Charles Stewart ( 1778 – 1869 ) Charles Stewart ( 28 July 1778 – 6 November 1869 ) was an officer in the United States Navy who commanded a number of US Navy ships , including the USS " Constitution " . He saw service during the Quasi War and both Barbary Wars in Mediterranean along North Africa and the War of 1812 . He later commanded the navy yard in Philadelphia and was the promoted to become the Navy ' s first flag officer shortly before retiring . He was promoted to rear admiral after he retired from the Navy . He lived a long life and was the last surviving Navy captain who had served in the War of 1812 . Early life . Born in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , Stewart attended Dr . Abercrombie ' s Episcopal Academy in Philadelphia where he met Stephen Decatur and Richard Somers . He went to sea at the age of thirteen as a cabin boy and rose through the grades to become master of a merchantman . At age 19 he joined the U . S . navy . Naval service . During the Quasi - War with France , Stewart was one of the first officers in the rebirth of the United States Navy . He was commissioned a lieutenant on 9 March 1798 and joined the frigate " United States " , under the command of John Barry , as fourth lieutenant for a cruise in the West Indies . Stewart was in charge of the ship ' s outfitting and recruiting of crew . On 16 July 1800 he assumed command of the schooner " Experiment " and captured two armed French vessels and recapturing several American ships . After brief command of " Chesapeake " in 1801 and service in " Constellation " in 1802 , Stewart sailed to the Mediterranean in command of the brig " Syren " . He was promoted to master - commandant on 19 May 1804 . There , he participated in the destruction of " Philadelphia " after her capture by Tripoli , helped to maintain the blockade of Tripoli , and distinguished himself in assaults on the enemy in August and September 1804 . After the First Barbary War , he participated in a show of force at Tunis and returned home in 1806 . He was promoted to captain on April 22 of the same year , and would hold that rank for over 50 years . During the War of 1812 , Stewart commanded , successively , " Argus " , " Hornet " , and " Constellation " . Since " Constellation " was closely blockaded in Norfolk by the British , he took command of " Constitution " at Boston in 1813 . He made two brilliant cruises in her between 1813 and 1815 . Under Stewart ' s command , the " Constitution " captured HMS " Cyane " and HMS " Levant " on 20 February 1815 . The Treaty of Paris , ending the War of 1812 , had been signed earlier that month but both sides in the battle were unaware of that event . By capturing two British warships with a single ship of his own , Stewart became a national hero and was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal on 22 February 1816 . He was also admitted as an honorary member of the Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati in the same year . Stewart ' s later service included command of the American Mediterranean squadron from 1816 to 1820 and of one in the Pacific from 1820 to 1824 . He served as a Naval Commissioner from 1830 to 1832 . In 1836 Stewart saw service in the West Indies and commanded a vessel that captured a Portuguese slaver ship as it came into Havana . Before Stewart ' s boarding crew took control of the ship the commander of the vessel jumped overboard , swam ashore and escaped . On board the captured ship were 250 surviving negro children , many others having died from lack of water during the voyage . Outraged at the conditions and health of the children Stewart informed English commissioner Kennedy in Havana of the dire situation . In the later years of his career , Stewart commanded the Philadelphia Navy Yard from 1838 to 1841 , in 1846 , and again from 1853 to 1861 . By a bill passed on 2 March 1859 , Congress made Stewart “ senior flag officer ” on 22 April 1859 , a rank created for him in recognition of his distinguished and meritorious service . He was placed on the retired list on 21 December 1861 after serving 63 years in the Navy . He was promoted to rear admiral on the retired list on 16 July 1862 . Shortly before his death , Stewart was elected a companion of the Pennsylvania Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States . He was assigned insignia number 1119 . Stewart died at Bordentown , New Jersey on 6 November 1869 at the age of 91 . He was buried at Woodlands Cemetery in Philadelphia . In the late 19th century , his estate became the site of the Bordentown School , a residential high school academic and vocational training program . Several of Stewart ' s nephews served in the Navy , including Commodore Charles Stewart McCauley . His grandson , Charles Stewart Parnell , was a prominent Irish political leader who fought for Irish home rule until his death in 1891 .