The Hissem-Montague Family

This branch of the family is famous for a prominent line of physicians, including the inventor of the heart-lung bypass machine, and an Army Major General of the Union Army during the Civil War and his Confederate brothers.

Mary is the matriarch of this line. She was the oldest daughter of Captain William Heysham of Philadelphia. She ws born on 29 December 1761 and christened on 03 January 1762 at Christ Church and Saint Peters, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Saint Peters was a subsidiary to Christ Church, built when the congregation became too large for the older facility. I suspect Mary’s christening was taken from a joint record of the two churches, so she was christened in one church or the other, not both. Looking at her father’s record and her marriage, I’ll assume she was christened at the larger Christ Church.

Like her younger sister, Ann, she was the daughter of a prosperous ship-captain/merchant and, as such, lived a relatively privileged life on Arch street, in Philadelphia. She would have received a basic education in reading, writing, arthimetic and morals, but it was from her mother that she would have gained her real education in how to run a household, raise an upstanding family, and be a suitable consort of an up-and-coming young man.

Mary was 13 years old when the Revolution began at Lexington & Concord in 1775, and 15 when the army of General Howe occuppied Philadelphia. Her father had been in the forefront of the patriot cause in the lead-up to the war and was an officer in the militia, probably in the supply corps. Her eldest brother, William Jr., was at sea at the time, a junior officer onboard a privateer. Her other brother, Robert, while still at home, was in the militia and fought the British at Trenton and Brandywine. I suspect Mary, her sister, and her mother aided the cause in the same manner women over the ages have done, in making bandages, knitting & sewing garments and blankets for the soldiers, etc. Its probable given their background that the family fled the city during the British occupation. Their home, in one of the better neighborhoods, would have been seized to house British officers and undoubtedly suffered as a result. While the occupations was not a severe one, the troops took as good a care of property that was not their own as you might expect. When the British departed, many portable goods left with them.

Mary was a witness and heir, along with her mother and sister, to the will of Susannah Cumming of Philadelphia. The will was signed 17 November 1789 and proved on 26 April 1791. Mary's father and brother, Robert, were executors.

"Cumming, Susannah. (Late of City of Phil'a.) Mooreland, Co of Philad'a. Widow. Signed Nov. 17. 1789. Son- Joseph. Nieces- Margaret Craft and her Daughter Maria. Nephew- James Craft. Friends- Mrs. Mary Heysham and her Daughters Mary and Ann, Katharine, Mary, Phibe, and Rachel Comley, James Mounteer. James (Son of Joshua Comley). Exec. Joseph Cumming, Robert Heysham, William Heysham Senr. Witnesses- Joshua Comly, Ann Heysham. Prov'd. Ap. 26. 1791."

Mary Heysham married Dr. John Hannum Gibbons, a Quaker, in 1794 in Philadelphia. She was 32 years old at the time. John was 3 years her senior. His family had come to America from Wiltshire, England in 1684. He was a physician and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. He received "a part of his education in Edinburg, Scotland" - from "Genealogy of the Hannum Family." His practice was in Philadelphia and the couple settled on Arch street, perhaps in her father's house. It is interesting to note that Mary’s sister, Ann, also married a Doctor, Francis Bowes Sayre, in 1792. Did the doctors meet the two sisters through their own mutual acqauintance, or vice versa [interesting, too, that the younger sister married first]? Also of interest was that the Gibbons family were Quakers. Was John Hannum Gibbons still a Quaker at the time of his marriage and, if not, when did he change?

John had graduated from the University of Edinburgh of Medicine in 1786. "In 1789 and for some years afterwards he lectured on the "Theory and Practice of Medicine." - from "History of medicine in the United States: With a Supplemental Chapter on the Discovery of..." by Francis Randolph Packard.

Interestingly, "Dr. John Hannum Gibbons, Philadelphia physician" was mentioned by John Adams in a Letter to Thomas Jefferson, in London, on 30 November 1786 - from "The Adams-Jefferson Letters: the complete correspondence between Thomas Jefferson and Abigail and John Adams," edited by Lester J. Cappon, pg 156. It was in this letter that Jefferson first learned of "Shay's Rebellion" in western Massachusetts. In his reply he famously said "I like a little rebellion now and then. It is like a storm in the atmosphere." I haven't looked up this book yet.

Dr. Gibbon and his new wife settled down in Arch Street, perhaps living with Mary's father, William Heysham. - from "History of medicine in the United States: With a Supplemental Chapter on the Discovery of..." by Francis Randolph Packard.

At the end of the summer of 1793 the Yellow Fever had returned to Philadelphia. People developed violent fevers, yellow skin, and black vomit (from intestinal hemorrhages), and often died within a few days. In response to a request by the Mayor, 16 of the 26 Fellows of the College of Physicians met to discuss what should be done. Among the Fellows was John H. Gibbons - From "Bring out Your Dead: The Great Plague of Yellow Fever in Philadelphia in 1793" by J. H. Powell, 1993. Note that Dr. Adam Kuhn, another Fellow, who had a run-in with Mary's father, William Heysham, was greatly vilified for leaving town at this time to live in Bethlehem. He left many patients behind that other doctors had to treat. Gibbons himself became ill from the fever in September, though he apparently recovered. Unlike Dr. Frances Sayre, his brother-in-law, he was not a protege of Benjamin Rush, but more closely his equal. When the epidemic faded in November, one-tenth of the city's residents had died and over 17,000 others had fled the city.

John was an Edinburgh-trained physician and this may have been his introduction into the higher levels of medical society in Philadelphia and for admission to the College of Physicians.

John's brother-in-law, Francis Bowes Sayre, was an associate of Benjamin Rush, one of America's most famous doctors. Rush exchanged medical data with numerous doctors, including a Dr. John Gibbons of Delaware. John H. Gibbons was from Delaware county. Could this be the same man? Could Ann and Mary Heysham's husbands have met through their mutual acquaintance with Rush?

John Hannum Gibbons died soon after he married, on 4 October 1795, predeceasing his own father by 4 years. He was only 36 years old. This would have been just 8 months after the birth of his son, John Heysham Gibbons. There is no indication of how, or from what, he died, but as a Doctor he frequently came in contact with infectious diseases. Note that Yellow Fever struck Philadlephia in 1793, 1794, 1797, 1798, 1802, 1803, 1805, 1819, 1820, and 1853.

Mary Heysham Gibbons died 29 years later, on 29 January 1824, while still living in Philadelphia, and was buried alongside her husband at the Christ Church Burying Ground. She and John had only one child,
(22) Dr. John Heysham Gibbon (1795)

He was born on 14 February 1795 [his tombstone shows 1796] in Philadelphia [or possibly Westtown, Chester county, next door to Philadelphia]. His father died 8 months later, perhaps of the Yellow Fever which was recurrent through the 1790's. Did John's widowed mother receive support from the Gibbons, Hannum or Heysham families? John was named in his Grandfather Joseph Gibbons' will of 18 August 1796. It provided for his grandson, referred to as John Haysham [sic] Gibbons of Philadelphia, "when of age." His uncles James M. Gibbons and Joseph Gibbons were executors of the will and probably helped fund young John's education. William Heysham, his maternal grandfather, was also alive at this time and capable of providing support.

He studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, perhaps in memory of his father and at the urging of his mother, but he never practiced. He probably attended the school from about 1815 to 1820, or thereabouts. Note that in 1816, at the age of 21, he would have received the bequest from his grandfather's will.

John married Catherine Lardner [sometimes referred to as Katherine] on 4 November 1819. She was born on 31 March 1799 [or 1800] in Philadelphia, the daughter of William Lardner, of "Lynfield," near Holmseburg in Philadelphia county, and Ann Shepard [Shepherd], of Newborn, North Carolina. This was an excellent marriage. William was the son of Lynford Lardner, the elder, who had been an attorney for the Penn family and a member of the Pennsylvania Provincial Council.

John and Catherine had ten children, Lardner, Robert, Mary, John Hannum, Catherine, Anna, Virginia, Nicholas Biddle, Margaret and Frances, who died young.

