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Samuel Francis Du Pont (September 27, 1803 – June 23, 1865) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy, and a member of the prominent Du Pont family. In the Mexican–American War, Du Pont captured San Diego, and was made commander of the California naval blockade.
Samuel Francis Du Pont was born on September 27, 1803, in Bayonne, New Jersey. One of seven children, Du Pont’s uncle was Eleuthere Irenee du Pont, founder of the E.I. du Pont Nemours Company, modern-day chemical company Dupont. As a young child, Du Pont’s family was unable to fund his education.
Samuel Francis Du Pont, a Union admiral of the Civil War, commanded the Port Royal expedition in 1862, the Union navy’s first major victory over the Confederacy. The following year, his long and distinguished naval career ended with his defeat in Charleston Harbor.
His son, Samuel Francis du Pont (1803–65), was a U.S. naval officer. He served in the Mexican War, was on the board that designed the curriculum for the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., and commanded squadrons and fleets in the blockade of the South during the American…
When the Civil War broke out, Samuel F. Du Pont took the initiative to protect Washington by sending naval vessels in Chesapeake Bay. During the summer and early fall of 1861, Du Pont cemented a close relationship with Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus V. Fox, according to Du Pont biographer James M. Merrill.
Samuel Francis Du Pont, an Admiral in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War, was lauded for helping to win an early Union victory in South Carolina. But his career and reputation were destroyed after the failed ironclad attack on Charleston in April 1863.
Samuel Francis Du Pont, the son of Victor Marie Du Pont de Nemours, was born at Bergen Point, N.J., on 27 September 1803, and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 23 June 1865. He was appointed a midshipman in the navy from the state of Delaware in December 1815, his first sea service being on the Franklin, in the European squadron.
