Homer C . Blake Commodore Homer Crane Blake ( 1 February 1822 – 21 January 1880 ) was a flag officer of the United States Navy , notable for his gallant but ultimately doomed battle with the in his ship in the action off Galveston Light during the American Civil War . He later served with distinction on the James River , and in 1871 , while serving in the Asiatic Squadron , took part in the Korea Expedition . Biography . Early career . Blake was born in Dutchess County , New York , the son of Elisha Blake ( 1788 – 1837 ) and Merilla Crane ( 1791 – 1877 ) . When Blake was a year old , his family moved to what was then considered the far West , and settled in Boardman , Ohio . After preparing himself for the naval service , and passing the regular examination , Blake joined the Navy on 2 March 1840 , soon after his 18th birthday , with the rank of midshipman . He was sent to the receiving ship at Boston , remaining there until joining the frigate in December 1840 , and making a cruise around the world . A few weeks after his return in 1842 he joined the sloop - of - war , serving in her as part of the Africa Squadron , engaged in suppressing the slave - trade . In 1845 he returned to the United States to attend the newly established United States Naval Academy , graduating with the rank of passed midshipman on 12 July 1846 . Blake then returned to the " Preble " and served in her on the coast of California during the Mexican – American War . In 1848 " Preble " was sent to join the East India Squadron . Unfortunately Blake became ill and was left at the Sandwich Islands to recover . After a few weeks he took passage on the ship " Matilda " to China , rejoining the " Preble " at Canton . Soon after his arrival he once again fell seriously ill , and was sent home to recuperate . After a short leave of absence , he was ordered to the receiving ship at New York , and from there assigned to the Coast Survey schooner , in which he sailed to the coast of Texas to carry out survey work in Galveston Bay and Harbor . In 1850 Blake joined the frigate , bound for the Pacific , but was soon transferred to the sloop - of - war with the rank of Acting - Master , serving in the East India Squadron . He returned home by way of the Cape of Good Hope , thus completing his third circumnavigation in nine years . In 1852 he was sent to the Naval Observatory , where he was engaged for five months . In 1853 he was assigned to the receiving ship " Ohio " at Boston , as Acting - Master , and while there was detailed by Commodore Francis Gregory ( Commandant of the Boston Navy Yard ) to supervise the construction of the frigate . On 14 September 1855 , while at Boston , he received promotion to lieutenant . In 1856 he joined the in the Brazil Squadron , returning home in 1859 . He was then appointed executive officer of the store - ship , and sent to Luanda on the coast of Africa , to supply the Africa Squadron , returning in 1861 . At the request of the Secretary of the Treasury , he was made member of a board to reorganize the Revenue Service . For a short time he commanded the , stationed in Lower New York Bay to intercept shipments of arms to the South . Civil War . On the outbreak of the Civil War Blake applied for active duty in the Union Navy . In June 1861 he was ordered to join the frigate employed on the coast of South Carolina . His ship was assigned to the Port Royal expedition in November , but was delayed by rescuing the crew of the " Governor " during a violent storm , and did not arrive in time to take part in the engagement . On 16 July 1862 Blake was promoted to lieutenant - commander and given command of the steamer . However his time in her was short , and he was soon transferred to command of the " Hatteras " ; an iron - hulled ship of 1 , 000 tons burthen , originally built as a passenger ship . She had been requisitioned by the navy , planked and armed with four 32 - pounder guns , two 30 - pounder rifles , and one 20 - pounder rifle , with a total broadside weight of metal of . Blake joined " Hatteras " in November 1862 , and arrived off Galveston on 6 January 1863 . " Hatteras " v . " Alabama " . " Hatteras " , as part of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron , patrolled the coast as part of the fleet under the command of Commodore Henry H . Bell . On the afternoon of 11 January 1863 , she was ordered to sail to the south - east . After one and a half hours a ship was seen . Blake approached and soon identified her as the Confederate raider CSS " Alabama " , then under the command Raphael Semmes . Blake knew that the rest of the fleet were too far off to render any assistance and that his own ship was outgunned ( " Alabama " was armed with six 32 - pounders , one 110 - pounder , and one 68 - pounder ) . Despite this Blake ordered his vessel to clear for action , hoping to capture the " Alabama " by boarding , or to disable her for long enough for the rest of the fleet to arrive . Night began to fall as the two ships closed . At a distance of Blake hailed the ship , which identified herself as " " Her Britannic Majesty ' s ship . " " However when Blake ordered a boat to be lowered to board her , a voice shouted , " " We are the Confederate