Hiram Paulding | |
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 Commodore Hiram Paulding | |
| Born | (1797-12-11)December 11, 1797 Cortlandt, New York |
| Died | October 20, 1878(1878-10-20) (aged 80) Huntington, New York |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1811–1870 |
| Rank | Rear admiral |
| Commands | Shark Levant Vincennes St. Lawrence Home Squadron |
| Battles / wars | War of 1812 American Civil War |
| Relations | John Paulding (father) |
Hiram Paulding (December 11, 1797 – October 20, 1878) was arear admiral in theUnited States Navy, who served from theWar of 1812 until after theCivil War.
The son ofJohn Paulding, Paulding was born inCortlandt, New York. He was appointed Midshipman on September 1, 1811. During theWar of 1812, he served onLakes Ontario andChamplain, commanding the second division fromTiconderoga during theBattle of Lake Champlain. After the war he served inConstellation, off theAlgerian coast, and inIndependence, the brigPrometheus, andMacedonian.
On his return from service inMacedonian with thePacific Squadron (1818–1821), he spent a year's leave at Capt.Alden Partridge’s Military Academy (laterNorwich University),Norwich, Vermont. In the ensuing years of the decade he served inSea Gull on theWest Indies station, and inUnited States on the Pacific station. While serving on theUnited States Paulding was chosen to carry Commodore Hull's dispatches from Callao, Peru, to the mountain headquarters of General Simon Bolivar in the Andes; Paulding's journey of 1,500 miles on horseback was later recorded in his book, Bolivar in His War Camp. The following year he volunteered to serve underJohn "Roaring Jack" Percival in theDolphin as that vessel pursued mutineers of the whalerGlobe, then returned toUnited States. In 1830 he rejoinedConstellation to serve as 1st Lieutenant, as she cruised the Mediterranean for two years, and in 1834 assumed command of the schoonerShark for another Mediterranean tour. Appointed to command the sloop-of-warLevant in 1838, he made a cruise in theWest Indies and in 1841 became Executive Officer of theNew York Navy Yard.
In 1844, Paulding was promoted to captain, and in 1845 he assumed command ofVincennes for a three-year East Indian cruise and took command of that station with the departure of CommodoreJames Biddle for the United States. Between 1848 and 1852 he commandedSt. Lawrence in the Baltic, North, and Mediterranean Seas, then assumed command of theWashington Navy Yard.
Promoted tocommodore, Paulding took command of theHome Squadron followed aboard theflagshipWabash. The squadron was instrumental in foiling the expedition againstNicaragua underway by the AmericanWilliam Walker, who had dreamed of uniting the nations ofCentral America into a vast military empire led by himself. Through insurrection, Walker became president of Nicaragua in 1856 when Costa Rica declared war to him. After his surrender to an allied Central American army and his return to the United States, Walker attempted for a military comeback when he was captured in 1857 by a landing of Home SquadronMarines. Stateside controversy over the questionable legality of seizing American nationals in foreign, neutral lands prompted PresidentJames Buchanan to relieve Paulding of his command, forcing him into retirement.
In 1861, Paulding was appointed by PresidentAbraham Lincoln to assist in building up a wartime fleet. He then took over the New York Navy Yard. Paulding was assigned to evacuate ships from theNorfolk Naval Shipyard, which the Confederates planned to seize, in April 1861. Paulding found thatCharles Stewart McCauley, commander of the navy yard, had ordered destruction of the ships. Paulding had to complete the work of burning and scuttling the largest number of the ships. He was able to remove the USSCumberland, towed by the USSPawnee. TheUSS Merrimack was burned to the waterline, but it was refitted latter as theCSSVirginia. In August 1861, Paulding was named by Secretary of the NavyGideon Welles to the Ironclad Board, responsible for approving designs for and construction of ironclad warships. The result was the construction ofUSS New Ironsides,USS Galena and (most famously)USS Monitor.[1]
After the war Paulding served as governor of theNaval Asylum at Philadelphia and as post-admiral atBoston. Paulding died at Huntington, Long Island, New York, 20 October 1878. He published aJournal of a Cruise Among the Islands of the Pacific (1831).[2]
The destroyerUSS Paulding (DD-22) was named in honor of Rear Admiral Paulding.
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromRear Admiral Hiram Paulding, USN (1797-1878).Naval History and Heritage Command.| International | |
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