Resignations and Dismissals at Norfolk Navy Yard from the U.S. Navy April 1861
By John G. M. Sharp
At the beginning of the Civil War many naval officers were southerners or were sympathetic to the idea of secession and the southern cause. The Norfolk Yard was the Navy’s largest; President Abraham Lincoln was concerned about the loyalty of the shipyard, its officers and civilian employees. As a consequence he ordered Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles to refrain "from all unnecessary exercise of political party authority." This proved, at least in March 1861, a grave error, for nearly one thousand white civilian workers at the Norfolk Navy Yard remained Democratic in their politics and Southern in their sympathy; black employees free and enslaved simply had had no voice1
1. Barbra Brooks Tomlin Blue Jackets and Contrabands ( University of Kentucky Press: Lexington 2009)
In 1861, 373 naval officers resigned their commissions and of these approximately 311 became commissioned or warrant officers of the Confederate States Navy The transcribed letters below represent some of the resignations received by the Secretary of the Navy from the officer’s stationed at Norfolk in 1861 or on naval vessels homeported there. Some officers like like Naval Purser John De Bree (19 April 1861) utilized the latest technological marvel the telegraph to resign their commission. While most officers wrote formal letters, some such as Naval Agent George Loyal chose to "warn the President…that any attempt to restrain Virginia by arms in the exercise of her Sovereign Power…[would result in] a conflict the most terrible and Sanguinary of Modern times." Still others such as Richard L. Page ( 18 April 1861) found the decision to resign heart breaking "This is by far the most painful act of my life, for I have lived the Navy almost from infancy and given my best energies to the honor & support of country."
2. Register of Officers of the Confederate States Navy, 1861-1865 (1898; rev. ed. 1931)
The Secretary of the Navy's acceptance of an officer's resignation was the nineteenth-century version of an honorable discharge. If the resignation was not acceptable for some reason, the step was taken to dismiss the officer in question. The action could take one of three forms: simple dismissal, the "striking of the name" from the rolls of the Navy, and dismissal or striking the name "by order of the President." The last action was considered the most severe, as it was final and could not be revoked, nor could there be an appeal through court martial.3
3. George Melling, comp., Laws Relating to the Navy, Annotated (Washington, D.C., 1922), pp. 97-98, 441-442.
With the defection of the Southern states more officers tendered their resignations, which Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles refused to accept, opting instead to dismiss them from the naval service: (Charles B. Oliver 21 April 1861 and George Sinclair 16 April 1861). From the point of view of the Navy Department, however, the crucial point was morale and discipline. For Gideon Welles and many others, to condone defections was to encourage them.4 The harsh substitution of dismissal for acceptance of resignations arose from the trauma of civil war. As a result, resigning officers paid a high price for their divided loyalties.5
4. Gideon Welles (1802 –1878), nicknamed "Father Neptune", was the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1861 to 1869, a cabinet post he was awarded after supporting Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 election. Although opposed to the Union blockade of Southern ports, he duly carried out his part of the Anaconda Plan, largely sealing off the Confederate coastline and preventing the exchange of cotton for war supplies. This is viewed as a major cause of Union victory in the Civil War, and his achievement in expanding the Navy almost tenfold was widely praised. Welles was also instrumental in the Navy's creation of the Medal of Honor.
5. William S. Dudley, "Going South: U.S. Navy Officer Resignations and Dismissals on the Eve of the Civil War," Naval History and Heritage Command website accessed March 1, 2018 (https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/g/going-south-u-s-navy-officer-resignations-dismissals-on-the-eve-of-the-civil-war.html)
Transcription: This transcription was made from digital images of resignation letters received by the Secretary of the Navy and filed as "Miscellaneous Records of the Navy Department" NARA RG 45. In transcribing all passages from the letters and document, I have striven to adhere as closely as possible to the original in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and abbreviation, superscripts, etc., including the retention of dashes and underlining found in the original. Words and passages that were crossed out in the letters are transcribed either as overstrikes or in notes. Words which are unreadable or illegible are so noted in square brackets. When a spelling is so unusual as to be misleading or confusing, the correct spelling immediately follows in square brackets and italicized type or is discussed in a foot note.
