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American naval officer (1793–1844) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Beverley Kennon (April 7, 1793 – February 28, 1844) was a career officer in the United States Navy who attained the rank of captain as head of the Bureau of Construction and Repair. He died as a result of the explosion aboard USS Princeton.
Beverley Kennon | |
---|---|
Born | Mecklenburg County, Virginia, U.S. | April 7, 1793
Died | February 28, 1844 50) At sea near Fort Washington, Maryland, U.S. | (aged
Buried | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1809–1844 |
Rank | Captain (Actual) Commodore (Customary) |
Commands | USS Vandalia USS Macedonian Washington Navy Yard Bureau of Construction and Repair |
Battles / wars | War of 1812 Second Barbary War |
Spouse(s) |
Elizabeth Dandridge (died 1832)Britania Peter (m. 1842) |
Beverley Kennon was born in Mecklenburg County, Virginia on April 7, 1793, the son of Richard Kennon and Elizabeth Beverley (Munford) Kennon.[1] His father was a veteran of the American Revolution and a political leader of early Virginia who served terms in both the House of Delegates and the State Senate.[1]
Beverley Kennon was educated in Mecklenburg County, and in 1809 was appointed a midshipman in the United States Navy.[1] He served in the War of 1812, including a posting to USS Superior on Lake Ontario.[2] In 1813, he received his commission as a lieutenant (junior grade), and he made the Navy his career.[1] During the Second Barbary War he served on USS Constellation (as did his brother George, the ship's surgeon), and he was involved in the capture of the Algerian ship Mashouda.[1]
Kennon was promoted to master commandant in 1828, and in 1830 he was assigned as commander of USS Vandalia.[1] He was promoted to captain in 1837;[1] he commanded USS Macedonian from 1838 to 1841, and the Washington Navy Yard from 1841 to 1843.[1] In March 1843, Kennon was assigned as head of the Navy's Bureau of Construction and Repair, and he served in this position until his death.[1] As a senior Navy captain, Kennon was permitted to use the title commodore, which is how he was frequently addressed.[3]
Kennon died aboard ship near Fort Washington, Maryland on February 28, 1844.[1] On that date, USS Princeton departed Alexandria, Virginia on a demonstration cruise down the Potomac River.[4] In attendance were President John Tyler, members of his Cabinet, former First Lady Dolley Madison, Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri, and approximately four hundred guests.[4]
As part of the demonstration, Captain Robert F. Stockton decided to fire the larger of the ship's two new long guns, Peacemaker.[4] The gun was fired three times on the trip downriver and was loaded to fire a salute to George Washington as the ship passed Mount Vernon on the return trip.[4] The guests aboard ship observed the first set of firings and then retired below decks for lunch and refreshments.[5]
Afterwards, Thomas Walker Gilmer, the Secretary of the Navy and a lifelong friend of Kennon's, urged the guests to view the final shot of the Peacemaker.[4] When Captain Stockton pulled the firing lanyard, the gun burst. Its left side had failed, spraying hot metal across the deck and shrapnel into the crowd.[6] Instantly killed were: Kennon; Gilmer; the Secretary of State, Abel P. Upshur; Maryland attorney and politician Virgil Maxcy; David Gardiner, a New York lawyer and politician; and the President's valet, a black slave named Armistead.[7] Another sixteen to twenty people were injured, including several members of the ship's crew, Senator Benton, and Captain Stockton.[8][9] The President was below decks and not injured.[10]
The dead were accorded a state funeral in the East Room of the White House.[3] Kennon was first buried at Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.,[3] and later re–interred In Lot 544 of Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington.[11]
Kennon's first wife was Elizabeth Dandridge of Virginia (1808–1832);[1] in 1842, he married Dandridge's distant relative, Britannia Peter (1815–1911) of Tudor Place in Georgetown;[1] she was the daughter of Martha Parke Custis Peter and Thomas Peter, and great-granddaughter of Martha Washington, and step-great-granddaughter of George Washington.[1]
With his first wife, Kennon's children were sons Beverley Kennon Jr. (1830–1890)[1] and William Dandridge Kennon (1832–1872).[12] Beverley Kennon Jr. served as an officer in the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War,[1] and later became a mercenary in Egypt.[13] William Kennon was a Confederate soldier in the Civil War, and served in the 4th Virginia Cavalry and Woolfolk's Battery of Alexander's Artillery Battalion.[14] In addition, William D. Kennon served aboard the ship Campbell as a member of the United States Revenue Cutter Service.[15]
With his second wife, Beverley Kennon was the father of a daughter, Martha Custis Kennon Peter (1843–1886).[13]
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