- Samuel Phillips Lee
Samuel Phillips Lee (
13 February 1812 –7 June 1897 ) was aRear Admiral of theUnited States Navy . He commanded theNorth Atlantic Blockading Squadron from4 September 1862 to12 October 1864 . His flagship was "Philadelphia".Life and career
Lee was born at "Sully" in
Fairfax County, Virginia to Francis Lightfoot Lee II andJane Fitzgerald . He was the grandson ofRichard Henry Lee , nephew of Francis Lightfoot Lee I, brother-in-law ofFrancis Preston Blair, Jr. , and ofMontgomery Blair , and wasthird cousin ofRobert E. Lee . He was appointed aMidshipman in the U.S. Navy in November 1825 and subsequently saw extensive service at sea, including combat action during theMexican-American War and exploration, surveying and oceanographic duty. At the outbreak of theAmerican Civil War in 1861, he held the rank ofcommander and wascaptain of thesloop of war USS "Vandalia" in theEast Indies , sailing her home on his own initiative to join the blockade of the Southern coast. Commander Lee commanded the new steam sloop USS "Oneida" during the New Orleans campaign and subsequent operations on theMississippi River in the first half of 1862.In September 1862, Lee was placed in command of the
North Atlantic Blockading Squadron with the rank of ActingRear Admiral . His flagship at this point was the USS "Philadelphia". He led this force for over two years, during which it was responsible for the blockade of theNorth Carolina coast and operations on North Carolina andVirginia inland waters, all areas of very active combat between Union and Confederate forces. Acting Rear Admiral Lee transferred to the command of theMississippi River Squadron in October 1864 and led it to the end of the Civil War in 1865. His flagship during his time as commander of the Mississippi River Squadron was the USS "Black Hawk".Reverting to his permanent rank of Captain after the Civil War, Lee had extensive service in the
Washington, D.C. area. He was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1870 and retired from active service in February 1873.Residence
In 1859, Lee's father-in-law,
Francis Preston Blair , built a house for Lee and his wife (Francis's daughter Elizabeth Blair) next door to his own. These two houses, within a block of theWhite House inWashington, D.C. , were later combined into one house and became the property of the U.S. government. Today they are theBlair-Lee House , used by the President as his guest house. Upon retirement he moved to the family home inSilver Spring, Maryland , where he died on7 June 1897 .In memoriam
Two U.S. Navy ships have been named in honor of Rear Admiral Samuel Phillips Lee, including: USS "S. P. Lee" (DD-310), which was commissioned in October 1920 and lost by stranding in September 1923, and USS "S. P. Lee" (AG-192) (ex-AGS-31), which was in naval service between 1968 and 1974.
References
*
External links
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12933 Grave record]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.