Virtual Museum of Art | Virtual Museum of History | Virtual Public Library | Virtual Science Center | Virtual Museum of Natural History | Virtual War Museum
   You are in: Museum of History >> Hall of North and South Americans >> Lawrence Kearny





The Seven Flags of the New Orleans Tri-Centennial 1718-2018

For more information go to New Orleans 300th Birthday

 

Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography, edited by James Grant Wilson, John Fiske and Stanley L. Klos. Six volumes, New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1887-1889 and 1999. Virtualology.com warns that these 19th Century biographies contain errors and bias. We rely on volunteers to edit the historic biographies on a continual basis. If you would like to edit this biography please submit a rewritten biography in text form . If acceptable, the new biography will be published above the 19th Century Appleton's Cyclopedia Biography citing the volunteer editor




Virtual American Biographies

Over 30,000 personalities with thousands of 19th Century illustrations, signatures, and exceptional life stories. Virtualology.com welcomes editing and additions to the biographies. To become this site's editor or a contributor Click Here or e-mail Virtualology here.



A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

 





Click on an image to view full-sized

Lawrence Kearny

KEARNY, Lawrence, naval officer, born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, 30 November, 1789; died there, 29 November, 1868. He entered the United States navy as a midshipman in 1807, and served, during the continuance of the embargo and nonintercourse acts, on the flotilla of gun-boats under Commander John Rodgers. A Subsequently he was on the frigates "Constitution" and "President" until 1810, when he was transferred to the "Enterprise," and in March, 1813, was promoted lieutenant. He was actively employed in the de-fence of the coast of South Carolina and ad-jacent states during the war of 1812-'15, and after its close distinguished himself in clearing the West Indies and Gulf coast of pirates. In 1826 he was given command of the " Warren," and sent to the Levant, where he successfully attacked the Greek pirates, broke up their strongholds, and finally dispersed them, frequently capturing several vessels in a day, and at one time had more than 100 prisoners on board his vessel. On his return to the United States in 1832, he was made captain, and after various appointments on shore duty was given command of the "Potomac," and in 1841 advanced to the command of the East India squadron. He hoisted his broad pennant on the "Constitution" in the harbor of Rio de Janeiro, the first instance of that act being performed at a foreign station. While in the east he was active in the suppression of opium smuggling, and secured the rights of American merchants in China. Learning that a commercial treaty was about to be concluded between the English and Chinese governments, he at once communicated with the officials and secured a promise on the part of the Chinese government to extend similar facilities to American merchants. In consequence of this action, the United States government sent Caleb Cushing as special envoy to China, who negotiated the treaty that was ratified in July, 1845. While on his homeward voyage in 1843, Captain Kearny stopped at the Hawaiian islands, and there protested against the treaty then in progress of settlement leading to the transfer of these islands to the British government. He afterward held various shore appointments, including the command of the New York station, the presidency of one of the naval boards of inquiry, and membership in the lighthouse board. In April, 1867, he was made commodore on the retired list, and he was also a member of the New Jersey board of pilot commissioners.--Lawrence's second cousin, Stephen Watts, soldier, born in Newark, New Jersey, 30 August, 1794; died in St. Louis, Missouri, 31 October, 1848, was a student at Columbia, but at the outbreak of the war of 1812 entered the army as no lieutenant in the 13th infantry. At the assault on Queenstown heights, on 13 October, 1812, he distinguished himself by his bravery, and on 13 April, 1813. was made captain. He was retained in the army after the war, and by successive promotions became lieutenant-colonel of the 1st dragoons, 4 March, 1833, and brigadier-general on 30 June, 1846. At the beginning of the Mexican war he had command of the Army of the West, which set out from Bent's fort on the Arkansas, crossed the country, and took possession of New Mexico. He established a provisional civil government in Santa Fe, and then continued his march to California, when, on 6 December, 1846, he fought the engagement at San Pasqual, where he was twice wounded. Subsequently he commanded the sailors and marines and a detachment of dragoons at the passage of San Gabriel river and the skirmish on the plains of Mesa, 8 and 9 January, 1847. For his services in this campaign he received the brevet of major-general on 6 December, 1846, and was made governor of California, holding that office from March till June, 1847. He then joined the army in Mexico, and was military and civil governor of Vera Cruz in March, and of the city of Mexico in May, 1848. Illness, caused by disease contracted in Mexico, resulted in his death. General Kearny published a "5Ianual of the Exercise and Manoeuvring of United States Dragoons" (Washington, 1837) and "Laws for the Government of the Territory of New Mexico" (Santa Fe, 1846).