In the 1830 census for Lower Dublin township, Philadelphia county, Pennsylvania as John H. Gibbon. The village of Holmesburg, where his children were born, was situated in Lower Dublin Township. At the time he had 1 boy under 5, two boys who were 5-10, and one man 30 to 40 years old. Women in the house included 1 girl under 5, 1 who was 5 to 10, and 1 woman 30 to 40 years old.

In 1832 John H. Gibbon, Dem, appears on a list in both the 'Star and Republican Banner' and the 'Gettysburg Compiler,' two newspapers of the day, as a newly elected Representative to the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives from Philadelphia county. Lynford Lardner, the younger, his wife's cousin, was also elected. This would have been a two-year term. The House was made up of 61 Democrats, 33 Anti-Masons, 5 National Republicans and 1 Undetermined. Pennsylvania was primarily a Democratic party state, having turned against what many saw as the aristocratic leanings of the Federalists. Both governors from 1823 to 1834 were Democrats. Politics changed in 1834, however, when a Whig party candidate took the governorhsip. Note that the state government was located in Harrisburg.

Also in 1832, and perhaps related to his election that year, an act was passed to incorporate the Philadelphia and Trenton railroad company. Dr. J.H. Gibbon, of Philadelphia was amongst a long list of men "appointed commissioners, to construct a railroad of one or more tracts, from the district of Kensington, through the borough of Frankford, intersecting the Delaware division of the Pa. canal, in the borough of Bristol, to the Trenton Delaware bridge in the borough of Morrisville. 23 Feb 1832." - from "The Statutes at Large of Pennsylvania," Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1911, Laws Passed Session 1831-1832. I suspect this meant that the Doctor was one of the lines' backers and early shareholders.

I wonder how the Doctor did in the stock sale? It was about this time that John began looking for a midshipman's berth on a Navy ship for his eldest son, Lardner. John's position in the Assembly probably helped in that endeavour. Unless re-elected, John would have been out of office by the end of 1834 and looking for something to do.

In 1835 John appears to have accompanied Charles Biddle in a survey of the Panama Isthmus for a possible railroad. I wonder whether Biddle took Gibbon along for his knowledge of mineralogy (assuming he had any), of railroads, of the financing of railroads, or simply as a companion. Charles was the son of Captain Charles Biddle and Hannah Shepard, and the brother of Nicholas Biddle, the head of the Bank of the United States. Hannah Shepard's sister was John H. Gibbon's mother-in-law. From “Isthmus of Panama: History of the Panama Railroad” by F.N. [Fessenden Nott] Otis, M.D, New York, 1867:

“Pursuant to a resolution offered by the Hon. Henry Clay, of Kentucky, in the Senate of the United States, in the year 1835, the President, General Andrew Jackson, appointed Mr. Charles Biddle, formerly of Philadelphia, then of Tennessee, as a commissioner to visit the different routes on the Continent of America best adapted for inter-oceanic communication, and to report thereon, with reference to their value to the commercial interests of the United States.
Mr. Biddle, accompanied by Dr. Gibbon, of Philadelphia, sailed from that port for St. Jago de Cuba, to gain preliminary information regarded to be important.” See Isthmus of Panama for the complete book.

The Panama Railroad In 1835 President Jackson commissioned Charles A. Biddle, an Army Colonel, to go to Nicaragua and the Isthmus of Panama, survey the ground, and report on the different routes which had been proposed for interoceanic communication. Biddle, being greatly impressed with what he saw of the Panama route, did not carry out the whole of his instructions, never visiting Nicaragua, but instead proceeded to Bogota, where he succeeded in securing a private franchise for a trans-Isthmian railroad. This action put his mission and his reputation under a cloud. He returned to the United State in 1837 with this franchise, but died before he was able to prepare a report. This project for a railroad might have materialized immediately, but the Panic of 1837 prevented it from being properly financed. The railroad was finally begun in 1850. Biddle determined, by the way, that it ought to be clear to anyone that it would be impossible to build a canal through the malarial jungles of Panama.

The Panamanian travelors returned to the United States late in 1836, but Charles Biddle died soon thereafter, on 31 December 1836. An official report of the expedition was never made. Note that John's eldest son, Lardner, mimiced his father's adventure, making his own expedition to South America in 1851.

By this time John may have been looking for a government sinecure. On 27 February 1837 the President, Andrew Jackson, nominated J. H. Gibbon to be assayer of the branch mint at Charlotte, North Carolina. On 2 March the Congress consented. In 1838 Gibbon accepted the appointment and moved his family there.

Was John a trained mineralogist or was his appointment purely political? While he may have been an amateur "rock hound," and could have practiced this avocation in Panama, I have to think he was chosen more because of his family and political connections.

Men hired to make coins at the Charlotte facilty attended special training at the Mint in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and John probably did too. When the Charlotte Mint opened, the superintendent's salary was $2,000 per year. The chief coiner, John R. Bolton, earned $1,500 per year. The assayer, J. H. Gibbon, earned $1,000 per year.

Unlike at the Philadelphia Mint where the roles of assayer and melter-refiner were separated, at the Charlotte Mint Dr. J.H. Gibbon had both jobs and was, when the Mint first opened, overwhelmed by the tasks. This caused a several month delay in minting the first coins because he simply couldn't do all the work by himself. Does this portray an unfamiliarity with his duties that would be implicit in a political appointment?

Gibbon remained the Assayer during the entire period the facility was a U.S. Mint and throughout the Civil War under the Confederacy.

The Assay process During the assaying process, other metals like lead, copper and silver were extracted from the gold. When the metal was first melted it was poured into molds like those to the right.

"In July 1838, worried about the chance of fire at Charlotte's Mint, one of its officials, John Heysham Gibbon, issued a warning. He reminded Superintendent John Wheeler Hill that the city operated only one fire truck, located far from the Mint. Gibbon suggested installing buckets and tanks to collect rainwater in and around the building. Hill partly complied, but one day disaster struck. On 27 July 1844 John Heysham Gibbon's gruesome prediction came true. Fire erupted at the Charlotte Mint and destroyed the stately building on Charlotte's West Trade Street. Gibbon had tried to warn Mint officials about the need for fire protection six years previous."

In the 1840 census of Mecklenburg county, North Carolina as John H. Gibbon. His household included had 1 boy under 5, 2 boys 10 to 15, and a man 40 to 50. Women in the housefhold included 2 girls under 5, 1 girl 5 to 10, and 2 girls 10 to 15, and a woman 30 to 40 years old. For an excellent history of the region, see History of Charlotte-Mecklenburg by Dr. Dan L. Morrill.

On 9 February 1842 in the House of Representatives, "Mr. Fillmore presented a petition of John H. Gibbons, praying to be allowed and paid 134 dollars for services rendered in transcribing, in part, the opinions of the Attorneys General, in answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 23d March, 1840; which petition was referred to the Committee of Claims." Is this our John?

Gibbon, though born in Philadelphia, became more Southern in his outlook and opinions than the Southerners themsevles. On the eve of the Civil War, John is noted as being a "Democrat and a slaveholder." A footnote in Chapter XV of "The Church And Social Control," reads: For the Biblical justification of slavery by a North Carolina doctor, see J. H. Gibbon, "The Institution of Slavery in Accordance with the Principles of the Moral Law," DeBow's Review, XVI, 410-13. John Heysham Gibbon’s opinions had moved very far from his Quaker forebears.

He appears to have been a writer on many subjects and was, as was typical of the era, an amateur naturalist. In 1845 J.H. Gibbon published an article, "Gold of North Carolina," in the American Journal of Science. In 1850 the Doctor found a meteorite "near the post office at Flows, 22 miles east of Charlotte." "An account of the principal circumstances attending the fall of the mass has been given by Dr. J.H. Gibbon, of the United States Branch Mint, Charlotte, N.C. . . ." - from "Summarized Proceedings . . . and a Directory of Members," by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He appears to have been a member of the Association. An article, "Meteorite in North Carolina," was published in the American Journal of Science. It was also published in the Philosophical Magazine and abstracted in 5 other scientific journals. John also wrote a paper "On some of the applications of Natural Sciences to the moral laws of ancient nations." He may have been a member of the American Philsophical Society as well. He presented a paper to them titled "Report on the Utility of a uniform System in Measures, Weights, Fineness and Decimal Accounts, for the Standard Coinage of Commerical Nations," 1854. He wrote three such historical papers on the subject.

