Charles H . Baldwin ( admiral ) Charles Henry Baldwin ( September 3 , 1822 – November 17 , 1888 ) was an officer in the United States Navy , who served during the Mexican - American War and the American Civil War . Biography . Born in New York City , he joined the Navy on April 24 , 1839 , and served as a midshipman aboard the frigate ( 1839 – 40 ) and the sloop ( 1840 – 43 ) in the Mediterranean Squadron , before returning to the U . S . aboard the sloop in 1843 to attend the Naval School at Philadelphia , graduating with the rank of passed midshipman on July 2 , 1845 . He served through the Mexican – American War on the frigate in the Pacific Squadron , serving on operations around Mazatlán , during the time that it was occupied by U . S . naval forces between November 1847 to June 1848 . He received his commission as lieutenant in November 1853 , but left the Navy on February 28 , 1854 . Baldwin re - entered the naval service in 1861 , on the outbreak of the Civil War , with the rank of acting - lieutenant . In February 1862 he commissioned the steamer , and sailed from New York to Ship Island for duty with the Mortar Flotilla of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron . In April , during the Battle of Forts Jackson and St . Philip , " Clifton " towed 21 mortar schooners into the Mississippi River , and supported them as they bombarded the fortifications below New Orleans . The next month , after the capture of the city , the ship sailed upriver to Vicksburg , Mississippi , where it was damaged by enemy gunfire . Baldwin was promoted to commander in November 1862 , given command of the steamer in early 1863 and ordered to hunt down the notorious Confederate commerce raider . Over the next year Baldwin took his ship to the West Indies , the eastern coast of South America , the Cape of Good Hope , St . Helena , Cape Verde , the Canary Islands , Spain and Portugal , but his quarry always eluded him , sometimes only by a few hours . During the voyage " Vanderbilt " also served as the flagship of Commodore Charles Wilkes Flying Squadron in the West Indies , and captured several British blockade runner s , including the . Baldwin eventually returned to New York in January 1864 without ever having sighted the Confederate vessel . He was then assigned to ordnance duty , serving at the Mare Island Navy Yard in California until 1867 . He returned to sea as the Fleet Captain of the North Pacific Squadron in 1868 - 9 , and received promotion to the rank of captain in 1869 . He then served as the Inspector of Ordnance at Mare Island from 1869 – 71 , and commanded the frigate , flagship of the Asiatic Squadron in 1871 - 73 . He was commander of the Naval Rendezvous ( recruitment station ) at San Francisco in 1873 , and was commissioned as commodore on August 8 , 1876 , serving as a Member of the Board of Examiners from 1876 - 79 . In early 1883 Baldwin was promoted to rear admiral , and assumed command of the European Squadron on 10 March . He then sailed to Kronstadt in his flagship , and on 27 May he and his staff attended the coronation of Tsar Alexander III in Moscow . Personal life . Baldwin was married to a Miss Tolquer , by whom he had two children : Charles H . Jr . ( b . 1860 ) and Florence Deacon . Tolquer died in 1872 . In 1875 , Baldwin married Mary Reade . Florence Deacon was the mother of Gladys Spencer - Churchill , Duchess of Marlborough .