|
Thomas Holdup Stevens II
Lieutenant Commander
(August 9-September 8, 1862)
|
Thomas
Stevens, commander of the USS Monitor
From the Collections of The Mariners' Museum
|
Thomas Stevens was born on May 27, 1819,
in Middletown, Connecticut, the son of distinguished naval officer
Thomas H. Stevens. On December 14, 1836, he enlisted as a midshipman.
His first appointment was to the frigate Independence.
After graduating from the Naval Academy, Stevens spent much
of his service assigned to the Pacific Squadron. He distinguished
himself during the war with Mexico.
On March 25, 1862, Stevens was ordered
to the Maratanza, a double-ended wooden steamer. The
ship was stationed in Hampton Roads with engagements in both
the York and James Rivers. On May 18, 1862, the Maratanza
and the Monitor engaged a small Confederate force near
City Point on the James River. The action resulted in the capture
of the CSS Teaser.
On August 9, 1862, Stevens was placed
in command of the Monitor, replacing Jeffers. He was
in command for less than two months, and during his command
the Monitor saw almost no action.
Having previously gained the attention
of Commodore Charles Wilkes, Stevens was reassigned at Wilkes's
request to command the new 955-ton gunboat Sonoma. Stevens
then joined Wilkes's West Indies Squadron. Wilkes's command
was specially organized to track the Confederate commerce raiders
Florida and Alabama, then operating in the Caribbean.
Stevens later served aboard other monitors,
commanding both the Patapsco off Fort Sumter in 1863
and the Winnebago at Mobile Bay in 1864. He retired from
the navy in 1896, and died in 1898.
First
Previous Next
Last
Go to Main Category:
Life on the Monitor
Go to other documents in this category:
Daily Life of a Monitor Crewman -
George Geer
Photo Identification of the
Officers of the Monitor, July 1862
Biographies of the Crew of the Monitor
Photo Identification of the
Crew of the Monitor, July 1862
Photo Identification of the Monitor,
July 1862
|
![[ Navigation Bar ]](../../resources/navigation.gif){kind=small}