Background
Alexander Mosely Pennock was born on October 1, 1814 in Norfolk, Norfolk City, Virginia, United States. He was the son of a prominent Norfolk shipping merchant and naval agent, William Pennock, of the firm of Pennock and Myers.
Alexander Mosely Pennock was born on October 1, 1814 in Norfolk, Norfolk City, Virginia, United States. He was the son of a prominent Norfolk shipping merchant and naval agent, William Pennock, of the firm of Pennock and Myers.
Though left an orphan early in life, Alexander Mosely Pannock received a good education, and on the recommendation of Capt. James P. Preston and others, was appointed midshipman to fill a Tennessee vacancy April 1, 1828.
Alexander Mosely Pennock was made midshipman in June 1834, after he had made cruises in the Guerrière of the Pacific Squadron and the Natchez of the Brazil Squadron. He then served in the Potomac in the Mediterranean and in the Columbia in the East Indies, where he led a ship's division in an expedition against the pirates of Quallah Battoo, Sumatra, on New Year's day, 1839.
Alexander Mosely Pennock was advanced to the rank of lieutenant the following March, and in this capacity served in the Decatur of the Brazil Squadron from 1843 to 1846, and in the store-ship Supply during the Mexican War. Following a second eastern cruise in the Marion, 1850 - 1852, he had his first extended shore duty as lighthouse inspector, 1853 - 1856, and again, after commanding the steamer Southern Star in the Paraguay Expedition, he was lighthouse inspector at New York.
In spite of his Southern family connections and property interests, Alexander Mosely Pennock remained loyal to the Union in the Civil War, and on September 20, 1861, was among the senior officers detailed under Capt. A. H. Foote to take over the building of gunboats at St. Louis for the Mississippi flotilla. The following October Foote made him fleet captain in special charge of flotilla equipment, and from the beginning of 1862 until the end of 1864, he commanded the naval base established at Cairo, Illinois.
In addition to the multifarious duties of supply and repair for the distant flotilla, the scope of which is revealed in the mass of his correspondence in the official records of the Civil War, Alexander Mosely Pennock had immediate command of boats operating in the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. He was made captain on January 2, 1863, and when Porter left the flotilla in September of the following year, Pennock exercised general command for two months.
After the war he was stationed at the Brooklyn navy yard and then sailed on June 28, 1867, in command of the Franklin, flagship of Admiral Farragut's European Squadron, to visit French. Russian, Scandinavian, English, and Mediterranean ports. Both Mrs. Farragut and Mrs. Pennock, who were cousins, accompanied their husbands on this cruise, which proved a constant round of celebrations and entertainments for the distinguished admiral. Pennock was made commodore on May 6, 1868, and succeeded Farragut in command of the European Squadron from October 1868 to February 1869.
Alexander Mosely Pennock was commandant of the Portsmouth navy yard, 1870 - 1872, and, after promotion to the rank of rear admiral in 1872, was in command of the Pacific Squadron from May 1874 to June 1875. He died suddenly of heart trouble at the Rockingham Hotel, Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Quotes from others about the person
In estimating Alexander Mosely Pennock's work Charles Henry Davis, 1807-1877, Foote's successor, wrote, "I cannot use any language too strong to convey a just idea of Capt. Pennock's private and official merit. He is devoted to all his duties, with a simple, honest, straightforward zeal, which gives to the performance of them the zest of pleasure".
David Dexter Porter declared about Pennock "a trump and worth his weight in gold".
Alexander Mosely Pennock's wife was Margaret, daughter of George Loyall of Norfolk, Virginia.