steamer Alabama , " " followed by a full broadside . The guns of " Hatteras " replied , and Blake attempted to close with the " Alabama " , but Semmes used his superior speed to keep his distance and battered the " Hatteras " to a burning wreck within 20 minutes . When Blake saw that his ship was sinking under him , he signalled his surrender . The " Alabama " ceased fire and immediately offered assistance . Boats from " Alabama " rescued the crew , with Blake being the last man to leave . Only minutes later the " Hatteras " sank . Commodore Bell , having seen and heard the gunfire from twenty miles away , had immediately sent off three vessels to aid the " Hatteras " , but they were unable to find her in the dark . The next day they found the mastheads of the " Hatteras " standing upright out of water . Meanwhile the " Alabama " had sailed for Kingston , Jamaica , with her prisoners , arriving there nine days later . Despite the shortness of the battle " Alabama " was obliged to remain in port for some days making repairs . Though Blake had lost his ship , he had frustrated Semmes ' plan to resupply his ship from captured merchantmen off Galveston , and then sail to the mouth of the Mississippi River to interdict Nathaniel P . Banks ' Red River Campaign . The officers and men of the " Hatteras " left Jamaica on 4 February aboard the ship " Borodino " of Boston , stopping at Key West on the 15th , before proceeding to New York . On the James River . Blake was given command of the gunboat stationed in the James River , engaged in transporting troops and in occasional engagements with the enemy . The most important of these was on 24 January 1864 , when a powerful Confederate squadron launched an attack on the Union blockade of the river at Trent ' s Reach . Sailing downriver the Confederate force drove away the Union pickets , and commenced removing the boom and obstructions . William A . Parker , the Union naval commander , instead protecting the defences , retired and allowed them to be removed , leaving a clear passage for the enemy . However , two rams went aground , and the Confederates had to wait until high water the following night before proceeding . On the morning of the 25th , Parker was relieved of his command and Blake was made temporary commander of the naval division . Blake ordered the monitor to put herself into a position within the range of enemy batteries , such that , if sunk , she would take the place of the removed obstructions . Subsequent attacks by Union ships and shore batteries sank two and badly damaged six of the Confederate ships , who eventually withdrew . After dark a party from " Eutaw " , commanded by Acting - Ensign Thomas Morgan boarded the abandoned and re - floated her , finding her not as damaged as believed . In a letter Admiral David Dixon Porter wrote to Blake , " " Had your predecessor done as well , we should now be in possession of the entire rebel navy , and on our way to Richmond . " " Blake continued to command the ironclads and naval picket line until the fall of Richmond and end of the war in April 1865 . He was then was in charge of the removal of the torpedoes and obstructions from the James River . Post - war career . Blake then served at the Navy ' s Bureau of Navigation at Portsmouth , New Hampshire receiving promotion to commander on 3 March 1866 . He commanded the sloop on the European Squadron in 1868 , and on 8 December 1869 , commissioned the sloop . The " Alaska " sailed from New York on 9 April 1870 , in company with Rear Admiral John Rodger ' s flagship , , but soon parted company , and steamed independently to the Far East . " Alaska " visited many of the more important ports to show the flag . Blake was promoted to captain on 25 May 1871 , and soon after joined four other ships of the Asiatic Squadron in an expedition to Korea . In early June , while sailing up the Han River the American ships were fired upon from forts on shore , and Rodgers decided upon a punitive action to capture and destroy them in reprisal . In the subsequent battle of Ganghwa Blake took command of the ground attack forces , successfully capturing three forts . The next day the landing force re - embarked to await the Korean government ' s response . By 3 July , it became apparent that the Koreans would make no official response to the action and that the desired treaty was not in the offing . Accordingly , " Alaska " and her consorts got underway to resume their duties on the Asiatic station , finally sailing from Hong Kong on 28 October 1872 bound for New York . On returning home in early 1873 , Blake commanded the Naval Rendezvous in New York until 1876 . In late 1879 , on the retirement of Commodore James Mullany , Blake was nominated for promotion to commodore , and was successfully examined at Washington , D . C . However he became ill , and soon after receiving his commission on 12 January 1880 , he died , reportedly of malaria , on the afternoon of 21 January 1880 at his home at 10 East 33rd Street , New York . His funeral was held at the Church of the Atonement on Madison Avenue and 28th Street on 24 January . He left a widow and a daughter , his only son , a law student , having died two years earlier .