James Alden, Jr.
| James Alden Jr. | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
March 31, 1810 Portland, Maine |
| Died | February 6, 1877 (aged 66) San Francisco, California |
| Place of burial | Portland, Maine |
| Allegiance |
United States of America Union |
| Service/ |
United States Navy Union Navy |
| Years of service | 1828-1873 |
| Rank |
 Rear Admiral
|
| Battles/wars |
Mexican–American War American Civil War |
James Alden Jr. (March 31, 1810 – February 6, 1877) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy. In the Mexican-American War he participated in the captures of Veracruz, Tuxpan and Tabasco. Fighting on the Union side in the Civil War, he took part in the relief of Fort Pickens, followed by many engagements on the Lower Mississippi, before being promoted Captain of USS Brooklyn and assisting in the Union victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay.
Alden was born in Portland, Maine, and was a direct descendant of John Alden, a Mayflower pilgrim. He was appointed midshipman on April 1, 1828 and spent the initial years of his naval career ashore at the Naval Station in Boston, Massachusetts before he served in the Mediterranean squadron on board the sloop of war USS John Adams. Promoted to passed midshipman on June 14, 1834, Alden then served at the Boston Navy Yard until he was assigned to the United States Exploring Expedition under Lieutenant Charles Wilkes.
During the course of this voyage (1838–1842), the officers and men of the expedition were transferred freely from one vessel to another; Alden, promoted to lieutenant on February 25, 1841, concluded the cruise as executive officer of the sloop USS Porpoise. He saw action at Malolo, in the Fiji Islands, on July 26, 1840, in the punitive expedition against the tribe which had murdered Lieutenant Joseph Underwood and Midshipman Wilkes Henry, the latter a nephew of the expedition's leader, two days before.
After another tour of duty at the naval station at Boston, Alden was assigned to USS Constitution, and circumnavigated the globe in the frigate during her cruise under Captain John ("Mad Jack") Percival. While serving therein, he commanded a boat expedition that cut out several war junks from under the guns of a fort at Zuron Bay, Cochin China. Later serving in the Home Squadron during the Mexican-American War (1846), Alden, an adept surveyor, participated in the captures of Veracruz, Tuxpan and Tabasco.
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