Endnotes:
All naval officer data is from Officers of the Continental and U.S. Navy and Marine Corps 1775-1900 Naval History and Heritage Command http://www.history.navy.mil/books/callahan/reg-usn-c.htmJohn G Sharp 10 July 2019
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Norfolk Va
April 6th 1861Sir,
I respectfully tender my resignation herewith my commission of Lieutenant in the United States Navy which I have the honor to hold.
Your most obedient servant
J. Wilkinson[To] His Excellency
Abraham Lincoln President of the United States of America* * * * * * * * * *
[To] Mr. John Wilkinson
Late Lieutenant U.S. Navy, Coast SurveySir,
Your resignation as Lieutenant in the Navy of the United States in your of the 6th instance has been received.
By direction of the President you are hereby dismissed and your name has accordingly been struck from the Rolls of the Navy.
I am respectfully Gideon WellesJohn Wilkinson was born in Norfolk, Virginia on November 6, 1821. He was the son of Captain Jesse Wilkinson USN 1794 -1861 and former commandant of the Gosport Navy Yard. John Wilkinson was appointed Midshipman, 18 December, 1837, passed Midshipman, 29 June, 1843 and. Lieutenant, 5 November, 1850. He became a Captain in the Confederate States Navy (CSN) during the American Civil War. He was commander of several blockade runners, including the CSS Robert E. Lee and the CSS Chickamauga. For the CSS Robert E. Lee, he persuaded the owner in Scotland to sell it to the CSN for the same price that they had just bought her for. Wilkinson died on December 25, 1891, and is buried in Saint Anne's Cemetery in Annapolis, Maryland.
John Wilkinson The Narrative of a Blockade-Runner (Sheldon & Company, New York 1877). https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=304DSBXn020C* * * * * * * * * *
[Delivered by telegraph]U.S. Ship Cumberland
Navy Yard Gosport
April 19 1861To: The Hon Secty Navy of the U. States
I hereby resign my commission a Paymaster in the Navy.
Jno. De Bree6
6. John De Bree, Purser, 29 December, 1817. De Bree was dismissed 19 April, 1861.
Norfolk Virginian, September 3, 1869 Obit
DEATH OF AN OLD CITIZEN - It is with extreme regret that we announce this morning the death of our respected fellow citizen, Purser John DeBree, who breathed his last at 11 o'clock yesterday morning after a long and painful illness. The deceased was one of our oldest citizens and is lamented by all who knew him. The funeral will take place at 5 o'clock this evening from his late residence, No. 117 East Main Street.
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Norfolk
April 6, 1861I respectfully tender herewith the commission of Lieutenant in the United States Navy which I have the honor to hold. Your most obedient Servant
J. Wilkinson7
[Addressed to] His Excellency Abraham Lincoln
President of the United States7. Lieutenant John Wilkinson joined the Confederate States Navy on 20 June 1861
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20th April 1861
[Addressed to] Mr. John Wilkinson
Late Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, Coast SurveySir,
Your resignation as a Lieutenant in the Navy of the United States, tendered in your letter of the 6th inst. has been received. By direction of the President you are hereby dismissed and your name has accordingly been stricken from the Rolls of the Navy.I am respectfully
Gideon WellesNavy Department
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Norfolk Va.
April 21st 1861Sir,
I herewith tender my resignation as Gunner in the Service of the U. States
Very respectfully
Charles B. Oliver8The Hon Gideon Wells
Secretary of the Navy
Washington D.C.[Sec Nav. Note] "Resignation Charles B. Oliver Gunner Dismissed May 16, 1861"
8. Charles B. Oliver (1822-1888) Master's Mate, 3 May, 1843. Gunner, 2 June, 1846. Oliver was dismissed 21 April, 1861. He subsequently joined the Confederate States Navy and served aboard the CSN Virginia aka USS Merrimac as a Gunner. Source: John V. Quartein Sink Before Surrender (The History Press: Charleston SC 2012) np
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Navy Yard
NorfolkSir,
I hereby tender for the president’s acceptance my resignation in the U.S. Navy, and desire that the Department will order someone to relieve me at its earliest convenience. I am very respectfully your obedient servant
Jno Johnson9
Paymaster U.S. NavyHon. Gideon Welles
Secretary of the Navy
Washington DC[Sec Nav. Note] "John Johnson Paymaster Accepted Dismissed June 1, 1861, takes effect from 20 April 1861"
9. John Johnson appointed Purser, 28 August, 1850. Dismissed 20 April, 1861
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Navy Agency Norfolk
April 18th 1861Sir,
I hereby tender my commission as Navy Agent of this Port to take effect, at the earliest moment, you may be enabled to advise me that the office has been confided to other hands. I resigning this appointment which I have long held under the Federal Authorities I trust it will not be deemed discourteous to warn the President through your Department that any attempt to restrain Virginia by arms in the exercise of her Sovereign Power in the last resort must inevitably light up the fires of a conflict the most terrible and Sanguinary of Modern Times. I am very Respectfully Your Obedient ServantGeo Loyal
[To] Hon Gideon Wells Secretary of the Navy Washington, DC
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Norfolk Va.
