He is best known for being the captain of USS Housatonic when it was sunk by the submarine CSS Hunley.
(The reason for his appointment at such a young age was probably to provide financial support to his mother following the death of his father.)
Becoming a lieutenant on December 8, 1838,[1] and a captain on July 16, 1862,[2] his commands included the USS Vanderbilt, Kearsarge and Housatonic.
He was captain of the Housatonic during its sinking on 17 February 1864 at the hands of Confederate States Navy submarine, H.L.
[2][3] After the end of the Civil War he was assigned to the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine.