Background

Francis Asbury Roe was a descendant in the sixth generation of David Roe, who settled in Flushing, Long Island, in the latter part of the seventeenth century. His great-grandfather, Benjamin Roe, fought in the French and Indian War, his grandfather, John Roe, in the Revolution, and his father, Isaac Roe, in the War of 1812. His mother, Hannah Drake, was said to be a direct descendant of Sir Francis Drake. Born in Elmira, New York, United States

Education

He had his schooling in Elmira Academy. He also had a year of instruction at the newly established Naval Academy.

Career

He was appointed an acting midshipman in 1841, cruised on the coast of Brazil and the southeast coast of Africa, and then joined in the suppression of the slave trade on the west coast of Africa. He was later ordered to the Boston and was to have joined the squadron of Commodore O. H. Perry at Vera Cruz, but was prevented from taking an active part in the Mexican War by the grounding and loss of that vessel.

In October 1849, he was dismissed from the service by a sentence of court martial for the disobedience of an illegal order, but was reappointed a passed midshipman and given his former place on the navy list the following year. In 1854, as executive officer of the Porpoise, he had an engagement with thirteen pirate junks at Koulan Bay, China, destroying six and dispersing the others. In the Civil War he was ordered as executive officer to the Pensacola, fitting out at Washington, and after the defeat of the Union army at Bull Run he occupied Fort Ellsworth near Alexandria, Virginia. , with 500 seamen for the defense of Washington. Later he made a perilous run down the Potomac, past nine miles of Confederate batteries, on his way south to join Farragut's fleet. In the attack on New Orleans, the Pensacola steamed past the forts below the city, her position being in the van of the fleet, immediately after the gunboat Cayuga, which led the Union forces. For his capable handling of the ship, Roe was especially commended by Captain Morris in his report. Promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander, he was given command of the gunboat Katahdin, in the fleet that was to keep the Mississippi open from New Orleans to Port Hudson--a task that involved constant fighting. In September 1863, he took command of the double-ended paddle-wheel steamer Sassacus, and while engaged in the blockade of Wilmington, North Carolina

destroyed two blockade-runners, the Wild Dayrell and the Nutfield. On May 5, 1864, when the Union "paste-board fleet" in Albemarle Sound was ineffectually engaging the heavy Confederate ironclad Albemarle, the Sassacus captured the gunboat Bombshell, and then attacked the Albemarle and drove her bronze beak into the casemate of her enemy. In this courageous but unequal combat, the Sassacus was disabled by a shell that exploded her boiler. She fought on, however, until the Albemarle withdrew up the Roanoke River. For this action Roe received a letter of commendation from the secretary of the navy and was advanced five numbers in rank. In 1867 he was ordered to command the Mexican division of the Gulf Squadron. In the Tacony at Vera Cruz he rendered important service at the time when Maximilian was executed and the Mexican imperial government was changed to republican. For his skillful handling of affairs he was given a commendatory letter by the secretary of the navy and was presented to President Johnson at a cabinet meeting. Various assignments followed, the last being that of governor of the Naval Asylum for Retired Seamen at Philadelphia. In 1884 he was promoted to the rank of rear admiral, and in October of the next year was placed on the retired list.

In 1865 he wrote a book that received considerable recognition on Naval Duties and Discipline. After retirement he made his home in Washington, D. C. , and took an active part in the patriotic societies of which he was a member. He occasionally wrote articles for magazines, the most important being a description of the actions of Farragut's fleet in the capture of New Orleans in Self Culture, January 1899.

Works

More photos

• book

  • An American sea captain of colonial times

    (This reproduction was printed from a digital file created...)

  • Naval Duties and Discipline, With Policy and Principles of Naval Organization

    (Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We h...)

  • Naval Duties and Discipline: With Policy and Principles of Naval Organization (1865 )

    (Originally published in 1865. This volume from the Cornel...)

Connections

He was married in September 1849, to Eliza J. Snyder.

enemy:

Sassacus

On May 5, 1864, when the Union "paste-board fleet" in Albemarle Sound was ineffectually engaging the heavy Confederate ironclad Albemarle, the Sassacus captured the gunboat Bombshell, and then attacked the Albemarle and drove her bronze beak into the casemate of her enemy.

Wife:

Eliza

He was married in September 1849, to Eliza J. Snyder.