Frederick Crocker Frederick Crocker ( 1821 - 1911 ) was an American naval commander and US consul . Crocker was born in 1821 in Brockton , Massachusetts , the youngest son of a well - to - do farmer and manufacturer . His father sent him to work in nearby New Bedford , Massachusetts , then a booming whaling town , when he was 16 years old . Attracted by the adventure of a life at sea , he left the family business to join the most important whaling company in New Bedford , at 17 . Although the youngest on board , he became the leader of a harpooning party . In his free time he studied books that taught him his trade . At 24 , he was captain of a whaling vessel . He hunted whales in the most remote waters of the globe during 13 years . Starting in 1851 , he joined the American merchant marine serving as captain of clipper ships , carrying cargo and passengers to the Far East and San Francisco . At 34 , he married the daughter of a wealthy Vineyard whaler in Liverpool , England . With the arrival of two sons and a daughter in 1856 - 1860 , he remained closer to the family home in Edgartown , Martha ' s Vineyard . By 1860 , he had become captain and part owner of a passenger and cargo steamer , the R . R . Cuyler , which sailed along the East Coast of North America between New York City and Savannah , Georgia and was reputed for its speed . Civil War . The Civil War radically changed his life . At age 40 , he volunteered for service in the first weeks of the conflict . As a Union Navy gunboat skipper , he displayed great courage and ability in many successful naval engagements . He served on the Mississippi and along the US coast of the Gulf of Mexico , and distinguished himself in battles and incidents at Apalachicola Bay , Sabine Pass , Calcasieu River , Camp Bisland and Butte - à - la - Rose , among others . His most dramatic exploit was his six - day , 80 - mile dash through rebel - controlled Louisiana in October 1862 . He and his party captured the senior Confederate officer in the Calcasieu area , gained possession of eight enemy vessels ( one of them single - handedly ) , defeated rebel infantry and burned their encampment , fought off a cavalry attack , destroyed a bridge and stores , returning safely , without a single casualty . He also picked up refugees and took hostages , reportedly destroying a considerable amount of private property and capturing a large number of cotton bales . In recognition of his initiative , Rear - Admiral David G . Farragut recommended him enthusiastically for promotion . Frederick Crocker is nonetheless better known as the Union Navy commander who suffered an unexpected defeat at Sabine Pass , Texas , on September 8 , 1863 . With a squadron of four gunboats carrying hundreds of sharpshooters and sailors , he attacked Fort Griffin head - on . While over five thousand Union troops on twenty transport ships stood by , he was defeated and captured along with 300 men by a far inferior rebel force . His gunboat became an easy target when its wheel rope was shot away , and its hull stuck fast on a mud bank . His gunboat ’ s boiler took a direct hit . The main invasion force had taken all launches . His men could not disembark , and dozens drowned . Frederick Crocker and his crew were brave and determined , but the commanding Union General , an intelligent and brave officer who believed the entire expedition unwise , froze at the critical moment and then withdrew . The book " Sabine Pass : The Confederacy ' s Thermopylae " by Edward T . Cotham ( 2004 ) makes numerous references to Frederick Crocker for his actions during the naval blockade by the Union Navy . Despite the frantic efforts of his superiors to obtain his release , Captain Crocker had to endure almost seventeen wretched months as a prisoner of war , mainly at Camp Ford , in Tyler , Texas . Hundreds of prisoners died from exposure , illness and malnutrition , but to a man the sailors under his leadership remained loyal to the Union . As soon as he was freed , he attempted to obtain the release of all African American servicemen still held prisoners at Camp Ford . Frederick Crocker ultimately rose to the rank of Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Commander and was cited on three different accounts — gallantry , and meritorious and faithful services — making him the only US Navy officer to win these three distinctions in the Civil War . He was awarded at least two Confederate flags ( at Sabine Pass and Butte - à - la - Rose ) . The honours he earned are all the more impressive because he was not an easy subordinate , having little patience with inept regular navy officers or corrupt politicians . At one point he resigned from the navy in disgust only to be lured back by Farragut . He formally denounced Major - General Benjamin F . Butler , then the supreme Union military commander at New Orleans , for corruption . Later in his career , he lost his diplomatic post after refusing to contribute to the presidential campaign of the allegedly corrupt James G . Blaine , a Governor of Maine and Secretary of State . Post war . After the Civil War , he resigned from the Navy . Business took him for a short spell to Chicago . At 47 years of age and in weakened health from his many months in prison camp , he decided to leave the United States with his young family and two brothers - in - law . He started up a new life in far - off Uruguay , a small South American country . Its very agreeable climate and favourable business prospects were especially attractive to him . While in Uruguay , he was first involved in the ice trade . For over two years ( 1875 – 77 ) he served as US Consul at Montevideo under the Grant administration . He continued to serve ably as Vice Consul until 1886 . For twenty years he was the marine insurance surveyor for both Lloyds of London and Bureau Veritas ( an American insurance company ) in Montevideo . He was also a journalist for a British periodical and a political pundit in the Montevideo and Buenos Aires English language newspapers . From different sources , we know that Frederick Crocker impressed his friends as well cultured , dignified and spiritual . He read widely and incessantly and had a keen understanding of world events . His optimism , compassion and tolerance were quite conspicuous . He was a man of firm loyalties and was proud of his service to his country . He held the sincere religious convictions of a Swedenborg ian , and over the years became ardently opposed to slavery . The considerable information available also shows him to have been an ambitious man , very adept at dealing with harsh challenges Frederick Crocker died in Montevideo at 89 years of age , and his remains are buried in The British Cemetery . His long life required courage , energy , and self - confidence beyond the ordinary . The bravery and initiative he displayed as a volunteer gunboat commander during the Civil War are recorded in many history books , articles and even in fiction . His son and two grandsons established an import company in Montevideo . His great - granddaughter , Fay Crocker , was an LPGA golfer , winner of two majors and holder of several golf records . References .