He served in the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, and the Pacific, and commanded the sloop Juniata during the critical battle to capture Fort Fisher in January 1865.

He was part of the expedition sent to relieve Fort Sumter and assisted in secretly surveying and marking the Confederate coast.

Phelps was promoted to lieutenant commander in July 1862 and was charged with surveying and charting coastal waters for blockades and navigational purposes.

He commanded the sloop Juniata during the successful attack on Fort Fisher, which had been protecting blockade runners' vital access to the Confederate port at Wilmington, North Carolina until it was captured by the Union on 15 January 1865.

[3] Together, they were the parents of one son and two daughters: Phelps died in the Naval Hospital in New York City on 10 January 1901.

Mother, father and son are buried in adjacent plots in Arlington National Cemetery (Section 1 grave 504).