I haven't yet been able to find the Doctor and his family in the 1850 census, though I do have Robert living on his own in a boarding house in Charlotte. Note that the first passenger train service did not reach Charlotte until 1852.

At about this time the Doctor's son, Lardner, returned from his expedition to South America. He apparently brought back some ancient relics with him. In "Prehistoric Man: Researches Into the Origin of Civilization in the Old and the New World," of 1862, its author, Daniel Wilson, remarks that "Dr. J. H. Gibbon, of the United States Mint, has favored me with the analysis of another chisel or crow-bar, brought from the neighborhood of Cuzco by his son, Lieutenant Lardner Gibbon, who formed one of the members of the Amazon Expedition."

In the 1860 census of Mecklenburg county, North Carolina as Dr. John Gibbon,a 65 year old. Living with him is Catherine, 62, Nicholas, 21, Margaret, 28, Catherine, 27, Mary 29 [?], Alice, 25, and Virginia, 20.

North Carolina seceded from the Union on 20 May 1861. The Charlotte Greys, a local Confederate unit, seized the Charlotte mint and turned it over to the Confederate States government on 27 June. As with the Federal mint at New Orleans, the employees resigned from federal employment, but kept their jobs once they swore allegiance to the Confederacy. The bullion kept by the mints was confiscated. Minting continued as before in New Orleans using Union dies. Though a new coin design was soon produced, the Confederate government decided that coins were "a waste of means and money," because they feared that there would not be enough bullion to produce circulating coinage, and that most of the coins produced would be exported and melted outside the nation. As a result the New Orleans Mint was ordered to suspend its operations and the South committed itself to a policy of paper money. Although the main Southern mint had closed, the desire to establish some sort of Southern metallic currency never died out. At one point John Gibbon, in his role as Assayer of the Charlotte Mint, suggested to the North Carolina Governor John W. Ellis, that their gold be used to make 1,000 five-dollar gold pieces bearing a unique state design. Nothing ever came from this suggestion because the Governor never took it seriously. All the southern mints were eventually converted into assay offices.

Gibbon attended a convention of Southern teachers during the war. Their self-described mission:

"Resolved, That this Association recommend a general convention of the teachers of the Confederate States, to be held at ----on----1863, to take into consideration the best means for supplying the necessary text-books for schools and colleges, and for uniting their efforts for the advancement of education in the Confederacy; and that the Executive Committee of the Association be directed to correspond with teachers in the various States on the subject." - from the “Proceedings of the Convention of Teachers of the Confederate States”, Assembled at Columbia, South Carolina, April 28th, 1863.

“Resolved, That it be recommended by this Convention, to introduce the Constitution of the Confederate States as a text-book in all public schools." - from the “Ante-Bellum North Carolina: A Social History”, Johnson, Guion Griffis, 1900- 1989.

During the war the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region was important strategically to the South. It had been a major railroad junction which, in time of war, transformed the region into a major manufacturing and distribution center for the South. The most important local facility was the Confederate Naval Yard, which produced mines, anchors, gun carriages, and marine engines. Other important facilities included a powder factory and the Mecklenburg Gun Factory, run by Dr. J.H. Gibbon.

"Prominent antebellum entrepreneurs invested in two new wartime industries: a powder-manufacturing company and a gun factory. Patriotic and profit-driven Charlotte entrepreneurs happily embraced the opportunity to take advantage of well-paying government contracts and the Confederacy's lucrative offer to subsidize powder and arms manufacturing. Local businesspeople, headed by lawyer S. W. Davis, established the North Carolina Powder Manufacturing Company on Tuckaseegee Road. That same year, William Phifer and J. M. Springs called a public meeting to form a joint-stock company to manufacture ordinance and shells. The company, noted the Western Democrat, was made up of "a goodly number of our wealthy and most influential citizens," who subscribed $15,000 for the factory. Dr. J. H. Gibbon served as president of the Mecklenburg Gun Factory, and the board included lawyer J. H. Wilson and planter A. B. Davidson." - from "Bittersweet Legacy: The Black and White "Better Classes" in Charlotte, 1850-1910" by Janette Thomas Greenwood, 1994.

Several letters of John H. Gibbon, circa 1863.

"I have just received a letter from my youngest Son, Capt. Nicholas Gibbon, 28 Regt. N.C. Troops, in the General Hospital No. 8 in Raleigh, where he is obliged to remain for want of an extension of his furlought, that he may not be reported . . ."

"I have just received a letter from my son Dr. Robert Gibbon, Senior Surgeon B. Gen. Lane's Brigade, dated 22 June, "in The Valley of Virginia, near Winchester," who writes, "If you think that it is necessary for an extension, all Nicholas has to do is to . . . " - from "Papers" by William Alexander Graham, Max Ray Williams, Mary Reynolds Peacock.

The war ended in 1865. The local economy crashed, there was little hard currency left in circulation, and crime, especially theft, became rampant. Gibbon's future now depended on how the Federal government would treat those who had been in its employ, and then rebelled. In May 1865 Union troops occupied the region and their commander, Colonel Willard Warner, announced that ". . . all persons who wish to engage or are engaged in any business, are required to take the oath of allegiance to the United States." - from "The Civil War In Charlotte-Mecklenburg" by Dr. Dan L. Morrill.

On 29 December 1865 the President, Andrew Johnson, noted that "A commission having been granted during the recess of the Senate to John H. Gibbon as assayer of the branch mint at Charlotte, in the State of North Carolina, to fill a vacancy, I now nominate him to the same." On 29 January 1866 the nomination for a post unknown for a John H. Gibbon was referred to the Congressional Committee on Finance where it was tabled. On 26 June 1866 the President then nominated "Isaac Walter Jones, of Salisbury, North Carolina, to be assayer of the U. S. branch mint at Charlotte, in the State of North Carolina, vice J. H. Gibbon who cannot qualify." Then, on 6 March 1867 the President told the Senate that "I nominate Isaac W. Jones to be assayer of the branch mint at Charlotte, N. C., in place of J. H. Gibbon, who failed to take the oath, no action having been taken upon this nomination during the last session of the Senate." The Charlotte branch never reopened as a mint, but did operate from 1867 to 1913 as an Assay office. It is interesting that Gibbon, as a rebel and an old one at that, was even considered for this post. I had at first thought that he was not have been able to qualify simply due to his age. He was, afterall, 71 years old. However, it seems clear that the old rebel simply could not work for a Federal government he had so opposed - he would not take the oath.

The Mint opened in 1867 as an assay office only with Mr. Jones in charge.

John died on 16 December 1868 and was buried in the Elmwood Cemetery, Charlotte, North Carolina. From "The Chicago Historical Society," page 161:

Gibbon, Dr. J. H., d. in Baltimore, Md. Dec. 16, 1868, a. 74; was a native of Philadelphia, but had lived south many years, and was the father of Maj. Gen. J. H. Gibbon.

Catherine died on 20 December 1874 in Charlotte and was buried alongside her husband. Their children were,
(23) Richard Gibbon (c1819)
(23) Lardner A. Gibbon (1820)
(23) Dr. Robert Gibbon (1822)
(23) Mary Gibbon (c1825), unmarried
(23) General John Hannum Gibbon (1827)
(23) Catherine Gibbon (c1830)
(23) Anna Gibbon (c1833)
(23) Virginia Gibbon (c1835)
(23) Nicholas Biddle Gibbon (1837)
(23) Margaret Gibbon (c1838)

A spurious entry. Per Mrs. Helen C. Kinney, grand-daughter of Nicholas Biddle Gibbon, the oldest Gibbon brother, Richard, served in the Confederate Navy. His brother Robert served in the 28th North Carolina Infantry and became a surgeon in Brig. Gen. James Lanes brigade. His youngest brother, Nicholas, also served in the 28th North Carolina. Two brothers-in-law, Richard Lardner and James Humbert, were also Confederate officers.

I'm guessing this is a typo or an error in memory by Miss Kinney. Richard, the eldest brother and naval officer, is actually Lardner Gibbon, below.

John H. Gibbon's first son, Lardner was born on 12 [13?] August 1820 in the Holmesburg district of Philadelphia. His interesting first name was clearly a nod to the family of John's wife, Catherine Lardner Gibbon. I don't know what his middle initial stood for and there is a question whether he had a middle name at all. Lardner's younger brother, Nicholas Biddle, noted that his father disliked middle names and that he was the only child of the family to get one.

One of Lardner's earliest memories was of the week-long visit of Lafayette to the city. In 1824 President Monroe invited the 68 year old Marquis for a visit to the country he had helped make possible. Lafayette was received with wild adulation wherever he went. When asked by hosts how he wished to be introduced to his audiences, he replied,"As an American General." From 28 September to 6 October 1824 he visited Philadelphia, making an unforgettable speech at the State House, today's Independence Hall. Lardner remembered that he "had looked through the rails of the fence at the procession on that occasion as it passed by and recalled the hearty welcome way in which the famouse Frenchman received the guests at a reception near Holmesburg . . ." Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania was named in honor of the man and his visit. Lafayette died in 1834.

Lardner was appointed a midshipman in the U. S. Navy "when about 15 years of age [1835]" - from "United States Congressional Serial Set." I have a contrary reference that "Lardner Gibbon was appointed a midshipman on December 22, 1837. He was then 17 years 4 months and 9 days old." - from "United States Congressional Serial Set." The "Naval Register of the United States Navy, 1851" confirms this. I suppose the term "about" covered a lot of territory. This was in the period before his father's move to North Carolina when the family was still living in Philadelphia. In this era joining the Navy meant finding a ship's Captain who was willing to give you a berth on his ship. The ship's Captain, often deluged with such requests, would give priority to the sons of his relatives, his friends, other Captains, his superior officers, well placed officials, and his banker or his prize agent.

While John H. Gibbon had just finished a term in the Pennsylvania Assembly and was not without clout, Lardner's most likely ally in finding a post was Commodore James Biddle, right. The Biddle's were related to the Gibbon's through the Shepard family. The Commodore's mother, Hannah Shepard, was the sister of John H. Gibbon's mother-in-law. The Commodore had been the commander of the Mediterranean and South American squadrons and, in 1835, he was in charge of the nearby Philadelphia Naval Yard. From 1838 to 1842 he was the Governor of the Naval Asylum, a hospitial in Philadelphia. It was at his suggestion that midshipmen who had not yet passed their rating exams were sent to the Asylum for instruction, laying the foundation for the Naval Academy. Note too that the Charles Biddle that John H. Gibbon accompanied on his expedition to Panama was the Commodore's brother.

There were many other members of the family who were also in the Navy and might have either helped Lardner find a place or influenced his decision to join. The Navy was "in the blood" so to speak. James Lawrence Lardner on his mother's side of the family would rise to an Admiral's rank in the Civil War. Born in 1802, he was 18 years older than Lardner Gibbon and may have influenced Lardner's decision, though he was perhaps too junior in 1835 to find Lardner a midshipman's berth. The Commodore's son, James Stokes Biddle, had been found a berth in 1833, just four years before Lardner and his process of finding a posting may have attracted Lardner's attention, or that of his father's.

However, note that young Lardner's first posting was to the West Indian squadron, operating out of Pensacola, Florida. His uncle, Commodore James Biddle, had been the commanding officer there in 1822. Young captains would have been all too eager to accomodate this senior officer by taking his nephew aboard.

15 [if he did in fact join in 1835] was a not uncommon age to commence a naval career. William Herndon, mentioned below, also became a midshipman when he was 15 years old. Lardner's parents would have procured a sea chest for the lad with all the necessaries, including the regulation uniform, white ducks, white vest, and navy-blue pea jacket properly decorated with brass buttons and midshipman's insignia. He would also have a visored cap and a dirk attached by a gilt chain to the blue webbing belt around his waist.

Lardner would have, most likely, been ordered to a ship almost immediately. Unlike the Army which first taught its young officers the basics at the Military Academy at West Point, the Navy believed the best school was the deck of a ship at sea. The Navy kept ships on station in the West Indies, off the eastern seaboard of South America and in the Mediterranean, as well as off the coast of the United States.

"He was assigned to the West Indian Squadron on January 23, 1838 . . ." - from "United States Congressional Serial Set." He was probably assigned to a specific ship, but I don't know which one that would be. Ships in the squadron in 1838 included the sloops BOSTON, CONCORD, LEVANT, ST. LOUIS, and VANDALIA.

The West Indian Squadron The squadron was based at Pensacola, Florida, which is located just east of Mobile, Alabama. It had been established in 1822 under the command of Commodore James Biddle to control piracy and defend trade. The area they were responsible for was vast, including all of the area from the tip of West Africa to the Gulf of Mexico. In 1838 its commander was Willian Branford Shubrick. During this period the Navy assisted the Army in Florida during the Second Seminole War and helped suppress the slave trade, which had been outlawed by the US Congress. Below is the Navy Yard at Pensacola in about 1860, seen from across the bay, at Fort Pickens.

"He was assigned to . . . the St. Louis from 1839 to 1842." - from "United States Congressional Serial Set."

Onboard ST LOUIS Lardner would have begun "to learn the duties of a seaman by firsthand experience; sails and ropes, knotting and splicing, charting a course, the lore of the sun and stars, the winds and currents, steering, and gunnery. He went aloft with the crew, but he also learned the duties of command in anticipation of advancing someday to the quarterdeck." - from "High Seas Confederate," the story about a young midshipman who also served onboard the ST LOUIS in the 1830's. The ship would have made the transit into the Pacific via the dangerous waters of Cape Horn. Lardner mentions in his "Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon" about the Indians he had met that "Many of their expressions in Quichua sound like the language of the natives of the South Pacific islands, as I recollect it ten years ago, while cruising as a midshipman in the ship-of-war St. Louis."

In another quip about Navy life from his book, Lardner says "We saw here what we had before seen at a midshipman's mess--one man cunningly eating another man's allowance."

"In 1842 and 1843 he attended the naval school in Philadelphia, stood his examinations, and was warranted a passed midshipman on July 12, 1843." - from "United States Congressional Serial Set." The Naval Historical Center indicates he made this rank on 29 June 1843. Note that Commodore James Biddle, a near relation on the maternal side of Lardner's family, was still Governor of the Asylum in 1842.

"He [Lardner] served successively on a receiving ship at Norfolk, Virginia, on the On-ka-Hy-e, on the Boston, and at the Naval Observatory . . ." - from "United States Congressional Serial Set." Here the term "successively" appears to mean "in quick rotation" for at least the first two units, because on 27 October 1843, just three months after he finished the naval school, the BOSTON left Boston harbor for the Brazilian station.

Transferring from the unnamed receiving ship, Lardner may have been assigned to ON-KA-HY-E only during her time in the yards. This would make sense if he transferred to BOSTON during the latter's possible stop in Norfolk, or Charleston, enroute to station. If BOSTON was short of men, say a midshipman fell ill and had to be left behind, as a ship departing on a cruise she would be given her pick of the men in port.

The Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript and Special Collections Library has the papers of Lardner Gibbon from 1843 to 1848. The collection includes a diary, chiefly from the period when Gibbon was off the coast of South America on board USS BOSTON while the Navy was protecting U.S. interests during the conflict between Uruguay and Argentina. Also included are daily accounts given during part of the siege at Veracruz, Mexico during the Mexican-American War.

USS BOSTON's role off the coast of South America was probably to observe the movements of the foreign fleets and to be prepared to offer assistance to the embassy and American citizens ashore, as required. The frigate CONGRESS was also on-station. I suspect she hosted the flag, Commodore Daniel Turner. He had been the captain of the CONSTITUTION, on the Pacific station, while Lardner was on the ST. LOUIS.

Captain Pendergrast of the BOSTON had a sharp difference of opinion with the charge d'affaires at Buenos Aires, William Brent, on the blockade of Montevideo by the Argentine Navy in 1845. Brent wanted the US Navy to comply with the blockade while Pendergrast insisted on his right to break the blockade, as the French had, if he needed to replenish his ship. Pendergrast did subsequently break the blockcade and was reprimanded by the Secretary of the Navy.

The BOSTON came back to America from the Brazil Station and entered the yards at New York City for extensive repairs from February to November 1846.

I had misread this before, but the "United States Congressional Serial Set" clearly stated that Lardner went to the Naval Observatory after his tour on the BOSTON. While I thought that meant in 1848, it is now apparent that he had two tours at the Observatory, the first being in 1846.

At the Observatory he became acquainted with its superintendent, Lieutenant Matthew Maury, the Navy's Oceanographer - from "Matthew Fontaine Maury: Scientist of the Sea" by Frances Leigh Williams, 1963. Another source claims that Lardner became a "protege" of Maury. Lardner would also have met Lieutenant William L. Herndon, Maury's brother-in-law. Herndon had been attached to the Depot of Charts and Instruments, later to become the Naval Observatory, from 1842 to 1846. It was in about 1845 that Maury was making his first astronomical observations. William Herndon was the permanent observer for the prime vertical telescope. - from "Sky and Ocean Joined: The U.S. Naval Observatory 1830-2000" by Steven J. Dick.

I don't know how or why Lardner got these orders; they do not fit in the natural progression expected of a naval officer. He should have gone back to sea. If nothing else it meant that Lardner's mastery of mathematics & navigation was strong. His new boss, Lt. Maury, had, afterall, written the official Navy handbook on the subject, titled "Navigation."

Three Lieutenants and six Passed Midshipmen were assigned to duty at the Observatory, in addition to three Navy Professors of Mathematics and assorted civilian workers. Lardner's duties would have included collating the incoming meteorlogical and hydrographic data recorded by naval ships, compiling and correcting charts, periods at the great telescopes observing the night sky and cataloguing the stars, and mathematical computations, or reductions, that had to follow the astronomical observations. He also learned drafting skills which he would later use creating the maps from his South American expedition.

In 1846 war broke out between Mexico and the United States. The officers at the Observatory immediately began to campaign for sea-duty orders; no one wanted to miss the chance for fame and promotion.

Early in 1847 Lardner was ordered to the frigate, USS CUMBERLAND, then in Norfolk completing repairs. Since his diaries indicate that Lardner observed the siege of Veracruz, the ship must have been on-station by March 1847.

USS CUMBERLAND The CUMBERLAND, a 54-gun frigate, was built over an extended period, from 1825 to 1843, at the Boston Navy Yard. She had a complement of 400 men. She was commissioned in November 1843 and her first service was as flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron from 1843 to 1845. She was several times flagship of the Home Squadron between February 1846 and July 1848, serving in the Gulf of Mexico during the Mexican War. She was initially under the command of a Captain Dulany, but he had fallen ill soon after reaching Vera Cruz and was replaced by Captain French Forrest, who had been captain of ST. LOUIS when Lardner was onboard. On 28 July 1846 CUMBERLAND ran aground while off the point of Anton Lizardo and, while not seriously damaged, she returned to Norfolk in December, under the command of Captain Francis H. Gregory of the RARITAN, to have her copper bottom replated. The officers and crew of the two ships were also swapped, with the RARITAN becoming the new flag ship. Note that CUMBERLAND and RARITAN were very similar ships making this crew swap relatively easy. CUMBERLAND later returned to Mexican waters, probably early in 1847. After the war she returned to the United States via Havana, and was in New York City by July 1848. By this time Captain William Jamesson had assumed command. "U.S. Frigate Cumberland, 54 Guns. The flag ship of the Gulf Squadron, Com. Perry." She was later modified by removing her spar-deck, that is, she was razeed, to carry a smaller number of heavier guns and redesignated a 32-gun sloop. During the Civil War she was part of the blockading fleet, anchored off Newport News, Virginia, under the command of Captain Pendergrast, whom we last met as Captain of the BOSTON. In March 1862 the Confederate ironclad, VIRGINIA, rammed and sank the Union frigates CUMBERLAND and CONGRESS.

In 1847, assumably at the same time Lardner got his orders, Lt. James Harmon Ward was given command of CUMBERLAND, which would again became flagship of the Home Squadron off Veracruz, now under Commodore Matthew C. Perry. Harmon had taught at the Naval Asylum School at Philadelphia and may have known Lardner as a student there.

Apparently Lardner's original plan had been to join his Naval Observatory shipmate, William Herndon, onboard CUMBERLAND. "During the Mexican war he [Lt. William Herndon] applied for orders, and was appointed to the frigate CUMBERLAND. He proceeded to Norfolk, and had embarked, when his destination was changed. Commodore Perry, then in the Gulf, had applied to the Department to send out to him an active and intelligent officer, who could speak the Spanish language, to be placed in command of a small steamboat . . . " - from "Monthly Nautical Magazine, and Quarterly Review." This steamboat was the IRIS.

"Propelled by radial paddle wheels, Iris built at New York in 1847 and purchased there by the Navy in the same year. She commissioned at New York Navy Yard 25 October 1847, Commander Stephen B. Wilson in command. The next day Iris departed New York Harbor for Vera Cruz, Mexico, where she arrived 11 December. With the exception of a brief visit to Mobile, Alabama, in February 1848 and a voyage to Pensacola, Florida, in September, Iris remained on duty in the vicinity of Vera Cruz for the next year. During the closing months of the Mexican-American War, she assisted in maintaining the blockade of the coast of Mexico and protected the Army's water communications. Thereafter she vigilantly protected United States interests in that volatile area lest trouble break out anew. Iris departed Vera Cruz 8 November and arrived Norfolk, Virginia 16 December. She decommissioned there 16 December 1848 and was sold soon thereafter. She redocumented as Osprey 9 March 1849, being destroyed by fire at Kingston, Jamaica, 18 April 1856." - Wikipedia

After the amphibious landing at Veracruz was successfully completed, Matthew Perry relieved Conner as Commodore. He offered General Winfield Scott 6 heavy naval guns manned by sailors from the ships to help break the walls of Vera Cruz during the siege that began in March 1847. These included two 32-pounders from the POTOMAC, one 32-pounder from the RARITAN, and one 8-inch shell gun (68-pounder) each from MISSISSIPPI, ALBANY, and ST. MARY'S. These were landed at night with double crews, the junior officers casting lots for the service. The illustration to the right shows the high and commanding position of the naval artillery and a the full view of the city under bombardment. The position was under the command of a young Robert E. Lee. The naval officer present included Smith Lee, Robert's brother, and Raphael Semmes who later commanded the Conderate ironclad, ALABAMA [Semmes was Conner's flag officer onboard CUMBERLAND and later RARITAN]. Gun crews from the fleet took turns serving the pieces. All the Navy men complained about fighting ashore and the necessity of digging-in and building revetments. One officer told Robert E. Lee, "I suppose the dirt did save some of my boys from being killed or wounded," but I have "no use for dirt banks on shipboard--that there what we want is clear decks and an open sea. And the fact is, Captain, I don't like this land fighting, anyway. It ain't clean!" Lardner Gibbon may have been attached to the Naval battery during the siege. This would account for him being ashore to provide "daily accounts given during part of the siege at Veracruz." I suppose I may be making too much of this statement. He could have made daily accounts while bombarding Vera Cruz from the decks of the CUMBERLAND as well.

By the end of 1847 William Jamesson had taken command of CUMBERLAND.

"Orders Received by Capt. William Jamesson, commanding the Cumberland, Home Squadron, Dec. 1847-May 1848. On station, off Veracruz, on 28 March 1848, with Commodore Perry onboard her."

July 1848. "Naval--The U.S. Ship Cumberland, Capt. Jamesson, bearing the broad pennant of Commodore Perry, arrived at New York on Wednesday night. The Cumberland sailed from Havanna on the 8th instant, and just before her departure a rumor was circulated that an insurrection had taken place in Puerto Rico, and that the Government officers in that place had sent to Havana for assistance. The report was not, however, believed. All was quiet at Havana.

