Stodert, Benjamin

Born in the family of Captain Thomas Stoddert. He was educated at the University of Pennsylvania, and then worked as a trader. He served as captain in the cavalry of Pennsylvania, and then became secretary of the Continental Council of War during the American War of Independence . During the war, he was seriously wounded on September 11, 1777 in the Battle of Brandyvine and was released from active military service ^[1] .

In 1781 he married Rebecca Lowndes ( English Rebecca Lowndes ), the daughter of a merchant from Maryland. The couple had eight children. They lived in the house of their father-in-law in Bostvik located in Bladensburg, Maryland.

In 1783, Stoddert established the tobacco export business in Georgetown ^[1] .

After George Washington was elected president, he asked Stoddert to acquire key land plots in the area, which would become the new capital of the country, before the official decision to establish a federal city on the shores of the Potomac would raise prices there. Then Stoddert transferred the acquired plots of land to the government. During the 1790s, he also helped the Bank of Colombia make land purchases in the District of Columbia for the federal government.

In May 1798, President John Adams appointed Stoddert, a loyal federalist, to oversee the newly created Department of the Navy ^[2] . As first secretary of the navy, Stoddert soon discovered that he was dealing with an undeclared naval war against France, which is known as Quasi- War. Stodert realized that there were too few warships in the navy to protect US interests at sea or to patrol the North American coast. He also came to the conclusion that the best way to defeat the French campaign against American shipping is through offensive operations in the Caribbean, where most French cruisers are based. American successes during the conflict were due to the combination of Stoddert’s administrative skills in deploying his limited forces and the initiative of his naval officers. Under the leadership of Stoddert, the restored United States Navy justified itself and achieved its goal of protecting American trade.

Stodert dealt not only with the daily management and operations of the navy, but also with the future fleet. He founded the first six naval shipyards and advocated the construction of twelve 74-gun battleships. Congress originally approved the construction of these ships in 1799, and the project was prepared by Joshua Humphrey, who also prepared initial designs for the 44-gun frigates of 1797 and sawn timber collected for the new Navy.

However, after the signing of a peace agreement with France, the number of the navy and the number of active ships were reduced. The Jefferson Administration reduced the number of active ships to three frigates (twelve were built between 1797 and 1800), and also sold or used the collected reserves at the naval docks for the construction of gunboats. This policy did not allow the United States to respond to later threats from Berber pirates and failed to prevent a war with England in 1812.

Stodert created the Navy Library in accordance with instructions received from President Adams in a letter dated March 31, 1800.

He left office in March 1801 to return to commercial activities. In the last years of his life, Stoddert’s condition had seriously decreased, since he had lost a lot on land speculation, and Georgetown had ceased to be a commercial center. At the same time, the Embargo and the War of 1812 seriously undermined American trade abroad.

In honor of Benjamin Stoddert were named two destroyers of the US Navy, as well as several schools.

• Biography on Benjamin Stoddert
• Brief on Benjamin Stoddert