April 18th 1861To the President of
the United StatesSir,
After serving my country for nearly thirty seven (37) [years], I find myself under the necessity of tendering my resignation which I pray may be accepted.
This is by far the most painful act of my life, for I have lived the Navy almost from infancy and given my best energies to the honor & support of country. I have the honor to be very respectfully your obedient ServantRichard L. Page Comm. U.S. Navy10
[Sec Nav Note] "Commander Richard L. Page Resignation Dismissed 14 May 1861"
10. Richard Lucian Page Midshipman, 1 March, 1824, Passed Midshipman, 20 February, 1830. Lieutenant, 26 March, 1834. Commander, 14 September, 1855. Page was dismissed 18 April, 1861. Richard Lucian Page (1807-1901) upon dismissal joined the Confederate States Navy and later became a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.
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John R Tucker, Captain CSNU.S. Navy Yard
Norfolk Va.Sir,
I respectfully tender to the President of the United States through you my resignation which I beg may be accepted as early as possible. I have the honor to be Sir your obedient servant
John R. Tucker11
Commander
[to] Honorable Gideon Wells Secretary of the Navy
Washington City DC[Sec Nav Note] "Tucker, John R. Commander Resignation, Dismissed 14 May 1861"
11. John Randolph Tucker, (1812–1883) Midshipman, 1 June, 1826, Passed Midshipman, 10 June, 1833. Lieutenant, 20 December, 1837. Commander, 14 September, 1855. Tucker was dismissed 18 April, 1861. Tucker served in the navies of three nations. He was a commander in the United States Navy, captain in the Confederate States Navy, and rear admiral in the Peruvian Navy. As president of the Peruvian Hydrographic Commission of the Amazon, he contributed to the exploration and mapping of the upper Amazon Basin.
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Norfolk
April 16th 1861Sir,
I beg leave to tender to the President resignation of my commission as a Lieut in the Navy of the United StatesVery respectfully your obedient servant
Geo T. Sinclair12To the Honorable the Secretary of the Navy
Washington DCForwarded by your obedient servant
Charles S McCauley13
Commandant[Sec Nav Note] "Geo. T. Sinclair Lieut (Dismissed) 14 May 1861"
12. George T. Sinclair was appointed midshipman, 23 April, 1831 and became a passed Midshipman, 15 June, 1837. He was promoted to Lieutenant, 8 September, 1841 and dismissed 16 April, 1861. George T Sinclair joined the Confederate States Navy on 20 April 1861.
13. Charles S McCauley (February 3, 1793 – May 21, 1869) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the decade after the American Revolution and educated in the city's schools. He entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman in 1809 and subsequently fought in the War of 1812. He served on the Constellation in 1813, and took part in the gunboat attack on the British naval frigate Narcissus in Hampton Roads, and in the defense of Craney Island. He served as acting lieutenant of the Jefferson in 1814 on Lake Ontario.