The Cumberland sailed from Vera Cruz on the 17th ult [ultimo], and anchored at Pensacola on the 23d ultimo. She sailed hence on the 2d inst., and hove to off Havana on the 8th. After communicating with the American Consul, she sailed the same day for this port, and her passage hither has been delayed by alternate head winds and calms. She ws three days between the Capes of Virginia and Sandy Hook. All well on board.

The following is a list of "her officers:
Com. M. C. [Mathew] Perry, Commanding Home Squadron
Captain--William Jamesson . . .
Lieutenants--Wm. L. Herndon . . .
Acting Master--Lardner Gibbon . . ."- from "Niles National Register," volume 74, July 1848 to January 1849.

Lardner was detached from the CUMBERLAND on 23 August 1848. He was at home in North Carolina on 2 November 1848 when he and his brother, John, attended the wedding of fellow Mexican War veteran Daniel H. Hill as his "best men." Note that Hill would later become Superintendent of the North Carolina Military Institute and, following the start of the Civil War, Colonel of the 1st North Carolina Infantry Regiment. Lardner's youngest brother, Nicholas, was a member of the latter and perhaps also a cadet at the former. Another sign of the many family ties that linked these people.

Lardner was ordered to the Naval Observatory for a second time in about November 1848. His time at home in North Carolina was probably what we called "leave enroute." He remained at the Observatory until 15 February 1851. William Herndon came back to the Observatory as well, but only for a year before he received orders to a ship in the Pacific.

In 1849 Matthew Maury published a wind and current chart of the North Pacific, "drawn by P.M. [Passed Midshipman] Lardner Gibbon, U.S.N." A wind and current chart of the South Pacific was published in 1852, "drawn by Lardner Gibbon, P.M. U.S.N." These were included in Maury's book, "Explanations and Sailing Directions to Accompany the Wind and Current Charts" of 1853.

Matthew Fontaine Maury was one of the true "greats" of the era and the father of the science of oceanography (read "Tracks in the Sea" by Chester G. Hearn for an account of his life), but a weakness of his was an obsession with the creation, in the Amazon basin, of a new American empire. This was another aspect of the idea of Manifest Destiny which drove many to believe that the United States was predestined to expand not just coast to coast, but from pole to pole. Brazil, already a slave society, appeared to offer the world's most promising arena for expansion of a Southern-style plantation system. Maury convinced the new Secretary of the Navy, William A. Graham (who Maury had met when Graham was the Governor of North Carolina), to fund an expedition to explore the Amazon river to ascertain its potential.

Note that Maury thought that slavery was a "curse" and was injurious to the Union, but he felt that it could not be ended suddenly. His idea was to export the South's slaves to the Amazon basin, protecting the property rights of their owners while cleansing the region of slavery. His ideas did little, of course, for the slaves themselves. Maury wanted to maintain the Union, but felt the states had a right to secede, just as the states of New England had threatened to do during the War of 1812. In the last months before the Civil War he worked hard for concilliation, but when Virginia seceded, he went with her.

I suspect that it was at this time that Lardner, by birth and upbringing a Northerner, began to become a Southerner under Maury's tutelage. This grandson of Quakers would, in the 1850's, become a slave holding plantation owner and fight on the Confederate side in the Civil War.

In 1850, in Washington, D.C., a neighborhood on the west end of H street, just northwest of Lafayette park, suffered a destructive fire. The inhabitants turned volunteer firemen, amongst them Lardner Gibbon and his brother, Jack [John Gibbon]. - from "A Book of Remembrance" by Elizabeth (Duane) Gillespie. The west end of H street lies in "Foggy Bottom," the location of the Naval Observatory at that time. It was a residential area, originally called Hamburg for its community of German laborers who worked at the nearby breweries. Today this is the location of the headquarters of the US State Department, the main campus of George Washington University, the Watergate Hotel, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

In 1851, Lardner, 31 years old and still a Passed Midshipman, and Lieutenant William L. Herndon were instructed by the Secretary of the Navy to "cross over the Andes from Lima, and descend the Amazon as they might" and explore the entire watershed of that river with regard to navigability and also to the terrain’s possibilities in "the field, the forest, the river or of the mine." They were also required to bring back any specimens or seeds thought to do well on American shores.

I don't know whether Lardner understood the ulterior motives of this expedition, but I would expect that knowing Maury's ideas about colonizing the Amazon, he must.

His companion for this trip and the designated leader, Herndon, was a Virginian and the brother-in-law of Maury, whose views about the development of the Amazon valley as a slave empire he shared. He had also recently served with Maury at the Naval Observatory and his service overlapped with Lardner's. From the opening of Herndon's book, "Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon,"

"Attached to the U. S. Ship VANDALIA, of the Pacific squadron, lying at anchor in the harbor of Valparaiso, in the month of August 1850, I received a communication from the Superintendent of the National Observatory, informing me that orders to explore the Valley of the Amazon would be sent by the next mail steamer.

The ship was then bound for the Sandwich Islands, but Captain Gardner, with that kindness which ever characterized his intercourse with his officers, did not hesitate to detach me from the ship, and to give me permission to await, at Valparaiso, the arrival of my instructions."

On 4 April Herndon was joined by Lardner who hand-carried their orders, apparently coming straight from Washington. They left Peru on 21 May, but after climbing the Andes together they determined, in late June, to split up the expedition. Herndon would travel north, exploring the head waters and main course of the great river while Gibbon would travel south via Cuzco, La Paz in Boliva and followed the Bolivian tributaries down the Madeira to the Amazon. While still in La Paz Lardner convinced the Bolivian government to "commit itself to open navigation of her rivers," which it finally did in 1867. - from "United States-Latin American Relations, 1850-1903: Establishing a Relationship" by Thomas M. Leonard, 1999. The two explorers met again in Serpa, then traveled down the Amazon to Para.

Larder Gibbon was rated a Master on 10 April [or 9 May] 1851, while in Lima.

They made small natural history collections and recorded ethnological observations from 1851 to 1852. Loring W. Bailey (1839-1925), the chemist-geologist son of Jacob W. Bailey, reported unofficially on the microorganisms. Herndon returned to New York in May 1852, but Lardner "remained in Peru and Bolivia investigating mining procedures and making an archaeological study of certain pre-Columbian natives" - from "Biographical Dictionary of American and Canadian Naturalists and Environmentalists" by George A. Cevasco, Lorne F. Hammond, Richard P. Harmond, and Keir B. Sterling, 1997. Lardner returned home in March 1853.

The two explorers met again at the Naval Oberservatory where they prepared their official report which became "Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon," the first volume of which (Herndon’s) was published in 1853 and the second (Gibbon’s) a year later. The book was an excellent and thorough survey of the inhabitants and geography of the Amazon, its tributaries, and the Andes. The plates, some of which are shown here, illustrated the inhabitants, villages, river, mountain, jungle and village scenes. Their collections were transferred to the Smithsonian in 1858. From a review, it “Contains minute, accurate and very interesting accounts of the aborigines of the Andes, and the Amazon and its tributaries.” I should note that reviews of a 20th century reprint of the report pointed out the superiority of Herndon's account over Lardner's more pedantic prose. As a contrast:

"Widely read in the United States. Gibbon is ungrammatical, but as an observer he is superior to Herndon." - from "Gleanings and Remarks," Gillespie Alexander, London

"Herndon's volume has numerous engravings and interminable discussions of the "Cordillera". The rather more lively Lieutenant Gibbon talked of "the pampas of Buenos Ayre and Brazil," of "Potosi" and its wealth, and of diving for diamonds in the rivers of Brazil." - from "Emily Dickinson's Imagery" by Margaret H. Freeman and Rebecca Patterson, 1979

Lardner was still very close with Maury, who wrote, on 19 November 1853, "Gibbon is at my house well, Herndon ill."

