James Armstrong (naval officer)

{{Short description|United States Navy officer 1794–1868}} {{Infobox military person | honorific_prefix = Commodore | name = James Armstrong | honorific_suffix = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = James Armstrong.jpg | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1794|1|17}} | death_date = {{Death date and age|1868|8|27|1794|1|17}} | birth_place = [[Shelbyville, Kentucky]], US | death_place = [[Salem, Massachusetts]], US | burial_place = [[Harmony Grove Cemetery]] | burial_label = | burial_coordinates =  | nickname = | birth_name = | allegiance =  | branch = [[United States Navy]] | service_years = 1809 – 1861 | rank = [[Commodore (United States)|Commodore]] | service_number = | unit = | commands = {{Plainlist | * [[East India Squadron]] * [[Pensacola Navy Yard]] }} | battles = [[War of 1812]] [[Second Opium War]] *[[Battle of the Pearl River Forts]] | battles_label = | awards = | relations = | other_work = | signature = }} Commodore '''James Armstrong''' (17 January 1794 – 27 August 1868) was an officer in the [[United States Navy]].

Armstrong joined the United States Navy as a [[midshipman]] in 1809 and served on the sloop-of-war {{USS|Frolic|1813|2}} when it was seized by the British in 1814 during the [[War of 1812]]. Promoted to [[Commodore (United States)|commodore]] and given command of the [[East India Squadron]] in 1855, Armstrong served aboard the squadron's [[flagship]], {{USS|San Jacinto|1850|2}} during the [[Second Opium War]]. Following the [[battle of the Pearl Forts]], Armstrong's health began to fail and he returned to the United States.

In 1860 Armstrong was given command of the [[Pensacola Navy Yard]]. On January 12, 1861, two days after [[Florida]] voted to [[Secession|secede]] from the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] he surrendered the facility to the secessionists.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Miller |first=J. Michael |accessdate=June 13, 2025|url=https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/Fortitudine%20Vol%2020%20No%204.pdf |date=Spring 1991 |title=Marine's Telling of 1861 Florida Navy Yard Fall Given |journal=[[Fortitudine]] |volume=XX |issue=4 |page=8 |publisher=[[United States Marine Corps History Division]]}}</ref>

Captain Armstrong was Court Martialed on May 4, 1861. "The proceedings of Captain Armstrong's court martial appears to be missing from the rest of the proceedings deposited in the National Archives so the testimony surrounding exactly what happened that day between Conway and Renshaw that lead to the Court submitting a communication to Welles is unavailable. Conway eventually got "some appropriate mark of approbation" bestowed in 1939 and 1942 when hulls DD-70 and DD-507 were named in his honor." - General Naval Order

Armstrong was born in [[Shelbyville, Kentucky]]. He died in [[Salem, Massachusetts]] at the age of 74 and is buried in the [[Harmony Grove Cemetery]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=9dvYAQAAQBAJ&dq=james+armstrong+shelbyville+1794&pg=PA81 ''American Civil War'']</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://phillipslibrarycollections.pem.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15928coll1/id/1202 |title=Phillips Library Digital Collections |access-date=2018-11-15 |archive-date=2019-10-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018143322/http://phillipslibrarycollections.pem.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15928coll1/id/1202 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{Find a Grave|9689279|accessdate=2008-03-27}} *[http://www.westgulfsquadron.net/articles/generalorder.html General Naval Order]

{{S-start}} {{s-mil}} {{succession box|title=Commander, [[East India Squadron]]|before=[[Joel Abbot (naval officer)|Joel Abbot]]|after=[[Josiah Tattnall III]]|years=15 October 1855–29 January 1858}} {{S-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, James}} [[Category:1794 births]] [[Category:1868 deaths]] [[Category:United States Navy commodores]] [[Category:United States Navy officers]] [[Category:People from Shelbyville, Kentucky]] [[Category:People of Kentucky in the American Civil War]] [[Category:United States Navy personnel of the War of 1812]] [[Category:Burials at Harmony Grove Cemetery]]