coast during the Mexican War, and his riverine and coastal services iv during the Civil War). It also examines the broader impact and influence that these experiences had on Rowan as an individual and on the navy as a whole. (202 pages) v PUBLIC ABSTRACT Stephen C. Rowan and the U.S. Navy: Sixty Years of Service by Cynthia M. Zemke, Master of Science This thesis is a career biography, and chronicles the life and service of Stephen Clegg Rowan, an officer in the United States Navy, and his role in the larger picture of American naval history. The author has utilized mainly primary sources, including a journal kept by Rowan himself (transcribed from a microfilm copy of a handwritten journal, 900+ pages), and the Official Records of the United States military branches that were kept during the course of the Civil War. Rowan’s wartime experiences and the contributions he made during the Second Seminole War, the Mexican War, and the Civil War form the framework of this paper. It also covers the interim periods, during which Rowan participated in other pursuits of the US Navy, including exploration and diplomatic ventures. It concludes with a brief overview of Rowan’s accomplishments while serving in the Navy, and his family’s continued military service. This thesis outlines the larger role played by the Navy in each engagement, with particular emphasis on the theaters of war in which Rowan participated (the Californian and Mexican west coast during the Mexican War, and his riverine and coastal services during the Civil War). It also examines the broader impact and influence that these experiences had on Rowan as an individual and on the navy as a whole. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my committee members, Drs. Denise Conover, Timothy Wolters, and S. Heath Mitton, for their support, assistance, and patience throughout. Specifically, I would like to thank Dr. Conover for providing me with considerable guidance and support as my committee chair, Dr. Wolters for pointing me in the direction of Rowan’s journal and for all of the much-needed help at the beginning of this whole process, and Dr. Mitton for agreeing to be on my committee despite having never met me. I would also like to thank my friends and family, especially my parents, Bruce and Shirley Schnitzler, for their encouragement and support. I extend a particularly heartfelt thanks to my wonderful friend and husband, Peter, who not only encouraged and supported me through the entire process, but who has also lived with my research almost as much as I have, through periods of varying enthusiasm and whining, for as long as we have been married. Last, and perhaps most, I would like to thank God, who has blessed me with every good thing in my life, and without whom I never would have had the patience and perseverance to see this to the end. Cynthia Zemke vii CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………...iii PUBLIC ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………….v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS……………………………………………………………...vi LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………………..…..ix INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………..….1 THE START OF ROWAN’S NAVAL CAREER…….…...…………………………..…4 ROWAN’S PARTICIPATION IN THE SECOND SEMINOLE WAR……..……....….12 ROWAN’S SERVICE BEFORE THE MEXICAN WAR…………………..……..…....19 ROWAN’ PARTICIPATION IN THE MEXICAN WAR………………..………..…....25 THE BEGINNING OF THE CIVIL WAR………………………………………………61 ROWAN’S OBSERVATIONS ON EVENTS SURROUNDING FORT SUMTER…....67 ROWAN AT THE NORFOLK NAVY YARD………………………………………….86 ROWAN AT ALEXANDRIA…………………………………………………………...95 ROWAN AND THE UNION BLOCKADE: THE BATTLE OF AQUIA CREEK…….97 ROWAN AND THE UNION BLOCKADE: THE CAPTURE OF HATTERAS INLET……………………………………………………………………105 ROWAN’S ROLE IN CAPTURING HATTERAS INLET……………………………110 IMPORTANCE OF THE UNION CAPTURE OF HATTERAS INLET…….………..119 ROWAN AND THE UNION BLOCKADE: ROANOKE ISLAND……….………….124 ROWAN’S DEFEAT OF THE “MOSQUITO FLEET”…………………….…………141 ROWAN’S ATTACK ON WINTON……………………………………….………….151 viii RIVERINE ACTION AND ROWAN’S CONTRIBUTIONS AT THE CONQUEST OF NEW BERN………………………………………………………156 ROWAN AND THE UNION BLOCKADE: CHARLESTON………………………...165 ROWAN’S COMMAND OF THE ASIATIC SQUADRON…………………………..177 ROWAN’S CONTINUED SERVICE………………………………………………….182 CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………184 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………187 APPENDIX……………………………………………………………………………..190 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 Stephen Clegg Rowan, c. July 1862………………………………………………1 2 USS Cyane……………………………………………………………………….25 3 USS Pawnee……………………………………………………………………...63 4 USS New Ironsides under sail………………………….……………………….165 5 USS New Ironsides, on blockade, c. 7 April 1863…….………………………..166 6 CSS David attack on the New Ironsides………………………………………...171 7 Sample page taken from Rowan’s logbook…………………………………….191 INTRODUCTION Fig. 1: Stephen Clegg Rowan, c. July 1862 Stephen Clegg Rowan (Fig. 1) was born on December 25, 1808 in Ireland. His father, John Rowan, and mother immigrated to the United States when Rowan was very young. When he was ten, Rowan followed, and joined his family in Piqua, Ohio, where he was later employed as a clerk in a store. In 1825 he entered Miami University, and on 2 February 1, 1826, received an appointment as a midshipman in the United States Navy.1 Rowan’s career in the U.S. Navy spanned many decades. He served in overseas explorations and several military clashes—the most important of which was for the Union Navy during the Civil War. In the post-Civil War period, Rowan advanced up the officer ladder, retiring as Admiral in 1889. Rowan’s naval career, which spanned much of the 19th century, reflected major trends in United States naval history. Rowan, being an immigrant, was like many other foreigners who found opportunities in the military and swelled the Navy’s ranks. When Rowan arrived in the United States in 1818, the nation’s navy had achieved newfound stability. The War of 1812 (1812-1815) removed the earlier question of whether the US Navy had a meaningful existence. The Navy was a vital branch of the US military, as the future American Civil War would clearly indicate. In writing this thesis, the author has utilized Rowan’s journal as the primary source of Rowan’s naval career. Much of Rowan's journal is observations and reflections on places and people, and while he does not write much in his actual journal during the Civil War, his letter book is included in his papers, and it is overflowing with copies of letters that Rowan wrote. Most are official, business-only type letters, but there are a few personal ones included. Owing to space, not everything that Rowan wrote could be included. For instance, much of the information regarding his record of routine blockade duty during the Civil War (trouble keeping the ship supplied, sightings of blockade runners, rumors heard from locals, etc), especially concerning the lengthy blockade of 1 Stephen Cooper Ayres, “Sketch of the Life and Services of Vice Admiral Stephen C. Rowan, U.S. Navy” (read before the Ohio Commandery of the Loyal Legion, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1910), 1. 3 Charleston, South Carolina, has been omitted. The first section of Rowan’s journal covers his early naval career, during which he visited many places, and consists primarily of his observations of people and cultures. Being a sailor, Rowan was exposed primarily to port cities, which were not always a complete reflection of a country as a whole. Moreover, he traveled as part of a military force, with the primary objective of furthering US interests abroad.