William Radford William Radford [ – ] was a rear admiral of the United States Navy who served during the Mexican - American War and the American Civil War . There is a discrepancy with some references which report his birth date as but family records and the U . S . Federal Census forms support the 1809 date . John Radford Family 1806 – 1821 . On , John Radford [ – ] married Harriet Kennerly [ – ] in Fincastle , Virginia at Santillane , the estate of her uncle George Hancock . In attendance at the wedding was William Clark direct from the Corps of Discovery exploration . After William was born in Fincastle , the Radfords moved to Lewis County , Kentucky near Maysville where William ' s two siblings were born : In 1817 , father John Radford was killed by the wild boar he was hunting . Widow Harriet moved her three children to Saint Louis , Missouri to join her brothers and first cousin Judith " Julia " Hancock Clark , wife of William Clark . The Radfords resided with her brother James Kennerly . William Clark Family 1821 – 1825 . Julia Clark succumbed . Widower William Clark married Harriet in Saint Louis , adopted the Radford children and added three children to their combined family : After his mother ' s second marriage , Radford initially refused to move into the Clark house , so he was sent to a school in Perth Amboy , New Jersey , where he became acquainted with the sea . He asked stepfather William Clark for a recommendation to the U . S . Navy . Clark sent a personal request to President John Quincy Adams . William Clark ' s diaries mention Radford accompanying him in 1824 from Saint Louis to Washington , D . C . Before returning home , they diverted to New York City and observed the hero ' s welcome for Marquis de Lafayette . On Lafayette paid a visit to Saint Louis where William Clark hosted his stay and introduced Radford , none aware that Radford would be a member of the crew sailing Lafayette back to France . Radford embarked upon another Clark trip to Washington , D . C . in the fall of 1828 . An excursion in early January 1829 to visit stepbrother Meriwether Lewis Clark at West Point was abandoned due to ice floes on the Hudson River . After witnessing the inauguration of President Andrew Jackson they returned to Saint Louis . Naval career 1825 – 1843 : Mediterranean and West Indies Squadrons . Radford was accepted into the United States Navy as a midshipman . He reported to Captain Charles Morris for duty on the at Washington Navy Yard . While the ship normally carried only 8 to 10 midshipmen , President Adams appointed a total of 24 , at least one from each state , to commemorate the return of Lafayette to France . Radford represented the state of Missouri . Lafayette was delivered to Le Havre on . From there the " Brandywine " was attached to the Mediterranean Squadron under Commodore John Rodgers . Upon the departure of the " Brandywine " , Radford transferred to the to remain in the Mediterranean monitoring the Greek War of Independence and coup against the Janissaries . Rodgers was succeeded by Commodore William Crane . The " Constitution " , in need of major repairs , was recalled to Boston Navy Yard arriving on . Radford returned to Saint Louis and received orders , to join the at Norfolk Naval Shipyard for deployment to the West Indies Squadron commanded by Commodore Charles Ridgely . Radford was promoted to passed midshipman and reported for duty in Philadelphia Naval Shipyard . In September 1831 , he requested a six - month leave and was with his mother Harriet when she died , Christmas Day . He was then entered into a furlough due to the general stagnation of naval affairs . Radford was assigned to the receiving ship at Philadelphia in February 1834 . Then in June 1834 he returned to the Mediterranean Squadron aboard the as the acting Master . He suffered an attack of cholera in November 1834 and was sent ashore to recover in the south of France . Still afflicted in January 1836 , he was in New Orleans , Louisiana and , during October 1836 , was recuperating at the home of his uncle William Radford II in Lynchburg , Virginia . On , Radford was appointed lieutenant . In September he rejoined the West Indies Squadron , reporting to Commodore Alexander Dallas and fighting in the second Seminole War . The maiden voyage of the took Radford to Labrador in June 1840 . In November , he returned for a third tour with the Mediterranean Squadron , Commodore Isaac Hull in charge . On , due to the Oregon Question , Radford was summoned to New York via the " Brandywine " . Radford traveled May 1841 to Norfolk for duty on the . On , he received the as his first command and delivered her from New York to the Rendezvous at New Orleans where she was employed as a receiving ship . Relieved of recruitment detail in August 1843 , he was ordered on board the inaugural cruise of the where she became the flagship of the Pacific Squadron for Commodore Alexander Dallas . Naval career 1843 – 1847 : Pacific Squadron . Radford was attached , to the and visited Society Islands , Sandwich Islands and the western coastline of the Americas . Commodore Dallas died at Callao , Peru and was replaced by Commodore John Sloat . Radford ' s January 1845 letter to brother - in - law Stephen Kearny predicted California " can never be a very densely populated country " and Oregon " is not a very desirable country " yet " we should and ought by rights to have some possessions on the Pacific " . He also mentions that " dysentery killed seven of the crew " and that " I was dangerously ill myself " . By May 1845 at