Description:

4 Documents, Commodore John Rodgers & Lt. Commander Bunce - Great Content!

This small archive relates to the career of Commodore John Rodgers and his prot'g' Lt. Commander Francis M. Bunce. Rodgers commanded the special squadron to accompany the ironclad USS Monadnock on its historic journey from Philadelphia to San Francisco. These documents document Bunce's accomplishments on that voyage and his orders to report after his return east to the Boston Navy Yard, of which Rodgers had been made commandant.

JOHN RODGERS, Archive of Correspondence re Francis M. Bunce, 1866. 4 documents, 5 pp. General toning; some edge tears and several fold separations.

Contents and Excerpts
- John Rodgers, Manuscript Document Signed, Order to Lt. Commander F. M. Bunce, June 28, 1866, USS Vanderbilt, Mare Island Navy Yard, California. 1 p., 8.375" x 13.75". Expected folds; short separations on edges of folds.
"You will return to New York by the Isthmus route, and on your arrival report to the Department in writing."

- John Rodgers, Copy of Letter to Gideon Welles, June 28, 1866, USS Vanderbilt, San Francisco, California. 1 p., 8" x 10". Short separation on folds at edges; very good.
"Lieut. Com. Bunce volunteered to make the untried experiment of bringing a Monitor from the North Atlantic to the North Pacific. Many Naval Critics pronounced the attempt more than unwise. To its successful accomplishment he brought a reputation for dash and gallantry, skill as a seaman, and expertness in Navigation. He brought natural firmness of character, united with the utmost good temper. He brought a mind well studied in the theories of his profession, with skill in its praticle [practical] duties. So many good qualities are seldom met with in a single Officer."

- John Rodgers, Autograph Letter Signed, to Francis M. Bunce, August 24, 1866, Mount Holly Springs, Pennsylvania. 2 pp., 8" x 9.75". Expected folds; very good.
"It gives me much pleasure to enclose the accompanying letter from the Secretary of the Navy, assuring you of the cordial approbation of the Department and giving you its well earned thanks for your success in bringing the voyage of the Monadnock to so successful a termination.
"The Secretary desired to promote you but said that you were too low upon the list for him to venture upon such a testimony.
"My own opinion is that if you were old enough to carry the Monadnock to San Francisco, you were old enough to be Commander.
"The voyage however cannot be repeated any more than Columbus' discovery. To have done it first, is the only difficult part.
"It will remain a record in your life."

- Thornton Jenkins, Partially Printed Document Signed, Order to Lt. Commander F. M. Bunce, November 15, 1866, Navy Department, Bureau of Navigation and Office of Detail, Washington, D.C. 1 p., 8.25" x 13.25".
"Proceed to Boston, Masstts, by the 15 December next and report to Commodore John Rodgers, on that day, for duty at the Navy Yard under his command."

John Rodgers (1812-1882) was born in Maryland, the son of Commodore John Rodgers (1772-1838). He was appointed a midshipman in 1828 and fought in the Seminole Wars in Florida. He was appointed to his first command in 1853, while a Lieutenant. In 1854, he commanded the North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition and was promoted to the rank of Commander in 1855. During the Civil War, he was promoted to the rank of Captain in July 1862 and commanded the experimental ironclad Galena. He also commanded the James River Flotilla. He took command of the ironclad USS Weehawken, which captured the Confederate ram Atlanta in June 1863 under his command. He later received a promotion to Commodore and commanded the ironclad Dictator. He commanded the special squadron that accompanied the ironclad USS Monadnock from Philadelphia, around South America, to San Francisco. He served as commandant of the Boston Navy Yard from December 1866 to 1869. He was promoted to Rear Admiral in December 1869 and took command of the Asiatic Squadron, which he led to Korea in 1871. After he returned to the United States, he served as commandant of the Mare Island Navy Yard (1873-1877) and superintendent of the U.S. Naval Observatory (1877-1882).

Francis Marvin Bunce (1836-1901) was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1857. He was promoted to lieutenant by the beginning of the Civil War and participated in the Union blockade of the Confederacy as part of the Gulf Squadron and then served as executive officer of the gunboat USS Penobscot during the siege of Yorktown in the Peninsula Campaign. He later supported the attack on Morris Island and Fort Wagner outside Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. In 1863, he participated in the siege of Charleston aboard the monitor USS Patapsco. He later served on or commanded several other monitors for the remainder of the war. After the war, he commanded the monitor USS Monadnock in its voyage around Cape Horn to San Francisco, the first extended ocean voyage by a monitor. Over the next three decades, he alternated land and sea duty and gained promotion to captain (1883), commodore (1894), and acting rear admiral (1895), when he took command of the North Atlantic Squadron. He favored training ships to act as a squadron rather than individually and the outbreak of the Cuban War of Independence heightened tensions with Spain. In 1897, he took command of the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, from which he sent the battleship USS Maine to Key West, Florida, from which it was deployed to Havana, where its explosion triggered the Spanish-American War. He was promoted to rear admiral in 1898 and retired from the Navy at the statutory retirement age of 62 on December 25, 1898.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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