Note that Lardner was familiar with the same Professor Louis Agassiz who would correspond with his brother, John, for many years about the flora and fauna of the American West. "Gibbon caught two fish, "designed for Professor Agassiz,"" - from "South America Rediscovered" by Tom B. Jones, 1949. Where was the connection? Note that Agassiz wrote "A Journey in Brazil" in 1867, so he may have corresponded with Lardner & Maury about their earlier work. He was also the President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, of which Maury was also a member. Did Lardner meet Agassiz through Maury and then point the Professor to his brother? Also note that Lardner was, from 1854 to 1859, a contributor for a meteorological study run by the Smithsonian Institute. Was this more influence from Maury and Agassiz?

Their report aroused great excitement for its description of the riches of the Amazon and the beauty of its women. Samuel Clemens (the American writer Mark Twain) was one of the several young men who, after reading the report, rode south to New Orleans, hoping to find a ship that would take them to Pará, in the mouth of the Amazon. Fortunately for American literature, Twain could not find any ship going to Brazil then and decided instead to become a river pilot on the Mississippi river. Mark Twain mentions the report by Lieutenants William L. Herndon and Lardner Gibbon in "Mark Twain's Letters," vol I, 34-35.

The report affected another American author, Emily Dickinson. The book was given to her by her father and was the principal source for her knowledge of South America, as exhibited in her "Brazilian Poems." Henry David Thoreau and John Greenleaf Whittier also were apparently influenced. Lardner also drew a map of the continent which was published for general use.

While gone on his exploration, but after Herndon had returned, Lardner was finally promoted to Lieutenant. From the Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United Statesof America, 1852-1855, of 9 December 1852:

"Lardner Gibbon to be a lieutenant in the Navy, from the 5th of December, 1851, to fill a vacancy occasioned by the death of Lieutenant William Preston Griffin."

"The Senate proceeded to consider the nominations of . . .
Lardner Gibbon . . .
Resolved, That the Senate advise and consent to the promotion and appointment of the said persons in the Navy of the United States, agreeably to their nominations respectively."

From "Public Acts of the Thirty-second Congress," reference Pay, there is a mention of Lardner Gibbon.

"March 3, 1853
Wm. L Flemdon [sic] and Lardner Gibbon.
And there shall be allowed to Lieutenants William Lewis Flemdon [sic] and Lardner Gibbon, officers of the United States Navy, who were engaged upon the exploration of the Amazon, the same pay as has been allowed to the superintendent of the Naval Astronomical expedition in Chili, by the act making appropriations for the Naval Service, approved March third, eighteen hundred and fifty-one, during the period of their service as aforesaid, which period shall be reckoned from the date on which each officer left the United States until the final return of the exploring party."

In the "Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy" of 1854 is,

Name and Rank: Larder Gibbon, Lieutenant; State where born: Penn; State from which appointed: Penn; State of which a citizen: N.C.; Original entry into the service: 22 Dec 1837; Date of present commission: 5 Dec 1852; Sea service under present com'n: 0 0

At this point I need, lacking facts, to imagine what happened next. First, in 1853 Lardner was 33 years old. He had only just been promoted to Lieutenant and he would be due for a new set of orders once his report on his South American expedition was complete. As a Line officer, that is an officer "in line" to command a ship, his tours at the Observatory and the expedition to South America had not helped his chances for promotion; only duty shipboard would do that. His apparent choice of Matthew Maury as a mentor also would do little to help. Even today young officers get mentored (we used to refer to this as having a "sea-daddy"), but Maury's influence would have been limited to the scientific. Lardner needed a Line officer, a ship's Captain, to have taken him under his wing; someone like Forrest, of the ST. LOUIS, Pendergrast, of the BOSTON, or Ward, of the CUMBERLAND. If you read the novels of Forrester and O'Brian you know that a Captain, moving from one ship to another, was by courtesy allowed to bring certain of his officers and men along with him. He was their "sea-daddy" and would help in their advancement. The same happens today and happened in Lardner's navy. So as Lardner contemplated his future, he understood that he had no such mentor and no special prospects.

Second, for one brief moment Lardner would be famous. William Herndon's book came out in 1853, and Lardner's in 1854, to great acclaim. They were "best selling" authors and, while the modern engines of fame did not yet exist, they would be the center of attention at parties, congratulated on the street when recognized, and probably bombarded with offers. Consider Lardner's resume. He was a naval officer, thus a man of considerable leadership and managerial experience. He had just completed a perilous, even an herioc expedition where he had exhibited diplomacy, quick judgement, and a scientific spirit. His prospects of employment outside the Navy were probably as good as they would ever get.

Based on what happened next, I'll guess that around this time Lardner went to Charlotte to visit his folks. Being parents, they would proudly present him around town, showing off their hero. Lardner's father might query his friends about job offers in order to keep his son at home. He might, if I'm right about Lardner's fame, have to, instead, fend off and negotiate a flood of job offers. At the same time friends, neighbors and relations would come to call to meet Lardner. Amongst these would be Lardner's rich Uncle, John Shepard. Shepard had done well down in Florida and had a plantation with over a 100 slaves. He brought with him his young daughter, Alice - Sparks fly between the youngsters - John Shepard and John H. Gibbon retire to the library to discuss joining their family's together. Lardner is offered Alice's hand and a plantation in Florida as a dowry. They marry. End of story.

I have a source that claims that Lardner married Alice Shepard [Sheperd] on 22 May 1871. This is clearly in error and I've previously assumed that this was a transcription error for 1851. While this is possible, there was a period early in the year while Lardner was still assigned to the Naval Observatory and before he left for South America, I think the previous story makes more sense. However, I have now found the marriage records and, happily, they support my favored theory. Lt. Lardner Gibbon married Alice Rebecca Sheppard on 20 February 1855 in New York City [the "Genealogy of the Hannum Family" says in Tallahassee, Florida]. The choice of city makes it look like a great deal was made of the event.

What doesn't fit in this story is that Lardner knew nothing about farming. He had been raised in the city and on ship. He would, of course, have brought a quick, scientific mind to the subject. I imagine he would have read all the books on the subject of farming, analysed the soil, and considered the vagaries of light, wind and rain with all the diligence of a Maury-trained student. His overseer would listen to all this, nod, and then go do what he had originally intended to do.

On 15 May 1857 Lardner resigned from the Navy. I don't yet know what assignments he may have had between the release of his report in 1854 and his resignation. The Congressional Serial Set says only, "After his return from South America, Lieutenant Gibbon spent several uneventful years in the naval service, and resigned on May 15, 1857, four years before the breaking out of the civil war, in which . . .[unreadable]" he served in the Navy Department of the Confederate states [in so many words].

In "Results of Meteorological Observations" made under the direction of the United States Patent Office and the Smithsonian Institution from 1854 to 1859, Lardner Gibbon was listed as an observer from "Seville (near Tallahassee)," Leon county, Florida. Oddly, modern-day Seville, Florida is no where near Tallahassee. I'd guess then that Seville was the name of Lardner's plantation [could this have been near Lake Ella? There is today in Tallahassee a Seville apartments near Lake Ella.]. From the preface of this work,

"The primary object of the Smithsonian Institution is the advancement of the science of meteorology and the elucidation of the laws of atmospheric phenomena; that of the Patent Office, to collect facts and deduce therefrom laws which have immediate reference to agriculture; while the system of the Medical Department [of the Army] is intended to be primarily subservient to the health of the troops and the advancement of medical science. These three Institutions are now in harmonious cooperation, and it is believed that it is no exaggeration to say that under their auspices more is now being done to advance meteorology than has ever before been attempted under any government."

This report was a direct result of work begun by Matthew Maury. In 1851 Maury had begun a campaign for a worldwide system of co-ordinated weather observations and argued for the creation of a national weather service. "Having proved that ordinary sailors at sea were fully capable of making weather observations, Maury urged that farmers could do the same on land, as could also railroad agents, teachers, in fact, anyone who was willing." - Williams. Professor Joseph Henry, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, objected to the Navy taking the lead (and to Maury's lack of a college degree). After much acrimony and duplicated effort, in the end the Smithsonian's scientists took over. Note that Louis Agassiz was one of the scientists involved.

How was Lardner selected as an observer? A protege of Maury's, he was probably a member of Maury's group of field observers in the early Naval-led studies. His reports to Maury were probably incorporated into the Smithsonian report vice being one of their designated observers.