Callao , he was again debilitated by dysentery to a degree where ship surgeons recommended he should be removed from the ship " to a more favorable climate " . However he remained aboard and , through mid - 1845 , patrolled the California coast where rumor of war with Mexico was rife . Reaching Honolulu , orders were received that once Mexico declared war , the squadron should " blockade or occupy such ports as force might permit " . The " Warren " set return sail on October 16 to Mazatlán to await the onset of war . Months passed until , when confirmation arrived from William Maxwell Wood that land war had commenced . The " Warren " remained at Mazatlán as the other ships of the squadron captured ports along the California coast , generally with the inhabitants cooperating . English warships , also awaiting news of war , reacted too late to offer their protectorate flags to Mexico . The " Warren " left Mazatlán with dispatches from Washington , D . C . and arrived at Monterey on , to find Commodore Robert Stockton in charge of the Pacific Squadron . Ordered back to resume the blockade of Mazatlán , the " Warren " arrived early morning of September 7 to find the Mexican warship " Malek Adhel " in the harbor . Radford commanded the boarding party which inserted during the siesta hour and securely fastened the hatches while the entire crew was below deck . Over the course of the next months , " 13 or 14 " additional ships were captured by the blockade , eliminating further threat from the Mexican Navy . Despite the ease of the Conquest of California for the Navy , hostilities continued on land until a flag of truce was delivered by residents of Los Angeles on . General Stephen Kearny paid a visit , to his brother - in - law at Yerba Buena . After nearly four years abroad , Radford was granted leave to depart , for home overland with Kearny and his troops . Naval career 1847 – 1862 : New York and East India Squadron . Radford arrived back in Saint Louis on . He was ordered , to testify in the court - martial of John C . Frémont at the Washington Arsenal . A leave was approved , which indicated Radford intended to revisit Mexico with General Kearny but his letter of , was sent from New York requesting a three - month extension . He went to see his cousin William Preston Griffin at Morristown , New Jersey , met Mary Lovell , married her and settled there . He commuted to his assignment at the Rendezvous in New York through . On , Radford took command of the and sailed again to the Pacific Squadron . By March 1852 he arrived in San Francisco where he met with brother John and brother - in - law Benjamin Lovell . On the way home , a letter from his father - in - law Joseph Lovell advised that Radford ' s infant son , Willie , had died . Detached from the " Lexington " on , Radford returned to Morristown . For the period 1852 until 1860 , Radford was assigned shore duties in New York despite his applications for a command . For three years , he worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and witnessed for numerous courts - martial . In June 1855 , he was given command of U . S . Steamer " City of Boston " to prevent ships connected with filibustering expeditions from leaving the harbor . On July 20 he was appointed a member of a committee to " examine and report on the different Life Boats . " Finally , Radford had a brief stint as Inspector of the Third Lighthouse District . During these years , he again shuttled from his residence in Morristown . Radford was fortunate to receive a commission as commander . Throughout 1855 and early 1856 , promotions were at a standstill in the Navy partly due to the shortage of ships . Many officers were given leave to take command of merchant ships ( such as U . S . Mail steamers ) at significantly higher pay . To overcome this quandary , a Naval Retiring Board was formed which upset the older officers but cheered younger members of the service . He took command of the , and sailed to Hong Kong as a unit of the East India Squadron for Commodore Cornelius Stribling . However , after the onset of the Civil War , both Radford and Stribling were relieved of their commands and ordered to return Washington , D . C . despite their declarations of allegiance to the Union . Commodore Samuel Du Pont in Washington , D . C . explained to Radford ' s wife Mary that , with the number of defections from both the Army and Navy , all officers from slave states must be evaluated for risk . Radford arrived home , seriously ill with smallpox but recovered quickly . After an interview with Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles , he was reappointed Inspector of the Third Lighthouse District at New York . Naval career 1862 – 1865 : Civil War . On , Radford accepted command of the . He was aboard the as a member of a Naval Board of Inquiry , when his ship was sunk by the Confederate ram during the Battle of Hampton Roads . A Naval Board convened in April 1862 at the Naval Academy Preparatory School with Radford as a member . He received , , temporary duty as Executive Officer of Brooklyn Navy Yard under command of Rear Admiral Hiram Paulding . The assignment stretched into almost two years of equipping and fitting - out hundreds of vessels for the Navy . Radford received promotion to captain , and then to commodore . On , Radford was directed to report to Rear Admiral John Dahlgren at Philadelphia for command of the armored ship . Upon arrival it was determined the ship required repairs so Radford was relieved and ordered to a Naval Board in Washington , D . C . during July 1864 . He was recommitted to the " New Ironides " on , and joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron at Hampton Roads . Rear Admiral David Porter assembled a fleet to attack Fort Fisher for the control of Cape Fear River . He placed Radford in command of the Ironclad Division , consisting of flagship " New Ironsides " , , , , and during attacks on Fort Fisher in December 1864 and in January 1865 . David Porter commended Radford ' s support for the Union forces ashore and eight members of his crew were awarded the Medal of Honor . The " New Ironsides " sailed , up the James River to Bermuda Hundred to protect the stores of the Army of the Potomac from a threatened raid by Confederate rams during the siege of Petersburg . Radford took charge of the flotilla assembled there and coordinated with Generals Ulysses Grant and Edward Ord . Radford transferred his flag to the when the " New Ironsides " was sent to Norfolk Naval yard , for repairs . With the end of war near , the " Dumbarton " departed from the James River , and officers and crew were detached upon arrival at the Washington Navy Yard . On , Radford sailed the from Washington , D . C . up the James River and arrived at City Point , Virginia the next evening . From there , he conveyed Vice President Andrew Johnson and Preston King to Richmond , Virginia and back . President Abraham Lincoln was already in Richmond , unaccompanied by any of his Cabinet , to witness the downfall of the Confederate stronghold . He became agitated about the Johnson and King arrival and ordered Radford to keep both of his passengers elsewhere . While moored for two days , Radford discovered stepbrother Meriwether Clark was a prisoner of war and brought him aboard the " Phlox " to await release . Naval Career 1865 - 1872 : North Atlantic and European Squadrons . Commodore Radford was appointed , to command the North Atlantic Squadron as Acting Rear Admiral . He transferred his flag , from the " Phlox " to the , which remained his flagship during his tenure . He was called , to oversee the Washington Navy Yard . He moved his wife , two daughters and three sons from New Jersey to a Washington , D . C . home in November . Radford was promoted to rear admiral . Radford left Washington , with his family in tow and arrived in New York to embark on the to Lisbon , Portugal . After seventeen days of stormy passage , Radford arrived to take charge of the European Squadron and found all attached vessels , , , , " Frolic " and , lying at anchor in the harbor waiting for his orders . As Radford performed his duties , his family traveled with him on the " Franklin " to Spain , Algiers , France , the Netherlands and Italy . During 1870 , the children attended school at Lausanne , Switzerland . A month after the outbreak of the Franco - Prussian War , Radford relinquished his command , to Rear Admiral Oliver Glisson . He travelled to Lausanne to retrieve his children believing any battles would be distant . After arrival in Paris , the surrender of the French Army on , caused the Radford family to flee the advancing Prussian Army . At Havre they negotiated commercial passage to the United States . Radford was listed by the Navy as retired on . However , from , through the next two years , he served on several Naval Boards of Inquiry chaired by Rear Admiral Joseph Smith , Rear Admiral Theodore Bailey and Vice Admiral Stephen Rowan . Marriage and family 1848 – 1890 . Radford married Mary " Minnie " Elizabeth Lovell [ – ] in St . Peter ' s Church , Morristown , New Jersey . The ceremony was overcast due to the death of brother - in - law Stephen Kearny a few days before . The Radfords resided on Mount Kemble Avenue for almost twenty years in a house previously owned by John Doughty . Children of William and Elizabeth ( all born in Morristown , New Jersey except Henry who was born in Washington , D . C . ) were : Sister Mary married Stephen Kearny in Saint Louis , Missouri ; ten children . Brother John married Sophie Angelique Menard [ – ] , daughter of Pierre Menard , in Kaskaskia , Illinois ; three children . First cousin Dr . John Blair Radford settled in Lovely Mount , Montgomery County , Virginia in 1836 . The town was renamed to Radford in his honor during 1887 . Daughter Sophie became a writer including a play produced on Broadway and her father ' s biography " Old Naval Days " . Son George Reginald and grandson William Radford Coyle married sisters . Mary and Jane Dodson respectively were daughters of Weston Dodson , founder of Weston Dodson & Company in Bethlehem , Pennsylvania . Coyle served three terms from Pennsylvania as a member of the U . S . House of Representatives . Great - granddaughter ( from son Stephen Kearny ' s lineage ) Rosemary Radford Ruether pioneered feminist theology . Legacy . When the " Brandywine " arrived in France in 1825 , Radford purchased a set of dining room chairs which he shipped back to the Clark household in St . Louis , Missouri . The Clark family referred to them as the " Lafayette Chairs " per the trip ' s famous passenger . Radford , as a witness , signed at least three treaties between the United States and Indian nations . He had attended the ceremonies with stepfather William Clark , who was serving as Superintendent of Indian Affairs . Radford built an elegant Victorian mansion during 1875 at 1736 ( now 1734 ) N Street NW in the DuPont Circle neighborhood of Washington , D . C . It is now the General Federation of Women ' s Clubs Headquarters . Two ships of the U . S . Navy were named in his honor .