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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

Photo # NH 92565:  Lieutenant Kidder R. Breese, USN, probably taken circa 1861-1862, USN.

Online Library of Selected Images:
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Captain Kidder R. Breese, USN, (1831-1881)

Kidder Randolph Breese was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 14 April 1831. He was appointed a U.S. Navy Midshipman in November 1847 and served in the sloop of war Saratoga during the remainder of the war with Mexico. Sea duty continued until October 1852, when he was assigned to the U.S. Naval Academy to prepare for examination. Warranted a Passed Midshipman in June 1852, Breese took part in the Commodore Matthew C. Perry's expedition to Japan for the next three years. In mid-1855, while serving with the U.S. Coast Survey, he was promoted to the ranks of Master and Lieutenant. He served in the sloop of war Preble in 1858 and 1859, during the Paraguay Expedition and off Panama. Lieutenant Breese's next duties were as an officer of the sloop of war Portsmouth, off Africa, in 1860, and of the steamer San Jacinto from mid-1860 until late 1861.

While he was in San Jacinto, the Civil War began. He was present when she stopped the British steamship Trent and removed two Confederate agents, an incident that provoked a brief crisis in U.S. relations with Great Britain. From late 1861 Breese commanded part of the flotilla of mortar schooners that helped capture New Orleans in April 1862. Promoted to Lieutenant Commander in mid-1862, he served with Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter on the Mississippi River and off the Atlantic Coast for most of the rest of the conflict, distinguishing himself during the seige of Vicksburg, in the land assault on Fort Fisher, and as Porter's Fleet Captain.

Beginning in September 1865, Breese spent a year as Assistant to the Naval Academy's Superintendent, achieving the rank of Commander while in that post. During the later 1860s and into 1870 he served on Navy boards and had ordnance duty at the Washington Navy Yard, D.C.. In 1870-1872 he commanded the steam sloop Plymouth in European waters. He was Inspector of Ordnance at New Orleans for several months in 1872-1873, followed by two years as Commandant of Midshipmen at the Naval Academy and as Inspector of Hydrography. Breese was promoted to Captain in 1874. From mid-1875 until early 1879 he commanded the Torpedo Station at Newport, Rhode Island, and had special ordnance duty. He was Commanding Officer of the steam sloop Pensacola, Pacific Station flagship, in 1879 and 1880 and, in 1881, was a member of the Board of Harbor Commissioners. Captain Kidder Breese died at Newport, Rhode Island, on 13 September 1881.

USS Breese (Destroyer # 122, later DD-122 and DM-18), 1918-1946, was named in honor of Kidder R. Breese. A street in the Washington Navy Yard, D.C. also bears his name.

This page features all the views we have of Captain Kidder R. Breese, USN, (1831-1881).


If you want higher resolution reproductions than the "Online Library's" digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."

Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.

Photo #: NH 92565

Lieutenant Kidder R. Breese, USN


"Carte de Visite" photograph, probably taken circa 1861-1862. He was serving in USS San Jacinto during the November 1861 Trent incident.
Breese held the rank of Lieutenant between 1855 and 1862.

Collection of Captain A.L. Clifton, USN (Medical Corps), 1939.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 68KB; 445 x 765 pixels

 
Photo #: NH 79188

Captain Kidder R. Breese, USN


Engraved portrait, which appears to be based on an early 1860s photograph, when Breese held the rank of Lieutenant. He was promoted to Captain in 1874 and held that rank until his death in 1881.
Copied from "Officers of the Army and Navy who Served in the Civil War", published in 1892.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 130KB; 610 x 765 pixels

 
Photo #: NH 56240

Commander Kidder Randolph Breese, USN


19th Century engraved portrait, depicting Commander Breese during the later 1860s.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 179KB; 610 x 765 pixels

 


If you want higher resolution reproductions than the "Online Library's" digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


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Page made 10 January 2004