David Dixon Porter Wins Final Poll!

After 15 Weeks of voting, the final winner is finally decided!

A few months ago, we began a series of polls asking readers of the CWN 150 Blog: Who Was the Greatest Naval Officer During the Civil War.  Over the course of the following months, readers voted on their favorite naval officer, Union and Confederate, ultimately deciding that Admiral David Dixon Porter (with 27 votes) is the greatest.  Admiral Raphael Semmes received 14 votes during this past week's final round.  Here is a breakdown of the polls, in case you forgot (Winners are bolded). 

Week 1
John Worden
David G. Farragut
David D. Porter
William Goldsborough

Week 2
John Dahlgren
Samuel F. Du Pont
John Rodgers
Charles H. Davis

Week 3
Samuel P. Lee
William Cushing
Charles Wilkes
John Winslow

Week 4
Andrew H. Foote
Silas Stringham
Winfield Scott
Richard W. Meade

Week 5
Raphael Semmes
Josiah Tattnal
French Forrest
Duncan Ingraham

Week 6
James Bullock
Sydney S. Lee
George Dixon
Thomas Lockwood

Week 7
Catesby a.p. Jones
John T. Wood
John M. Brooke
James Montgomery

Week 8
Franklin Buchanan
John Maffitt
Samuel Barron
Matthew F. Maury

Week 9 (Quarterfinals)
David Dixon Porter
John Dahlgren

Week 10 (Quarterfinals)
William Cushing
Andrew H. Foote

Week 11 (Quarterfinals)
Raphael Semmes
John M. Brooke

Week 12 (Quarterfinals)
Thomas Lockwood
Matthew F. Maury

Week 13 (Semifinals)
David Dixon Porter
William Cushing

Week 14 (Semifinals)
Raphael Semmes
Matthew F. Maury

Week 15 (Finals)
David Dixon Porter
Raphael Semmes

From everybody at the CWN 150, thank you for your participation and continued support.  We will begin other polls at a future date.  If you have any ideas on what you would like to see on this blog, feel free to email Matthew Eng at matthew.t.eng@navy.mil. 

David Dixon Porter Wins Quarterfinal Poll #1; New Poll Posted

David Dixon Porter decisively won the first Quarterfinal readers poll asking you the question” Who Was the Greatest Officer During the Civil War?” Admiral Porter received the sum total of votes for the week’s voting (12). You can see a brief biography and photo archive of David Dixon Porter HERE, courtesy of the Naval History and Heritage Command.

The second Quarterfinal poll is currently posted on this blog. William Cushing, the "Commando" most famous for his sinking of the CSS Albemarle in 1864 will square off against Andrew Hull Foote, who led a highly distinguished career before he died in 1863.

We encourage everybody to vote on these polls, and to keep posted on events and activities of the CWN 150 here on this blog.

State of the Fleet 1861

Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter complained in his memoirs of service that the Navy did not have the resources to snuff out the fires of secession in its early stages.  The fact of the matter was that despite the looming conflict, the United States Navy still had a job to do patrolling the world's oceans.  Below is a downloadable map of the state of fleet as of January 1861.

New Poster: Welcome Sarah Adler

One of the aspirations of the Civil War Navy Sesquicentennial Committee is to foster research and writing of the Civil War Navy at the undergraduate level. We are very happy to announce the edition of a new member to the Commmittee, Sarah Adler.

Sarah A. Adler is an undergraduate student at American University in Washington, DC majoring in History and American Studies. She realized her passion for Civil War history when she was thirteen and has been constantly seeking out more information and experiences ever since. Lucky enough to grow up in Hanover, Pennsylvania, a town only minutes from Gettysburg and itself the site of a cavalry battle, Sarah had the opportunity to work with the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College during her high school years. Her time at the Civil War Institute as well as a few of her own ventures introduced her to many historians--some of whom would become invaluable mentors--and approaches to studying the Civil War. When Sarah began attending American University in Fall 2009, she realized the necessity of exploring some areas of specialization within the field. After some exploration, she discovered an interest in Civil War naval history, especially that pertaining to the District of Columbia. Sarah is currently researching the wartime Washington Navy Yard as well as the life of Admiral David Dixon Porter.

U.S.N. United, One Last Time

This is a picture of a delegation of Japanese government officials and their U.S. Naval escorts at the Washington Navy Yard, 1860. A few years after Commodore Mathew Perry opened Japan to American trade, the two nations signed a formal treaty and exchanged diplomatic credentials for the first time in 1860. The U.S. Navy escorted the Japanese delegation from Japan to San Fransisco on Kanrin Maru with the steamer USS Powhatan and to Washington, D.C. via Panama and Cuba. You can read more about the 150th anniversary of this historic event at the Consulate-General of Japan in New York's website.

To naval historians of the American Civil War, the picture shows just how gut wrenching the war would become as brother officers would have to fight against each other. Half of the officers in this picture would "Go South" less than a year later. Notable officers in this picture are David Dixon Porter (fourth from the left, wearing the straw hat), Samuel DuPont (center, wearing the top hat), and Franklin Buchanan (center, next to DuPont).  A complete listing of the officers can be found at the NHHC's website.