Charles Goodwin Ridgeley was an officer in the United States Navy.
Background
Charles Goodwin Ridgeley, the fourth of thirteen children of Dr. Lyde Goodwin and Abigail Levy, was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He was a descendant of Austin Goodwin of Bristol, England, who settled in Baltimore County, Maryland, about 1730.
Career
As a condition of receiving a legacy under the will of his uncle, Charles Ridgely, he assumed the latter's surname.
Ridgely entered the United States navy as a midshipman on October 19, 1799, during the naval hostilities with France, but there appears to be no record of his services at that time.
In 1803 and early in 1804 he was attached to the frigate Constitution, flagship of Commodore Preble, in the war with Tripoli, and was later transferred to the schooner Nautilus. During the bombardment of that city and the naval battle of August 3, 1804, he served on gunboat No. 1, with Richard Somers, and took part in the hard fighting in the harbor of Tripoli on that memorable day.
On September 4, when Somers took the ketch Intrepid into the harbor as a fire-ship, Ridgely, on board the Nautilus, was able to follow her movements with a night-glass up to the last moment before she blew up. Many years later he gave an account of this episode in the Naval Magazine, March 1836. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant on Feburary 2, 1807, and to commander on July 24, 1813.
During the war of 1812 he commanded the sloop-of-war Erie, but was blockaded in the harbor of Baltimore and unable to get to sea.
In 1814 he was transferred with his crew to Lake Ontario where he took command of the 22-gun brig Jefferson, in the squadron of Commodore Chauncey. There he took part in the relatively unimportant movements of the squadron.
He was promoted to the rank of captain on Feburary 28, 1815, and again commanded the Erie, which sailed in July for the Mediterranean in the powerful squadron of nine vessels under Commodore Bainbridge. He remained about three years in the Mediterranean where he took part in the activities incident to the subduing of the Barbary powers. He was in command of the naval station at Baltimore for a few years beginning in 1820 and in 1827, after a short leave of absence, he was given command of the West India Squadron. His flagship was the sloop-of-war Natchez and his force consisted of six vessels. Piracy had recently been suppressed in the West Indies after several years of hard struggle but sporadic cases continued to arise from time to time, requiring the presence of a strong naval force in these waters for a prolonged period. He remained on this station about two years and during this time at least one case of piracy and the brutal murder of the crew of an American merchantman took place. At the end of this tour of duty Ridgely enjoyed a four years' leave of absence.
From 1834 to 1839 he was commandant of the New York navy yard. In 1840 and 1841 he served his last sea duty in command of the Brazil Squadron of five vessels with the frigate Potomac as his flagship. After a year on waiting orders he again took command of the naval station at Baltimore where he ended his service on the active list. His few remaining years were passed in retirement, among his family and friends in Baltimore.
Achievements
Connections
In 1822 he married Cornelia L. Livingston, the daughter of Robert L. Livingston, and had three daughters, one of whom married William Henry Hunt.