Master Commandant George Campbell Read

I represent George Campbell Read. I was the Master Commandant of the U.S. Sloop of War HORNET. I served on the USS CONSTITUTION (“Old Ironsides”) during the War of 1812, which service earned me two Congressional silver medals. I received my commission as Master Commandant on April 27, 1816. Not only did the HORNET participate in the changing of the flag ceremony on July 17, 1821, gaily decked out in Pensacola Bay for the festivities, we brought James G. Forbes from Havana to Pensacola with the official orders from the Captain General of Cuba authorizing the transfer. We were also one of the vessels that evacuated Spanish officers and citizens who were leaving Pensacola when it became American.  After my service on the HORNET, I had a distinguished career, commanding the CONSTITUTION for a time, commanding the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and serving as commodore of the Mediterranean and African squadrons.