Christopher Raymond Perry Rodgers letter to Raymond Perry Rodgers

Collection — Box: Temporary Box 1, Folder: 1

Identifier: MSC-393

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Letter to Raymond Perry Rodgers from his father, Christopher Raymond Perry, regarding preparations to move the Naval Academy from Annapolis, MD to Newport, RI in order to avoid capture by the Confederate Army, 1861 May 3. In the letter Rodgers updates his son about his family members and condition of the Anapolis campus, then encourages him to show loyalty to his country.

Dates

Creation: 1861 May 3

Creator

Rodgers, C. R. P. (Christopher Raymond Perry), 1819-1892 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Access is open to all researchers, unless otherwise specified.

Conditions Governing Use

Material in this collection is in the public domain, unless otherwise noted.

Biographical note

Rear Admiral Christopher Raymond Perry Rodgers was born in 1819, the son of Commodore John Rodgers’ brother, Captain George Washington Rodgers, U.S. Navy, and Ann Maria (Perry) Rodgers whose brothers included Matthew Calbraith Perry and Oliver Hazard Perry. He was appointed midshipman in 1833, completing cruises on board the Brandywine in the Pacific and the Fairfield with the Brazil Squadron. Rodgers saw action during the Seminole War commanding the schooner Phoenix, before assignments in the anti-slave trade African Squadron on board Saratoga, and in the Mediterranean on board Cumberland. After three years with the Coast Survey he returned to the Brazil Station on board the frigate Congress, followed by duty on the Constitution with the African Squadron, and a tour on board the screw-frigate Wabash in the Mediterranean.

Rodgers was named Commandant of Midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy as the Civil War loomed and was instrumental in the relocation of the Academy to Newport, R.I. for the duration of the war. He was then assigned command of Samuel DuPont’s South Atlantic Blockading Squadron flagships, Wabash and New Ironsides. During the last two years of the war, he commanded the screw-sloop Franklin in the Mediterranean and, promoted Commodore, assigned as the Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks. Following promotion to Rear Admiral in 1874, he served twice as Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy sandwiched around a two-year tour as Commander of the Pacific Squadron. During his first term as Superintendent, he directed and approved the publication of a history of the Academy, specifically for the Department of Education at the 1876 International Exhibit. Rodgers died in Washington, D.C. in 1892.

Rear Admiral Raymond Perry Rodgers was born in 1849 to Rear Admiral Christopher Raymond Perry Rodgers and Julia (Stidell) Rodgers. Rodgers completed several assignments aboard the U.S. Naval ships Guerriere, Franklin, Juniata, and Tennessee. and was an instructor for the U.S. Naval Academy. He served as the second Chief Intelligence Officer of the Office of Naval Intelligence from 1885-1889, then 1906-1909. Following this position, Rodgers was appointed the twelfth President of the Naval War College from 1909-1911, concurrently serving as Commandant of Naval Station Narragansett Bay, R.I. Rodgers died in Monte Carlo, Monaco, in 1925.

Extent

.02 Linear Feet (1 folder) : Three pages ; 8" x 10"

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection consists of one letter written from Rear Admiral Christopher Raymond Perry to his son, Raymond Perry Rodgers.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in chronological order.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of John B. Hattendorf to Naval War College Foundation, 2022 March 31.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

John B. Hattendorf purchased this letter from VADM George Emery USN and donated it to the Naval War College Foundation for further donation to the Naval War College's Naval Historical Collection, 2022 March 31.

Transcription

“My dear Ramy, We are all well and are preparing to embark in the Baltic for Newport. She has just begun to unload and we shall, tomorrow, begin to get on board all the furniture and effects of the school, and of the officers and professors. We hope to sail on Monday or Tuesday.

Your Aunt Ann may possibly go to New York, with Annie, in the Kidas (?), but of this I am not sure. Your Mother went to Washington this morning with Capt. Meigs and Mr. Luce, to bid our friends good bye. We expect her back to night, or tomorrow morning.

Many thousand troops are passing through the quiet streets of Annapolis, the firemen Zouaves went through yesterday.

Your Mother has had a weary time of it but she has borne up bravely without murmur, and with a stout heart. The son of such a Mother will, I am sure, be a brave boy. Your Aunt Ann too, has borne herself very bravely. Give a great deal of love to your Aunt Kate and cousin Jane, and show them this letter.

Our beautiful grounds have been sadly disfigured by the troops, though the men have behaved with propriety and decorum as I would not have supposed possible. The Midshipmens quarters, and many of the houses of the officers and professors, are filled with soldiers. The battery and boat house are turned into stores houses. Huge sheds have been erected in the rear of the quarters, and a rail road has been run from our lower wharf to connect with the road. The harbor is full of vessels.

My son, you must ever bear in mind your duty to your country! Let loyalty to the stars and stripes be in your heart next to your love of God, and if this war last until you are able to bear arms let your earliest vigor be devoted to the unflinching support of the old flag under which so many of your blood have served faithfully.

May God bless you my dear boy. Ever your affectionate father.

[P.S.] I have written to you amid much interruption.”