William Branford Shubrick | |
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Born | 31 October 1790 South Carolina |
Died |
27 May 1874 (aged 83) Washington, D.C. |
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/branch | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1806–1861 |
Rank | Rear Admiral |
Battles/wars |
Battle of Quallah Battoo Mexican-American War |
Signature |
William Branford Shubrick (31 October 1790 – 27 May 1874) was an officer in the United States Navy. His active-duty career extended from 1806 to 1861, including service in the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War; he was placed on the retired list in the early months of the Civil War.
Born at "Belvedere Plantation," Bull's Island, South Carolina (now an undeveloped barrier island within the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge), to Mary Branford and Colonel Thomas Shubrick, William was the sixth son and ninth child of the family of sixteen. His father served in the Continental Army under Generals Nathanael Greene and Benjamin Lincoln during the American Revolutionary War. Two of his sons joined the army and four sons including William chose naval career. He briefly studied at Harvard College in 1805-1806 before being commissioned a midshipman on June 20, 1806 at the age of sixteen joining his older brother, John Templer Shubrick.
He started his active service on the Mediterranean Squadron in USS Wasp in May 1807. It was aboard this ship where he met his lifelong friend James Fenimore Cooper, who was assigned to the Wasp in November 1809. At the end of 1809, Shubrick transferred to the Atlantic Squadron to Argus and sailed along the Atlantic coast of the United States.
Shubrick was promoted to lieutenant on January 5, 1812 on the eve of the War of 1812. After duty in Hornet, he was assigned to Constellation. While that frigate was at Norfolk, Virginia, on 22 June 1813 he led a party of bluejackets in beating off a British attack against Craney Island. He subsequently was awarded the Congressional medal for service in Constitution during her capture of HMS Cyane and Levant.