Robert F. Stockton | |
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 | |
| United States Senator fromNew Jersey | |
| In office March 4, 1851 – January 10, 1853 | |
| Preceded by | William L. Dayton |
| Succeeded by | John Renshaw Thomson |
| 2nd Military Governor of California | |
| In office July 29, 1846 – January 16, 1847 | |
| Preceded by | Andrés Pico(as acting Governor ofAlta California) John D. Sloat |
| Succeeded by | Stephen W. Kearny |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Field Stockton (1795-08-20)August 20, 1795 Princeton, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | October 7, 1866(1866-10-07) (aged 71) Princeton, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Awards | Fort Stockton, Texas,Stockton, Missouri Stockton, California, named after him |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch/service |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1811–1850 |
| Rank |  Commodore |
| Commands | Princeton Congress Pacific Squadron New Jersey militia |
| Battles/wars | War of 1812 Mexican–American War |
Robert Field Stockton (August 20, 1795 – October 7, 1866) was aUnited States Navycommodore, notable in the capture ofCalifornia during theMexican–American War. He was a naval innovator and an early advocate for a propeller-driven, steam-powered navy. Stockton was from a notable political family and also served as aU.S. senator fromNew Jersey.
Robert F. Stockton was born atMorven, Stockton Street,Princeton, New Jersey, into a political family; his fatherRichard Stockton was a U.S. senator and representative, and his grandfather,Judge Richard Stockton, was attorney general for New Jersey and a signer of theDeclaration of Independence. Robert F. Stockton was ofEnglish descent, and his family had been in what is now the United States since the early colonial period. On March 4, 1823, he married Harriet Maria Potter in Charleston, South Carolina. Ten children were born to this marriage.[1]
Stockton was appointed amidshipman in theU.S. Navy in September 1811, shortly after his 16th birthday, and served at sea and ashore during theWar of 1812. After that conflict, Lieutenant Stockton was assigned to ships operating in the Mediterranean, in the Caribbean and off the coast of West Africa. He was the firstnaval officer to act against theslave trade and captured several slave ships. In December 1821, while commandingUSS Alligator along the African Windward Coast, Lt. Stockton, along with Dr.Eli Ayers of theAmerican Colonization Society,[2] negotiated a treaty that led to the founding of the state ofLiberia. One source said that Stockton "leveled a pistol atKing Peter's head and thereby convinced the latter to sell some of his territory".[3] Another source states that, before Stockton leveled his pistol at King Peter, he handed another pistol to Ayers, directing him to shoot amixed race slave trader who was warning King Peter that the Americans sought to end the slave trade from which King Peter's tribe profited.[4]
During the later 1820s and into the 1830s, Stockton primarily devoted his attention to business affairs inNew Jersey. In addition, Stockton owned and operated the Tellurium gold mine inGoochland andFluvanna counties in Virginia. He had purchased it in 1848, after its discovery in 1832.[5] His sonJohn P. Stockton was born during this period. He later followed his father into politics and was elected as a U.S. senator representing New Jersey.
In 1835, Stockton purchased a property inMonmouth County, New Jersey, called "Sea Girt".[6] The property was purchased in 1875 by a group of land developers, with the name of Stockton's estate ultimately leading to the choice of the nameSea Girt, New Jersey, when the borough was established in 1918.[7]
In 1838, Stockton resumed active naval service as acaptain. He served in the European area but took leave in 1840 to undertake political work. Offered the post ofU.S. Secretary of the Navy by PresidentJohn Tyler in 1841, he declined the offer but worked successfully to gain support for the construction of an advanced steam warship with a battery of very heavy guns.
