James Lawrence Lardner

Background

James Lawrence Lardner was born in Philadelphia, the grandson of Lynford Lardner, a native of England who came to Pennsylvania in 1740, and the son of John and Margaret (Saltar) Lardner.

Career

After a cruise to India in the merchant ship Bengal in anticipation of entry into the naval service, Lardner became a midshipman May 10, 1820. He was in the Dolphin and the Franklin in the Pacific, 1820-1824; and in the Brandywine which took Lafayette to France, 1825-1826. After promotion to lieutenant, in 1828, he was for three years navigating officer in the Vincennes, during which time she cruised around the world. He was in the Delaware, Mediterranean Squadron, 1833-1834, in the Independence, then the largest frigate in the world, on a cruise to England, Russia, and South America, 1837-38.

During the Mexican War he was in the receiving ship at Philadelphia, and in 1850-1853 he commanded the Porpoise on the African coast. In 1851 he was promoted to commander and just after the opening of the Civil War he was made captain in May 1861. In September following he was assigned to the steam frigate Susquehanna, which he commanded at Port Royal, South Carolina, November 7, 1861, and in subsequent operations on the South Carolina and Georgia coast. The Susquehanna was next to the flagship in the Port Royal action. In June 1862, Lardner took command of the East Gulf Blockading Squadron, receiving the rank of commodore in July, but in November he was invalided home with yellow fever, from which forty died on his flagship alone.

In June 1863, he succeeded Charles Wilkes in command of the West India Squadron, which consisted of about ten ships, and was charged with the duties of protecting commerce and completing the blockade. Secretary of the Navy Welles spoke of Lardner at this time somewhat dubiously as "discreet, prudent, perhaps overcautious" (Diary of Gideon Welles, 1911, I, 319). Prudence was desirable in view of recent British complaints about questionable ship seizures in this area, and the Commodore's other qualities were not put to severe test, for at the end of his cruise, October 3, 1864, he reported "no rebel cruiser in the West Indies for the last sixteen months" (Official Records, 1 ser. III, 249). He retired in November 1864.

In July 1866, he was made rear admiral, and from 1869 to 1872 he was governor of the Naval Asylum in Philadelphia. He died in Philadelphia from a kidney ailment and was buried in Oxford Episcopal Church near Frankford, Pennsylvania.

Achievements

• Lardner served with distinction during the American Civil War. He commanded the brig "Porpoise" and the sloop-of-war "Dale" in the Africa Squadron, the steam frigate "Susquehanna". He took a prominent part in the Battle of Port Royal and the capture of Forts Walker and Beauregard. He was commended for gallantry in action by Rear Admiral Samuel F. Du Pont. His name was sent to Congress for a vote of thanks by President Abraham Lincoln A destroyer launched in 1919 was named for him.

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

• After the battle at Port Royal, Rear Admiral Samuel F. Du Pont stated to Lardner: "Your noble ship throughout the whole of the battle, was precisely where I wanted her to be, and doing precisely what I wanted her to do, and your close support of this ship was a very gallant thing" (Official Records, 1 ser. XX, 286-87).
  
  Admiral Robley D. Evans, who served under him in the Civil War, describes him as "one of the finest specimens of the old navy, a splendid seaman, a courteous, kindly gentleman, brave to the point of recklessness. " He continues: "To a naturally fluent tongue the admiral added a vocabulary of oaths so fine that it was musical, and when aroused he did not hesitate to speak his mind in the language all seamen understood. At the same time his black eyes shone like fireflies, and his white mustache bristled" (A Sailor's Log, 1901, pp. 61-62).
  
  The Secretary's Order at his death declared that "his whole career in the service was marked by purity of character, intelligence, and devotion to duty" (Army and Navy Journal, Apr. 23, 1881, p. 737).

Connections

Lardner was married first, February 2, 1832, to Margaret Wilmer, by whom he had five children, two of whom survived him. After his first wife's death in 1846, he married June 23, 1853, Ellen Wilmer, by whom he had two sons.

Father:

John Lardner

Mother:

Margaret (Saltar) Lardner

Spouse:

Ellen Wilmer

Spouse:

Margaret Wilmer

Grandfather:

Lynford Lardner