In 1823 he obtained leave of absence and commanded a vessel in the merchant marine until he returned to the Navy in 1825. Rising steadily through the ranks, he became a captain in 1839. In April 1855, McCauley was placed in command of the home squadron. He was directed by the Secretary of the Navy to go to Cuba to protect American interests. For his success in this he was publicly complimented on his return in June by President Franklin Pierce at a dinner at the White House. On 1 August 1860 he was ordered to the command of the Norfolk Ship Yard. While the majority of Norfolk Naval officers were for secession Commodore Mc Cauley remained a staunch Unionist Upon the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 McCauley ordered the destruction of a large number of ships and property there, to prevent its falling into the hands of the Confederate States of America. He was placed on the retired list on December 21, 1861, and promoted to commodore. Four years after the end of the Civil War, McCauley died in Washington, D.C.* * * * * * * * * *
Dr Lewis Minor Surgeon USN and CSN 1808 to 1872Norfolk Va
April 18th 1861Hon Mr. Welles
Secretary of the Navy
Washington DCSir,
Having heard today from a member of the Virginia Convention that an ordnance of separation from her Northern neighbors has been passed I have hereby to tender my resignation of my commission as a surgeon in the U.S. NavyVery Respectfully Your obedient Servant Lewis W. Minor Surgeon U.S. Navy14
[Sec Nav Note] "Lewis Minor Surgeon resignation 18 April 1861 Dismissed May 7, 1861."]14. Lewis W. Minor, Assistant Surgeon, 8 February, 1832. Surgeon, 8 September, 1841. Dismissed 7 May, 1861.Dr. Minor was Commanding Officer of Naval Hospital Portsmouth, VA 1850-1852, 1855-1858. [from obit] “He served as fleet surgeon in the names of the United and Confederate States, was skilled in his profession, distinguished for gallantry in Mexico and conspicuous for his noble devotion in the great epidemic of 1855 for which he was thanked by the Sec'y of the Navy and voted a gold medal by the Corporation of Portsmouth. His body rests here by his own order and this stone is erected by one who trusts that he has found a blessed resurrection.”
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Admiral David G FarragutNot all southern naval officers chose secession. Though born and raised in the South prior to the Civil War, Captain David G. Farragut had lived for two decades in Norfolk, Virginia. Farragut, a Southern Unionist, strongly opposed Southern secession and remained loyal to the Union. In April 1861 Farragut was dismayed by Virginia’s decision to secede, for he felt President Lincoln’s actions fully justified in calling for troops to defend forts and arsenals. That April when Farragut spoke to fellow officers regarding the evils of civil war, he was called a “croker” and a “granny”. He knew the future was uncertain, for he wrote his wife (Virginia Dorcas Loyal) candidly, “This act of mine may cause years of separation from your family… so you must decide quickly whether to go north or remain here.” His 1 May 1861 letter to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles notifying him that he would now reside in the North reflects his concern both for his family and his determination to serve the Union. Despite some doubts about Farragut's loyalty, Farragut was assigned command of an attack on the important Confederate port city of New Orleans. After fighting past Fort St. Philip and Fort Jackson, Farragut captured New Orleans in April 1862. He was promoted to rear admiral after the battle and helped extend Union control up along the Mississippi River, participating in the Siege of Port Hudson. With the Union in control of the Mississippi, Farragut led a successful attack on Mobile Bay, home to the last major Confederate port on the Gulf of Mexico. Farragut was promoted to Admiral following the end of the Civil War and remained on active duty until his death in 1870.
Hastings Westchester
New York May 1st 1861Sir,
I have the honor to inform the Dept. of my change of residence to this place. On the afternoon of the 19th ult I left Norfolk for the purpose of taking my Sister to New York and there placing her on the California Steamer to return to her husband. I hurried my departure perceiving that things were fast culminating to a crisis by which she might be indefinitely detained and my position as a United States officer be rendered uncomfortable, I therefore determined to change my residence for the present. I am very respectfully your obedient servant.