--Stephen Watts's nephew, Philip, soldier, born in New York city, 2 June, 1815; died near Chantilly, Virginia, 1 September, 1862, was graduated at Columbia in 1833, and then studied law under Peter A. Jay, but in 1837 accepted a commission in the 1st dragoons, and was stationed at Jefferson barracks, Missouri, serving on the staff of General Henry Atkinson. He was sent to Europe by the war department in 1839 to examine the tactics of the French cavalry service, and for the thorough accomplishment of this purpose entered the cavalry school in Saumur. After six months of this experience he went to Algiers as a volunteer with the 1st chasseurs d'Afrique, and served with Colonel Le Pays de Bourjolli. He made the passage of the Atlas mountains, and participated in the engagements at the plains of Netidjah and of the Chelif, at the siege of Milianah, and passage of the Mousaia. His daring exploits during these campaigns attracted the attention of the French army. In the autumn of 1840 he returned to the United States, and was almost immediately appointed aide-de-camp to General Alexander Macomb, holding this appointment until the death of the commander-in-chief. For some months he was then stationed at the cavalry barracks in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, but he was soon recalled to Washington to serve on the staff of General Winfield Scott. In 1845 he accompanied his uncle, General Kearny, on the march to the South Pass, which was the first expedition that penetrated so far from settlements into the Indian country. During the Mexican war, at the head of a magnificently equipped company of cavalry, he operated at first along the Rio Grande, but later joined General Scott on his march to Mexico. His command served as the body-guard of the general-in-chief, and Kearny was promoted captain in December, 1846. He took part in the battles of Contreras and Churubusco, and at the close of the latter, as the Mexicans were retreating into the capital, Kearny, at the head of his dragoons, charged the enemy and followed them into the city of Mexico itself; but as he fell back he was shot in the left arm, which necessitated amputation. When General Oliver O. Howard lost his right arm at the battle of Fair Oaks, Kearny happened to be present when the amputation was performed, and Howard, looking up, said: "We'll buy our gloves together hereafter." A month later" General Scott with his army entered the city of Mexico, but the first man who had entered, sword in hand, the gate of the captured capital was Captain Kearny, who was rewarded with the brevet of major. On his recovery he was stationed in New York on recruiting service, and was presented with a sword by the members of the Union club. Ear-Iv in 1851 he went to California, and was engaged in the campaign against the Rogue river Indians, but resigned, from the army in October, 1851. He then went around the world by way of China and Ceylon, and, after spending some time in Paris, settled at Belle Grove, opposite Newark, New Jersey In 1859 he returned to France, and, joining his old comrades of the chasseurs d'Afrique, participated in the war in Italy. At Solferino he was in the charge of the cavalry under General Louis M. Morris, which penetrated the Austrian centre, capturing the key-point of the situation. He is described on this occasion as charging "holding his bridle in his teeth, with his characteristic impetuosity." He received the cross of the Legion of honor, being the first American that had ever been thus honored for military service. In 1861, soon after the beginning of the civil war, he returned to the United States, and tendered his services to the National government. After their rejection by these authorities and those of New York state, his claims were pressed by New Jersey, and he was made brigadier-general on 17 May, 1861, and assigned to the command of the 1st New Jersey brigade in General William B. Franklin's division of the Army of the Potomac. General Kearny was present at the battle of Williamsburg, where his timely arrival changed the repulse into a victory, and served through the engagements in the peninsula, then with the Army of Virginia from the Rapidan to Warrenton. In Nay, 1862, he was given command of the 3d division, and his commission as major-general bears date 7 July, 1862, but was never received by him. At the second battle of Bull Run he was on the right, and forced General Thomas J. Jackson's corps back against General Longstreet's men. A few days later, at Chantilly, while reconnoitering, after placing his division, he penetrated into the Confederate lines, and was shot. His remains were sent by Lee under a flag of truce to General Hooker, and found their last resting-place in Trinity churchyard, New York city. General Scott referred to General Kearny as "the bravest man I ever knew, and the most perfect soldier." See "Personal and military History of Philip Kearny," by J. Watts De Peyster (New York, 1869).

Edited Appletons Encyclopedia, Copyright © 2001 VirtualologyTM

Start your search on Lawrence Kearny.


 

 


 


Unauthorized Site: This site and its contents are not affiliated, connected, associated with or authorized by the individual, family, friends, or trademarked entities utilizing any part or the subject's entire name. Any official or affiliated sites that are related to this subject will be hyper linked below upon submission and Evisum, Inc. review.

