American Honor

The Story of Admiral Charles Stewart

Admiral Charles Stewarts had eleven sea commands during his sixty-three years as an officer in the United States Navy serving fifteen Presidents. Admiral Charles Stewart commanded and sailed most every type of war vessel from sloops to ship-of-the-line war vessels in the nineteenth century. His skills on the seas were demonstrated in his success in many major combat actions with enemy war vessels. Charles Stewart was a statesmen, diplomat, teacher, scholar, and perhaps most important, a man of truth and honor. Charles was the first officer in the United States Navy to bear the title Admiral. Admiral Charles Stewart fought in the Barbary wars, the War of 1812, the final battle with the Muslim pirates in 1815, as commander-in-chief in the defense of the Pacific (1821) in the breakup of the Spanish held colonies, and the protection of trade in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. He married Delia Tudor in 1813 and they had a son and daughter. The marriage did not last. Stewarts true love was Margaret Smith and they had a son. There was talk about running Charles Stewart for President of the United States beginning in 1840. Admiral Charles Stewart served as a pallbearer on the funeral train of President Lincoln in 1862. United States Navy destroyers and destroyer escorts named after Senior Commodore Charles Stewart. Destroyers were named after distinguished USN/USMC officers and enlisted men such as Charles Stewart. (DD, (Destroyers)-216, DD-291, and DE, (Destroyer Escort)-DE-238 and DE-224 carried Stewarts name.