D.G. Farragut
Capt. USNTo Gideon Wells
Secretary of the Navy
Washington DCSource:
Robert J. Schneller Farragut: America’s First Admiral, (Potomac Books 2002), 29 -31
John G. Sharp Letters from and to the Gosport Navy Yard 1826-1828 2019 http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/portsmouth/shipyard/nnysharp14.htmlADDENDUM: Midshipman Arthur D. Wharton
In the year 1861 as the various southern states declared for succession, 373 naval officers resigned their commissions. Approximately 311 of these became commissioned or warrant officers of the Confederate States Navy.1 Among these the bonds of kinship and regional sentiment were often expressed by those submitting their resignations. One such case is that of Midshipman Arthur Dickinson Wharton. While many who offered their resignations simply did so in a perfunctory manner, Midshipman Wharton’s letters to the Secretary of the Navy provide a view of what loyalty and service meant in 1861.2 The Secretary of the Navy's acceptance of an officer's resignation was the nineteenth-century version of an honorable discharge. If the resignation was not acceptable for some reason, steps were taken to dismiss the officer in question. The action could take one of three forms: simple dismissal, the "striking of the name" from the rolls of the Navy, and dismissal or striking the name "by order of the President." The last action was considered the most severe, as it was final and could not be revoked, nor could there be an appeal through court martial.3
1. Register of Officers of the Confederate States Navy, 1861-1865 (1898; rev. ed. 1931)
2. Dudley, William S., Going South: U.S. Navy Officer Resignations & Dismissals on the Eve of the Civil War (Naval History Foundation, Washington DC 1981), p. 1.
https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/g/going-south-u-s-navy-officer-resignations-dismissals-on-the-eve-of-the-civil-war.html accessed 5 December 20203. George Melling, comp., Laws Relating to the Navy, Annotated (Washington, D.C., 1922), pp. 97-98, 441-442.
Arthur D Wharton
USS SeminoleMidshipman Arthur Dickinson Wharton USN was born at Mount Pleasant, Alabama, 19 July 1840; he was one of seven children. His family moved to Nashville Tennessee shortly after his birth. His father Dr. William Henry Wharton was a well-known clergyman and a professor of mathematics and classics at Franklin College.4, 5 The 1850 federal census reflects his father’s rising prosperity with real-estate worth $3, 400 and status a slaveholder with ten enslaved blacks ranging in age from 6 months to age 70.6, 7
4. Obituary of William Henry Wharton 1796-1871 Find a grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/66758898/william-henry-wharton
5. Daily Nashville Union, (Nashville, Tennessee), 5 December 1850, p. 3.
6. 1850 Federal Census W. H. Wharton, United States Federal Census, Nashville Davidson Tennessee.
7. 1850 U.S. Federal Census Slave Schedule , W. H. Wharton Nashville Davidson Tennessee.
In October 1856, Wharton received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy Annapolis Maryland as Acting Midshipman.8 Following his graduation from the Naval Academy in 1860, Midshipman Wharton was assigned to the steam sloop of war USS Seminole. Following his resignation his name was stricken from the rolls of the United States Navy. During the war Wharton served in the Confederate Navy and fought in a number of naval battles and engagements, including Battle of Mobile Bay. At the end of the war, Wharton was for some time a prisoner. At the close of the war, in 1865, he returned to Nashville, the home of his boyhood, where he spent the remainder of his days in as valiant service as he had rendered in war. In 1866 he was elected principal of the High School of Nashville, and served in this capacity at different times until his death. He also served on the State Board of Education for a number of years. He was appointed by President Grover Cleveland in 1886 to serve on the Board of Visitors of the United States Naval Academy. At the time of his death 4 April 1900, he was a member of the State Text Book Commission.
8. The Republican Banner (Nashville, Tennessee), 31 October 1856, p. 3.
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USS Seminole
Hampton Roads
24th August 1861Sir,
I hereby tender my resignation of my warrant as a midshipman in the U.S. Navy. This is a most painful thing for me to do, I assure you Sir but that had I not received news from my home in Nashville which imposes on me to pursue this course.
It would be unnatural and inhumane in me to remain longer in the position I am in, I had so prayed and trusted there was different sentiment from what there is in regard to the Union in Tennessee. Hoping that you will immediately accept this tender, I remain Sir your obedient servant.
A. D. Wharton,
Midshipman,
U.S. NavyTo: The Honorable Gideon Welles
Secretary of the NavyThe Secretary of the Navy clerk, noted on the reverse, Midshipman Arthur D. Wharton, “Arrested & sent to Fort Lafayette N.Y.”
Ft. Lafayette* * * * *
August 26th 1851
Navy Department
Mr. A. D. Wharton
Late Midshipman U.S. Navy Hampton Roads, Va.Sir, Your resignation as a midshipman in the Navy of the United States, tendered in your letter of the 24th instant has been received. By direction of the President your name has been stricken from the Rolls of the Navy.
