US Navy overseas during civil war?

1867crete

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Feb 25, 2017
Hello all! I must admit that the Naval aspect of the civil war has always been a weak spot for me. Which is why this image intrigues me so. I thought I would start a conversation,hoping to learn on this subject!
1st
This appears to be a US Navy officer? His boards, Major there is a insignia between the major leafs... Can't quite make it out?

2nd
On the back it's inscribed "taken in Lisbon Portugal in January 1866" alas... no name or ship etc.....

3rd
Why would US Navy be in Portugal? They oblivious left port during the war for this photo to be taken early January 1866

Anyone's thoughts?
 

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I don't recognize the officer, but Lisbon was not an infrequent stop for Navy vessels. In March 1865, there was a minor diplomatic incident there, in fact, when the Belem Tower fired on the USS Niagara and Sacramento as they appeared ready to violate neutrality laws while responding to movements of CSS Stonewall.
 
The shoulder boards indicate a Lieutenant Commander or Commander, depending on whether the oak leaves are gold or silver, respectively. The figure between them is a fouled anchor, indicating he's a line officer. Same basic rank insignia, gold or silver oak leaves, continues today.

Transatlantic crossing would have been no more than a few weeks, so they might have sailed from the U.S. as late as December 1865, or might have been in European waters for months. As Mark indicates, the U.S. Navy had assets (to use a modern term) overseas even during the height of the war.
 
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Commanders and Lieutenant Commanders in the European Squadron as of early 1866 (while these are not guaranteed to be the man, they are at least possibilities):

Cmdr. R. H. Wyman and Lt. Cmdr. L. A. Kimberly, USS Colorado
Lt. Cmdr. Weld N. Allen, USS Ticonderoga
Cmdr. R. M. [sic; should be N] Stembel and Lt. Cmdr. R. L. May, USS Canandaigua
Cmdr. A. D. Harrell and Lt. Cmdr. George Dewey (it's clearly not Dewey, anyway), USS Kearsarge
Lt. Cmdr. John H. Upshur, USS Frolic

Source: Navy Register as of Jan 1, 1866
 
I'm wondering about Stembel. I'll need to see if I've seen any other images of him. That would be a great find if it were.

(By the way, the above-mentioned USS Frolic is none other than the former North Carolina-owned blockade runner A.D. Vance or Advance...)
 
The only photo I can find so far of Stembel is of him when he was a much older man-- snow-white beard, etc. I get the impression it's not him, but I really can't say for sure. It could perhaps be Robert Harris Wyman. It is definitely not Dewey, and I really don't think it's Lewis Ashfield Kimberly or John Henry Upshur, to judge from photos of them appearing in Cogar's Dictionary of Admirals of the U.S. Navy. So of the above-noted, Wyman, Allen, Stembel, May, and Harrell are still in the running, though I'm now doubtful of Stembel. (Or, of course, it could be someone else entirely, but it's not unreasonable to limit the field to those officers assigned to the European Squadron at that time for starters...)
 
What would a lt cmdr or cmdr's duties include? Would he have been on a designated ship or could he have several? I looked at a image of Stembel, as a older man and agree. Possibly him But definitely not 100 match. Very fun conversation thank you all! As usual my lack of knowledge is on full display, but always love a chance to learn!
 
The duties of the rank would depend on the position he held aboard ship. The above-noted officers provide a bit of a cross-section.

Lt. Cmdr. Upshur was senior officer of the USS Frolic, and therefore its commanding officer and "captain." Although not a captain by rank, ship commanders were traditionally addressed as "captain.")

Lt. Cmdr. Allen was second-in-command of the Ticonderoga; older tradition would have referred to him as "first luff" or "first lieutenant," back in the pre-Civil War days when there was no rank of Commander or Lt. Commander. The new term of "executive officer" was evolved for the position instead, although I'm not clear on exactly when that term came into common use.

Commanders Stembel and Harrell were commanding officers of the Canandaigua and Kearsarge, respectively.

Commander Wyman was commander of the Colorado, but since that was the squadron flagship, he would frequently have had Rear Admiral Goldsborough aboard also, along with his staff.

(A bit of elaboration: once upon a time, there were just three officer ranks in the US Navy: Captain, Lieutenant, and Midshipman-- basically an apprentice Lieutenant. Promotion was by strict seniority but the number of Captains and Lieutenants was fixed by law, so it tended to take longer and longer for promotions to happen; it was not uncommon to find Lieutenants that had been at that same rank for decades through no fault of their own, and Captains who were far too old and infirm to go to sea. "Passed Midshipman," originally an indicator that the midshipman had passed his examinations and was eligible to be commissioned a Lieutenant, became a rank all its own; and lieutenants commanding ships began to be referred to as "Lieutenant Commanding." The rank of Master evolved from the position of Sailing Master, originally an enlisted or warrant grade, and came to be understood to be between Lieutenant and (Passed) Midshipman (because it was common for a senior midshipman to take on the duties of sailing master). That was the state of affairs at the beginning of the Civil War. Midwar reforms created the rank of Ensign to replace Passed Midshipman, Masters evolved into the modern Lieutenant (junior grade), the new ranks of Lt. Commander and Commander were officially established, and the ranks above Captain (Commodore, Rear Admiral, Vice Admiral, Admiral) were created.)
 
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A clue into this unidentified officer. Included was another image taken later in his career and life. I would guess this images dates 1880's? It is a cdv mounted on cardstock, but is clearly the same man and was with the earlier image in a group. Would this uniform perhaps shed some light on his identity? I can include close ups or more photos. This one says nothing on it nor does it have any photographers mark etc....
 

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Here they are side by side... I may be mistaken! Ask my wife..... I'm wrong all the time! Lol
 

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Here they are side by side... I may be mistaken! Ask my wife..... I'm wrong all the time! Lol

Mystery2.jpg


I'm skeptical that these are the same men. In particular, the man n the "later" picture on the left has very different, and much larger, ears than the man on the right.
 
I think we're down to May-- whom I can't find a photo of-- a young Stembel (though I'm skeptical), or that it's someone not in the identifed group of European Squadron officers, which significantly increases the difficulty.
 
Very intriguing! This is much further then I thought it would go! I do love these conversations! Thank you to all who have posted!
 
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