JOHN

See also:

• JOHN RODGERS (1771—1838)

RODGERS (1771—1838)  , American sailor, was born in Harford county, Maryland, on the 11th of July 1771 . He entered the United States navy when it was organized in 1798 . He was second in command to Commodore James Barron (1769—1851) in the expedition against the Barbary pirates, and succeeded him in the command in 1805 . In this year he brought both Tunis and Tripoli to terms, and then returned to America . In 1811 he was in command as commodore of the U.S. frigate " President " (44) off Annapolis when he heard that an American seaman had been " pressed " by a British frigate off Sandy Hook . Commodore Rodgers was ordered to sea " to protect American commerce," but he may have had verbal instructions to retaliate for the impressment of real or supposed British subjects out of American vessels, which was causing much ill-feeling and was a main cause of the War of 1812 . On the 16th of May 1811 he sighted and followed the British sloop " Little Belt " (22), and after some hailing and counter-hailing, of which very different versions are given on either side, a gun was fired, each side accusing the other of the aggression, and an action ensued in which the " Little Belt " was cut to pieces . The incident, which was represented as an accident by the Americans, and believed to be a deliberate aggression by the British navy, had a share in bringing on war . When hostilities broke out Rodgers commanded a squadron on the coast of America, and was wounded by the bursting of one of his guns while pursuing the British frigate " Belvedere." He was subsequently President of the Board of Navy Commissioners in 1815—1824 and in 1827—1837, and acting secretary of the navy in 1823 for two weeks . He died in Philadelphia on the 1st of August 1838 . His brother, George Washington Rodgers (1787—1832), a brother-in-law of Commodore Perry, served in the War of 1812 and in the war with Algiers (1815) . Rear-Admiral John Rodgers (1812—1882), a son of Commodore John Rodgers, served in the Union navy and in 1877—1882 was superintendent of the Naval Observatory at Washington .

G . W . Rodgers had two sons who were naval

officers, Christopher Raymond Perry Rodgers (1819—1892) and George Washington Rodgers (1822—1863) .