Kidder R. Breese, USN

[Mike Serpa]

Quarter Plate Daguerreotype Portrait C. 1852 of Passed Midshipman Kidder R. Breese, USN. Kidder Randolph Breese was appointed a U. S. Navy Midshipman in 1847 and served in the sloop of war Saratoga for the remainder of the war with Mexico. He was subsequently assigned to the Naval Academy until 1852 and became a passed Midshipman in June of that year. It is during this period that we assume the daguerreotype was taken as it depicts Breese in the undress coat of a passed Midshipman. The image was recently released by direct lineal descendants as part of a collection of Breese family papers. Breese participated in Matthew Perry's Japan Expedition for the next three years. Breese's service continued into the Civil War and he was aboard the San Jacinto when she stopped the British steamship Trent and removed the two Confederate agents. Promoted to Lieutenant Commander in 1862 Breese spent the balance of the war with David Dixon Porter and distinguished himself at Vicksburg, Fort Fisher and as Porter's Fleet Captain. His distinguished career continued after the war and he died in 1881. The destroyer USS Breese (1918-1946) was named for him, and a street in the Washington Navy Yard also bears his name.

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What does "passed" mean? Thanks.

 

[AndyHall]

I believe "passed" means he had passed his qualifying exams for promotion, but had not yet been formally commissioned. Further advancement likely meant finding a specific ship assignment for him, which in the peacetime Navy might have taken a while.

Breese, K. Randolph.
Midshipman, 6 November, 1846. Passed Midshipman, 8 June, 1852. Master, 15 September, 1855. Lieutenant, 16 September, 1855. Lieutenant Commander, 16 July, 1862. Commander, 25 July, 1866. Captain, 9 August, 1874. Died 13 September, 1881.

 

[AndyHall]

Full bio and details of service and appointments:

http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/breese_k.htm

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

I believe "passed" means he had passed his qualifying exams for promotion, but had not yet been formally commissioned. Further advancement likely meant finding a specific ship assignment for him, which in the peacetime Navy might have taken a while.

Correct. "Passed" means that he'd passed his Lieutenant's exam, but there was no open slot for a Lieutenant (the numbers of holders of each rank were Congressionally-mandated). Passed Midshipman grew into a virtual rank of its own; in the reforms of the Civil War, the rank was actually made a commissioned rank and renamed "Ensign," with "midshipman" thereafter generally reserved for those at the academy in Annapolis.

 

[1SGDan]

The Naval Assault at Fort Fisher
Around 1030 the naval assault party was landed about half a mile north of the fort. Commanding the 2261 sailors and marines drawn from 29 vessels was Fleet captain K. Randolph Breese. The marine contingent, about 410 men commanded by Captain L.L. Dawson, was equipped with Sharps rifles and carbines. They were expected to lay down a suppressive fire from prepared locations while the sailors assaulted the Northeast Bastion. The sailors carried an odd mix of weapons. The majority were bearing pistols and cutlasses in boarding party fashion.

The first sailors ashore were sent immediately forward to dig the rifle pits for Dawson's marines. They came under a heavy fire and requested assistance. LT Louis Fagan, USMC, was ordered to "advance to the support of the sailors at the front… who were throwing up intrenchments." Fagan and his 44 marines pushed to within 40 yards of the fort by lying prone during the cannon fire and then advancing during the reloading process. His loss in the advance was two men "badly wounded." Deploying his best shots in a sharpshooter role Fagan reported that his men managed to force "a field piece inside the palisade of the fort to be abandoned by the rebel artillerist."

As Fagan moved up Captain Breese divided the naval force into divisions. Dawson also moved the remainder of the marines into the entrenchments. His orders from Breese were "when the assault was made…keep up a full fire" until the sailors moved by and then join the attack. Dawson marched his command as ordered and was soon in the required position. Despite some last minute trouble organizing his sailors into marching order Breese followed, but things quickly began to fall apart. The sailors were unaccustomed to facing the type of fire they encountered as they moved up. The closer they came to the fort the heavier the fire grew and Breese became concerned. He did not think he could maintain control of the skittish seamen until the appointed attack time of 1500. He made a fateful decision; he moved his men onto the beach to gain additional cover and to wait out the remaining time before the attack was to begin. He sent word to Dawson, via courier, to meet him on the beach with his marines. At first Dawson questioned the order but was convinced that these were indeed Breese's wishes. Reluctantly, Dawson ordered his men to the beach. Within minutes the marines and sailors were completely intermixed in a disorganized mob on the crowded beach. They lay prone in the sand, hundreds of yards from the objective awaiting the next order.

The 1500 deadline arrived and as planned the warships lifted their fire. Instead of waiting for his cue to begin, the army attack to the west*, or moving the marines back to their support positions Breese did the worst possible thing. A shocked Dawson heard the order to charge and before he could reposition his marksmen a crush of sailors rushing forward masked his fire. The Confederates had also reacted to the cessation of the naval bombardment. Lamb rushed about 600 defenders into the Northeast Bastion. Unknowingly the Federals were acting just as Lamb could have hoped. He had little chance of fending off a dual assault but the unsupported charge of Porter's sailors gave him the chance to defeat the attacks one at a time.

The wave of men running across the open ground proved easy targets for the defenders. They were cut down by the dozens. The sailors's short range pistols were almost worthless and the cutlasses of no value at all. Nevertheless a few stout hearted actually made it to the palisades. Porter, watching from his command vessel, wrote that"the rebels met us with a courage worthy of a better cause." The few survivors of the initial charge attempted to assault the main defenses in handfuls but any banner placed on the works lasted only seconds and the efforts little longer. Porter was forced to add "the advance was swept off the parapet like chaff." The devastation of the first ranks left those not yet involved wary of further advance. Those in the rear elements "seeing the slaughter in front" opted not to pursue the assault. The attack fell apart in minutes as the sailors became a terror stricken stream heading back to the landing site. The price for the chaotic effort was 287 casualties (52k, 212w, 23m). It accomplished nothing. The quick repulse of the Naval assault left Lamb and Whiting free to deal with the army assault. The failure would spark a controversy between Porter and his marines.

*The Army assault was momentarily delayed and would start 25 minutes late.