In the 1860 census of the Tallahassee post office, Leon county, Florida as Lardner Gibbon, a 40 year old farmer. In culture and outlook this area was more southern Georgia than it was northern Florida. Living with him was Alice, 29, his wife. In the census Lardner is shown as born in Pennsylvania. Alice (Shepard) was born in Florida, but her parents were from North Carolina. Lardner's grandmother had been a Shepard and Alice was his second-cousin. Note that William Lardner, Lardner's grandfather, married Ann Shepard, the daughter of Jacob Shepard of Newberry, North Carolina. Jacob's eldest son, and Ann's brother, was John Swann Shepard. He was Alice's father. The Lardners, Biddles, Shepards and Gibbon's all intermarried. This reminds me of the line from the movie "Gone With The Wind" -- "The Wilkses' always marry their cousins."

I don't really know how or when they met. Alice's father, John, had already moved from North Carolina to Florida by 1828. In the 1830 census of Magnolia township, Leon county, Florida we have a John Shepherd. In 1840 he is listed as John S. Shepherd. In the 1850 census as John S. Shepard, a 52 year old planter, born in North Carolina, in 1798. He was John Swann Shepard, the eldest son of Jacob Shepard of New Bern, North Carolina, see The Shepard Family. Living with him in 1850 were his wife, Catherine, 40, of Virginia, and Alice, 22, Julia, 18, Letitia, 12, and Robert, 15, all born in Florida. Note that in the 1850 slave schedule he had 116 slaves! He apparently died before 1860. In the 1860 slave schedule we have only R.G. Shepard, G.G.R.G. Shepard and Catharine G. Shepard, his widow, each with from 3 to 9 slaves.

Lardner Gibbon was doing well with $9,000 in real estate, $10,000 in personal property, and, in the 1860 slave census, 14 black and mulatto slaves. This probably put him in the middle range of plantation owners. Not Tara or Twelve Oaks, but well above the common southern farmer who held only a few slaves, if he had any. I wonder whether this prosperity was due to savings Lardner accrued while in the Navy or was this Alice's inheritance? I, of course, suspect the latter.

When the Civil War began Lardner, along with two of his younger brothers and two brothers-in-law, joined the Confederate Army. Lardner was commissioned a Captain at Richmond Depot on 1 January 1862. From the "Journal of the Confederate Congress, " 27 August 1861:

". . . the President, nominating, for the advice and consent of Congress, in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States . . .:
Corps of Artillery
Captains
Lardner Gibbon, North Carolina

Lardner had been born and raised in Philadelphia and, except for portcalls, never lived in the South before marrying. I assume he was influenced in his decision to go with the South by his Father, who had moved to North Carolina in 1838 and become a rabid Southerner and by his friendship with Matthew Maury and William Herndon. All of the Gibbon family and relations went with the Confederacy, with the famous exception of John Gibbon, Lardner's younger brother, a West Point Graduate who stayed with the Union Army and went on to become a Major General. From The Memoirs Of Daniel H. Hill, Lieutenant General, C.S.A.:

"General John Gibbon and his brother Lardner had been "best men" at my wedding. They were from North Carolina; one brother took the Northern side, while the other took the Southern."

In the National Park Service Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, Lardner is listed among the "General and Staff Officers, Corps., Division and Brigade Staffs, Non-com. Staffs and Bands, Enlisted Men, Staff Departments, Confederate States Army," a 'catch-all' category, as a "Capt. & O.O. [Ordnance officer?]." I have no evidence of any unit Lardner was attached to nor battles he may have been involved in. He was, of course, in his early forties at the time and may have been left on duty behind the lines for that reason.

I think that Lardner sold his Florida property at this time. He never returned to Leon county and his wife, Alice, appears to have accompanied him on his Army orders. The only Shepard's I see in Leon county in 1870 are listed as Colored or Mulatto. I assume these are freed slaves who took the surname of their one-time masters.

In 1861, in response to a request by General R. E. Lee for "guns for land defense and the protection of the rivers extending into the country" of South Carolina, L[ardner] Gibbon, Captain, replied "On the 17th December three 32-pounder heavy guns, on the 21st December two VIII-inch columbiads, were sent to General Lee, and to morrow one VIII-inch columbiad and one 24-pounder sieg[e] gun will be sent [from the Norfolk Navy Yard]." - from "Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion" by United States, Navy Dept, Naval War Records Office.

From a Letter in the Call Family papers dated 26 March 1863, Lardner Gibbon writes from Mobile, Alabama, to "My Dear Friend," [Ellen Call Long, see below] relating his meeting with author Octavia Walton Le Vert and his impressions of her personally and as a writer. It also says, "I am very pleasantly located here on Engineer Duty - don't care for rank and don't particularly want it. Have never exerted myself in any other way than doing all I can for our afflicted country with as little pay and expense to it as possible." He mentions an Alice in a very homely, fashion, "I don't read anything but the papers - Alice reads everything." This must be Alice Shepard. Ellen Call Long had provided Lardner with a letter of introduction to Le Vert. Lardner claims a close friendship with Ellen; one in which he can tell her things frankly and which she will not repeat. At one point he writes of Le Vert, "She is very much like another friend of yours [meaning himself], will never attempt to write another book." It is signed "L.G."

Octavia Walton Le Vert (1811-1877) She was so closely associated with the state of Alabama in the mid-nineteenth century that her fame as the "Pride of Mobile" gave new stature to the city as a site of learning and culture. From her elegant house on Government Street, she entertained internationally known persons, and she became one of the most widely known socialites of the 1850's, North and South. She was a friend of such notables as Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving, and Henry Clay and knew many other well-known Americans. During her extensive travels in Europe she was presented to the Pope, to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and to Napoleon III and the Empress Eugenie. She wrote "Souvernirs of Travel."

In the letter above, Lardner notes having a servant, James, so things were not too tough. James was probably a slave. Madame La Vert promised, so Lardner said, to call on Mrs. G as soon as she could, meaning, I suppose, that Alice had not accompanied him.

In March 1863, the date of the letter above, the port of Mobile, while closely blockaded, was still free. The port of New Orleans had fallen to the Federals in April 1862 and in July 1863 Vicksburg would surrender, ending the South’s control of the Mississippi. However, Mobile would not be attacked until August 1864. I suspect Lardner’s 'Engineer duty' involved the installation and improvement of the harbor defenses and basic civil engineering.

The following provides a picture of what life was like in the city. From "Mobile as a Confederate City, 1861-1865," the Alabama Department of Archives & History:

"Despite the blockade Mobile's social activities continued. Residents and visitors observed local social customs such as gentlemen calling on the ladies of their acquaintance on New Year's Day. Naval officers visited fashionable homes, whose hosts and hostesses they entertained with ship-board balls, dinners, and moonlight cruises. A local newspaper dubbed Mobile the "Paris of the Confederacy." Some of the most fashionable homes where Mobilians entertained visiting generals, politicians, and literary figures were those of Octavia Walton Le Vert, Mary Walker Fearn, Augusta Evans, and General Dabney H. Maury, commander of the Department of the Gulf from the summer of 1863 to the end of the war. Numerous balls and concerts benefitted needy groups of soldiers and civilians. As touring companies curtailed their travels during the war, the Mobile Theatre relied heavily on local actors to offer plays. Visitors, particularly soldiers, comprised the bulk of audiences."

"With the blockade cutting imports, and Federal occupation and Confederate impressment interfering with transport of goods from the hinterland of Mobile, food shortages and inflation troubled residents. Municipal authorities sponsored a Free Market that served hundreds of poor residents. Private organizations labored to meet various needs: the Volunteer Relief Committee solicited private funds to aid the destitute, the Mobile Military Aid Society employed soldiers' dependents to sew uniforms for Alabama companies in the Confederate army, and the Mobile Supply Association hired agents to procure foodstuffs from areas north of Mobile, ship them to the city, and sell them at cost. All of these efforts failed to avert a bread riot staged in 1863 by women protesting shortages and high prices of food. Their protest sparked new charitable groups to relieve the distress of many needy families. "