I am respectfully Gideon Welles
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USS Seminole
Hampton Roads
29 Aug 1861Sir,
I offered my resignation to the Department several days since and being anxious to get it off as soon as possible. I wrote it hastily and gave only in general my reasons in resigning. I deem it my duty now to state the causes in detail so that no misapprehension may exist as to the motives which led me to this act.
When we arrived in in the United States on the 6th of July last, I debated with myself long and soberly whether I ought to remain in the service or not, There was no question as to the right or wrong of this was by the government, for I thought then and I think now, it was a necessary war for the preservation of itself from utter ruin and destruction, but every human being has feelings and affections and with me it was deuced to a question of nature.
The last time I heard from my family - several days ago - was 2 April. Up to that time the tenor of letters I received was so strongly union and loyal that I thought nothing on earth could change them. During the three weeks we were in Philadelphia, not hearing from home I believed for I wished to – willingly hopefully gladly that if they were not union they were at least neutral, and so in addition to hearing the approval of my own reasoned judgment and conscience, I thought I could have the approbation (at least the consent) of my parents to my remaining in the service and doing my duty to the government and sustaining the honor of the flag. I took then the oath willing and cheerfully and never for an instant did I dream of having to falter in the good cause.
For one month afterwards I did my duty honestly and faithfully in this ship, but on arrival here on the 22nd instant I found a letter from home (the first news I had I had from there since 2nd April) and now what I know compels me to resign.
I am fighting against my own flesh and blood right here in Virginia, against my only brother whom I love as myself, against all my nearest and dearest blood relations whom I love like brothers, against my sister’s husband, against every friend who cares for me, against all who grew up with me all my acquaintances – I am fighting against my own home, the dearest and best loved spot on earth to me.
I know that I ought to do it, but I cannot. I know it is my duty to stand by the flag and government, when both are threatened, but I falter under these circumstances. I am unequal to the task – it would be doing violence to my nature – my heart, feelings, my affections all condemn me. My father is an old man, his head whitened by the frosts of nearly seventy winters – I have a sister declining in consumption – to whom I have looked up to as a mother since my mother’s death. I cannot consent to see them go the grave – their already sufficient anguish increased and embittered by the reflection that I separated and alienated myself from them all and that we two brothers were fighting each other. I cannot do this. I did now wish to resign, but feeling as I do now it is as much my duty to the government to do so, as it is to myself. I only wish to relieve the sorrow, anxiety and anguish that my family is suffering now on my account by the knowledge that I am in arms against them.
If my resignation is not accepted and I am dismissed and considered a prisoner of war, I beg I may be permitted to leave for Norfolk under a flag of truce. With much respect your obedient servant
A.D. Wharton, MidshipmanTo: the Honorable Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, Washington DC
Respectfully forwarded, Jas H. Palmer Commanding officer, Hampton Roads
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John G. “Jack” Sharp resides in Concord, California. He worked for the United States Navy for thirty years as a civilian personnel officer. Among his many assignments were positions in Berlin, Germany, where in 1989 he was in East Berlin, the day the infamous wall was opened. He later served as Human Resources Officer, South West Asia (Bahrain). He returned to the United States in 2001 and was on duty at the Naval District of Washington on 9/11. He has a lifelong interest in history and has written extensively on the Washington, Norfolk, and Pensacola Navy Yards, labor history and the history of African Americans. His previous books include African Americans in Slavery and Freedom on the Washington Navy Yard 1799 -1865, Morgan Hannah Press 2011. History of the Washington Navy Yard Civilian Workforce 1799-1962, 2004.
https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/browse-by-topic/heritage/washington-navy-yard/pdfs/WNY_History.pdf
and the first complete transcription of the Diary of Michael Shiner Relating to the History of the Washington Navy Yard 1813-1869, 2007/2015 online:
https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/d/diary-of-michael-shiner.html
His most recent work includes Register of Patients at Naval Hospital Washington DC 1814 With The Names of American Wounded From The Battle of Bladensburg 2018,
https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/r/register-patients-naval-hospital-washington-dc-1814.html
The last three works were all published by the Naval History and Heritage Command. John served on active duty in the United States Navy, including Viet Nam service. He received his BA and MA in History from San Francisco State University. He can be reached at sharpjg@yahoo.com
