Existing comment:
Captain Elisha Peck
With four decades of ship decks under his feet, the 59-year-old Commander Peck was definitely an old sea dog. In August 1849 the Navy ordered Peck to his last sea duty as captain of the sloop-of-war Portsmouth in the West African Squadron. Although Peck and his crew patrolled off the African coast in search of slave ships for nearly eight months, they failed to capture any vessels carrying human cargo. Peck returned to America, receiving shore commands until the Navy placed him on the reserve list in 1855. With the great demand for naval officers during the Civil War, the Navy recalled Peck to take charge of newly recruited sailors at Portsmouth Navy Yard, New Hampshire. For this service Peck was promoted to captain in 1863, just three years before his death. |