This ship becameUSS Princeton, the Navy's first screw-propelledsteamer. The ship was designed byJohn Ericsson. Stockton commanded her when she was completed in 1843. The ship was armed with two long 225-pounder wrought iron guns, called the "Peacemaker" and the "Oregon". Although he was the deviser of the defective gun, Captain Stockton's political influence allowed him to be absolved of all responsibility for the February 1844 explosion of the gun, thePeacemaker, on board the ship. The explosion killed twocabinet secretaries and several others.[8]
Cleared by the court of any wrongdoing in the explosion incident, Stockton was sent by PresidentJames K. Polk toTexas. Stockton carried with him Polk's offer to annex Texas, sailing on thePrinceton and arriving inGalveston. Stockton's observations while in Texas made him aware of the loomingwar with Mexico, a fact he communicated directly to Polk once he arrived back inWashington.[9] No vessel during the Mexican war was more useful than thePrinceton in the Gulf of Mexico.[10][11] The records of the Navy Department showed she performed more service than all the rest of the Gulf squadron put together.[citation needed]
Conquest of California
On July 23, 1846,Commodore Stockton arrived inMonterey, California, and took over command from the ailing CommodoreJohn D. Sloat of thePacific Squadron of U.S. naval forces in the Pacific Ocean.[12] Commodore Sloat had previously raised the US flag, without resistance, at Monterey, but had no plan to conduct any further military operations on shore and once relieved, sailed home to the United States, leaving Commodore Stockton in command of all US forces. Stockton's command ship wasUSS Congress and his combined fleet of threefrigates with about 480 men each, oneship of the line with about 780 men and up to foursloops with about 200 men each as well as three storeships made him the strongest force in California as well as the senior military commander andmilitary governor. He was the main driving force in continuing to take possession ofAlta California.
On August 11, 1846, Commodore Stockton marched onPueblo de Los Angeles to meet in battle withGeneral Castro's army. Upon learning of the imminent arrival of Commodore Stockton, Castro retired, leaving behind all his artillery and made off in the direction of Sonora. Immediately after these events Stockton dispatched a courier,Kit Carson, to inform Washington of the proceedings and details of his conquest of California.
On December 6, 1846, Stockton learned thatGeneral Stephen Kearny had arrived in California with a small force and that he was besieged by vastly superior enemy forces at theBattle of San Pasqual. Kearny was among the wounded and in command of only 60 weary dragoons mounted on tired mules who were in a perilous position and under attack from aCalifornio-Mexican cavalry force underAndrés Pico. However, for Commodore Stockton's immediate decision to take personal command of a relief column, the outcome could have been disastrous for Kearny.
Later, the combined forces consolidated control over San Diego, and in January 1847 won the minor skirmishes at theBattle of Rio San Gabriel andBattle of La Mesa taking back control of Los Angeles. Faced with the approximate 200 men underJohn C. Fremont'sCalifornia Battalion as well as Stockton and Kearny's troops, the Californios sued for peace and signed theTreaty of Cahuenga, which ending fighting in Alta California. Stockton, as senior military authority and military governor of the occupied territory, authorized John C. Fremont's appointment to succeed him as military governor and commander of the California Battalion militia force. When General Kearny finally arrived with orders to assume control of the temporary government Stockton turned over control to Kearny.
Stockton resigned from the Navy in May 1850 and returned to business and political pursuits. In 1851, he was elected as a Democrat from New Jersey to the United States Senate, where he sponsored a bill to abolishflogging as a Navy punishment. He resigned on January 10, 1853, to serve as president of theDelaware and Raritan Canal Company, a position he held until 1866.
He was a delegate to the unsuccessfulPeace Conference of 1861 that attempted to settle the secession crisis; instead theAmerican Civil War began later that year. In 1863, he was appointed to command theNew Jerseymilitia when theConfederate Army invadedPennsylvania. Stockton died atPrinceton, New Jersey, in October 1866, and is buried in thePrinceton Cemetery.
Four U.S. Navy ships have been namedUSS Stockton in his honor. The cities ofStockton, California andStockton, Missouri are named in his honor, as is the borough ofStockton, New Jersey,Stockton Street inSan Francisco, andFort Stockton,San Diego, California, which is now a ruin, but was occupied during theMexican–American War. InMariposa County, CaliforniaStockton Creek is named after him due to a mine he owned in theCalifornia Gold Rush. In Liberia, Stockton Creek, atidal channel that connects theMesurado River and theSaint Paul River, and that separatesBushrod Island from the mainland inMonrovia, is also named for him.
Formerly Commodore Stockton Elementary School in San Francisco between Clay and Pacific Streets was named after him.Stockton Street in San Jose was named after him and his Garden Alameda San Jose neighborhood. In Sacramento, Stockton Boulevard is the historic thoroughfare linking Sacramento and Stockton, now superseded byHighway 99 andInterstate 5.
| U.S. Senate | ||
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| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 1) from New Jersey 1851–1853 Served alongside:Jacob W. Miller | Succeeded by |
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| Under U.S. military (1846–1850) | ||
| U.S. state (since 1850) | ||
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