K. Randolph Breese

Captain Kidder Randolph Breese
Lieutenant Kidder R. Breese, USN
Born	(1831-04-14)April 14, 1831 Philadelphia
Died	September 13, 1881(1881-09-13) (aged 50) Newport, Rhode Island
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1846–1881
Rank	Captain
Commands held	Third Division, Mortar Flotilla, Mississippi Squadron USS Plymouth Commandant of Midshipmen USS Pensacola
Battles/wars	Mexican–American War American Civil War

Captain Kidder Randolph Breese USN (14 April 1831—13 September 1881) was an officer in the United States Navy during the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Breese was appointed a U.S. Navy midshipman in November 1846 and served in the sloop of war Saratoga during the remainder of the war with Mexico. Sea duty continued until October 1851, when he was assigned to the Naval Academy to prepare for examination. Warranted a passed midshipman in June 1852, Breese took part in Commodore Matthew C. Perry's expedition to Japan for the next three years.

In mid-1855, while serving with the Coast Survey, he was promoted to the ranks of master and lieutenant. He served in the sloop of war Preble in 1858 and 1859, during the Paraguay Expedition, and off Panama. Lieutenant Breese's next duties were as an officer of the sloop of war Portsmouth, off Africa, in 1860, and of the steamer San Jacinto from mid-1860 until late 1861.

While he was serving on the San Jacinto, the Civil War began. He was present when she stopped the British steamship RMS Trent and removed two Confederate agents, an incident that provoked a brief crisis in U.S. relations with Great Britain, known as the Trent Affair.