Rodgers, Christopher Raymond Perry

Rodgers, Christopher Raymond Perry, 1819–92, American naval officer, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. Appointed midshipman in 1833, he served in the Mexican War. In the Civil War he took part in the Union reduction of Port Royal, S.C., received the surrender of St. Augustine and other Florida and Georgia coastal towns, and commanded the naval forces in the trenches at the capture (Apr., 1862) of Fort Pulaski before Savannah, Ga. He was fleet captain commanding the New Ironsides in the attack on Charleston in Apr., 1863. From Oct., 1863, to the end of the war he commanded the Iroquois in its worldwide search for the Shenandoah and other Confederate cruisers. Promoted to captain in 1866 and rear admiral in 1874, he was chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks (1871–74), superintendent of Annapolis (1874–78), and commander in chief of the Pacific squadron (1878–80).