Copyright© 2000 by Evisum Inc.TM. All rights reserved.
Evisum Inc.TM Privacy Policy

Search:

About Us

 

 

Image Use

Please join us in our mission to incorporate The Congressional Evolution of the United States of America discovery-based curriculum into the classroom of every primary and secondary school in the United States of America by July 2, 2026, the nation’s 250th birthday. , the United States of America: We The People Click Here

 

Historic Documents

Articles of Association

Articles of Confederation 1775

Articles of Confederation

Article the First

Coin Act

Declaration of Independence

Declaration of Independence

Emancipation Proclamation

Gettysburg Address

Monroe Doctrine

Northwest Ordinance

No Taxation Without Representation

Thanksgiving Proclamations

Mayflower Compact

Treaty of Paris 1763

Treaty of Paris 1783

Treaty of Versailles

United Nations Charter

United States In Congress Assembled

US Bill of Rights

United States Constitution

US Continental Congress

US Constitution of 1777

US Constitution of 1787

Virginia Declaration of Rights

 

Historic Events

Battle of New Orleans

Battle of Yorktown

Cabinet Room

Civil Rights Movement

Federalist Papers

Fort Duquesne

Fort Necessity

Fort Pitt

French and Indian War

Jumonville Glen

Manhattan Project

Stamp Act Congress

Underground Railroad

US Hospitality

US Presidency

Vietnam War

War of 1812

West Virginia Statehood

Woman Suffrage

World War I

World War II

 

Is it Real?



Declaration of
Independence

Digital Authentication
Click Here

 

America’s Four Republics
The More or Less United States

 
Continental Congress
U.C. Presidents

Peyton Randolph

Henry Middleton

Peyton Randolph

John Hancock

  

Continental Congress
U.S. Presidents

John Hancock

Henry Laurens

John Jay

Samuel Huntington

  

Constitution of 1777
U.S. Presidents

Samuel Huntington

Samuel Johnston
Elected but declined the office

Thomas McKean

John Hanson

Elias Boudinot

Thomas Mifflin

Richard Henry Lee

John Hancock
[
Chairman David Ramsay]

Nathaniel Gorham

Arthur St. Clair

Cyrus Griffin

  

Constitution of 1787
U.S. Presidents

George Washington 

John Adams
Federalist Party


Thomas Jefferson
Republican* Party

James Madison 
Republican* Party

James Monroe
Republican* Party

John Quincy Adams
Republican* Party
Whig Party

Andrew Jackson
Republican* Party
Democratic Party


Martin Van Buren
Democratic Party

William H. Harrison
Whig Party

John Tyler
Whig Party

James K. Polk
Democratic Party

David Atchison**
Democratic Party

Zachary Taylor
Whig Party

Millard Fillmore
Whig Party

Franklin Pierce
Democratic Party

James Buchanan
Democratic Party


Abraham Lincoln 
Republican Party

Jefferson Davis***
Democratic Party

Andrew Johnson
Republican Party

Ulysses S. Grant 
Republican Party

Rutherford B. Hayes
Republican Party

James A. Garfield
Republican Party

Chester Arthur 
Republican Party

Grover Cleveland
Democratic Party

Benjamin Harrison
Republican Party

Grover Cleveland 
Democratic Party

William McKinley
Republican Party

Theodore Roosevelt
Republican Party

William H. Taft 
Republican Party

Woodrow Wilson
Democratic Party

Warren G. Harding 
Republican Party

Calvin Coolidge
Republican Party

Herbert C. Hoover
Republican Party

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Democratic Party

Harry S. Truman
Democratic Party

Dwight D. Eisenhower
Republican Party

John F. Kennedy
Democratic Party

Lyndon B. Johnson 
Democratic Party 

Richard M. Nixon 
Republican Party

Gerald R. Ford 
Republican Party

James Earl Carter, Jr. 
Democratic Party

Ronald Wilson Reagan 
Republican Party

George H. W. Bush
Republican Party 

William Jefferson Clinton
Democratic Party

George W. Bush 
Republican Party

Barack H. Obama
Democratic Party

Please Visit

Forgotten Founders
Norwich, CT

Annapolis Continental
Congress Society


U.S. Presidency
& Hospitality

© Stan Klos

 

 

 

 


Virtual Museum of Art | Virtual Museum of History | Virtual Public Library | Virtual Science Center | Virtual Museum of Natural History | Virtual War Museum