George H . Cooper Rear Admiral George H . Cooper ( 27 July 1821 – 17 November 1891 ) was an officer in the United States Navy . During his long naval career , he served on the African Slave Trade Patrol , and fought in the Second Seminole War , the Mexican War , the American Civil War , and the Korean Expedition , and rose to command of the Home Squadron . Early life . Cooper was born in New York City on 27 July 1821 . Naval career . Second Seminole War . Cooper entered U . S . Navy service as an acting midshipman in January 1836 and was assigned to the sloop - of - war , which was fitting out at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery , Maine . He sailed for the West Indies aboard " Concord " in March 1836 , and after she was assigned to the fleet operating off Florida in the Second Seminole War , he saw constant service in boat expeditions against the Seminoles in cooperation with United States Army forces . Appointed midshipman on 14 August 1837 , Cooper remained aboard " Concord " until the end of her cruise in November 1838 . 1839 - 1843 . In February 1839 , Cooper was ordered to the frigate in the Pacific Squadron , remaining aboard her until 1841 . He then was a watch officer aboard the schooner until the spring of 1842 , when he transferred to the sloop - of - war . He detached from " St . Louis " when she arrived in Norfolk , Virginia , in September 1842 and then attended the Philadelphia Naval School in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , until 1843 . Upon completing his studies , he was promoted to passed midshipman on 23 or 29 June 1843 ( sources vary ) . African Slave Trade Patrol . Coopers next assignment was to the frigate , the flagship of the Africa Squadron , engaged in the African Slave Trade Patrol , serving aboard her as an acting master . He later transferred to the sloop - of - war , also in the Africa Squadron , and returned to the United States aboard her in December 1844 . He then performed a short tour of duty at the Norfolk Navy Yard in Portsmouth , Virginia , in the spring of 1845 . Mexican War . In 1846 , Cooper was assigned to the schooner of the Home Squadron , and in March of that year " Flirt " reported for duty under U . S . Army Brigadier General ( later Major General ) Zachary Taylor in the Mexican War . Cooper commanded a detachment of men at Port Isabel , Texas , in operations related to the Siege of Fort Texas of early May 1846 , and remained with Taylors force until the capture of Monterrey , Mexico , in September 1846 . " Flirt " then was reassigned to Commodore David Conner s squadron off Veracruz , Mexico , and aboard her Cooper took part in the First Battle of Tabasco in October 1846 , an attack on Alvarado , attacks on Tuxpan , and the Second Battle of Tabasco in June 1847 . After the American capture of Mexico City in September 1847 , " Flirt " detached from Conners squadron and returned to the United States . East India Squadron . Cooper next served aboard the receiving ship at the Norfolk Navy Yard from 1847 to 1848 , then at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk , Virginia , from 1849 to 1850 , and he was promoted to master on 11 October 1850 . In November 1850 he reported for duty aboard the new sidewheel steam frigate , then fitting out at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn , New York . She was commissioned on 24 December 1850 and assigned to the East India Squadron . Promoted to lieutenant on 8 May 1851 , Cooper was aboard " Susquehanna " when she became the flagship of Commodore Matthew C . Perry in 1852 , visited Japan in 1853 and 1854 while Perry forced Japan to sign a trade treaty , and operated off the coast of China . His " Susquehanna " tour finally came to a close when the ship concluded her cruise at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , in March 1855 after a voyage from China via the Indian Ocean and Cape of Good Hope . Cooper next had duty in Norfolk again , first at the naval rendezvous there in 1856 and then on ordnance duty in 1857 . He then was aboard the steam frigate , flagship of the Home Squadron , from 1859 to 1860 . He began a tour at Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery , Maine , on 1 August 1860 , serving there through 1861 . American Civil War . The American Civil War broke out in April 1861 , and in the spring of 1862 Cooper , promoted to commander on 16 July 1862 , became commanding officer of the supply ship in operations along the United States East Coast . He later took command of the steamer as part of the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America , operating as part of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron . In November 1862 , at the request of the American industrialist and philanthropist Cornelius Vanderbilt , he took command of the steamer in the West Indies Squadron to escort Vanderbilts mail steamers on their voyages between Aspinwall , Panama – then a part of the United States of Colombia – and New York City . Detached from " Connecticut " in July 1863 , Cooper returned to blockade duty . He became commanding officer of the sidewheel gunboat in 1863 for operations in the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron . In 1864 he took command of the monitor and became heavily involved in the blockade of Charleston , South Carolina , operating for seven weeks inside Charleston Roads on picket duty and in support of Union Army forces , and engaging in almost constant shelling of Confederate forces at Fort Sumter and on Sullivan ' s Island . He also served as senior officer at Stono Inlet , South Carolina , in joint operations with Union Army forces , frequently engaging Confederate forces at short range . He commanded the steamer in the East Gulf Blockading Squadron from 1864 to 1865 . Korean Expedition . Cooper commanded the sidewheel gunboat on special service from 1866 to 1867 . Promoted to captain on 2 December 1867 , he was stationed at the Norfolk Navy Yard from 1867 to 1869 . From 1869 to 1871 , he commanded the screw frigate , the flagship of the Asiatic Squadron . When Korean shore batteries fired on two ships of the squadron in the Salee River on 1 June 1871 and Koreas Joseon Dynasty did not answer an American demand for an apology , " Colorado " , with squadron commander Rear Admiral John Rodgers and United States Minister to China and Korea Frederick Low aboard , was among five warships which participated in the Korean Expedition of 10 – 12 June 1871 ; the ships landed a force of sailors and U . S . Marines on Ganghwa Island and in the Battle of Ganghwa on 10 June 1871 attacked and captured several Korean forts , inflicting large casualties on the Korean defenders with minimal American losses . Later career . In 1872 , Cooper again served at the Norfolk Navy Yard , and from 1873 to 1874 he was in command of the ironclad . He was promoted to commodore on 5 June 1874 . He was commandant of the Pensacola Navy Yard at Pensacola , Florida , from 1875 to 1876 , then was a lighthouse inspector from 1876 to 1877 . He served as President of the Board of Inspection and Survey from 1877 until March 1880 . He was commandant of the New York Navy Yard from 1 May 1880 to 1 April 1882 , and was promoted to rear admiral on 15 November 1881 . Cooper was ordered to command of the Home Squadron in 1882 , at one point attending the unveiling of a statue of George Washington at Caracas , Venezuela . He also commanded five ships of the squadron on a visit to New York City , where they anchored in the East River for the opening ceremonies for the New York and Brooklyn Bridge – now known as the Brooklyn Bridge – on 23 May 1883 ; all ships manned the yards and joined the New York Navy Yard and other nearby military installations in firing a salute to the new bridge . He remained in command of the squadron until he retired from the Navy on 27 July 1884 . Personal life . Cooper was married and had at least two children . One son , also named George H . Cooper , drank excessively and was chronically unemployed , subsisting on a generous amount of money his parents sent him , and was arrested in September 1885 for theft from a boarding house where he was staying in Brooklyn , New York . Another son , Mason S . Cooper , born in 1847 in Portsmouth , Virginia , served in the U . S . Navy during the American Civil War , reaching the rank of ensign , spent 14 years as a captain of merchant ships of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company , was an inspector in the New York Custom House , and later became an admiral in command of the Haitian Navy ; he died suddenly on 2 January 1891 in Brooklyn . Death . After a brief illness , Cooper died of heart failure in Brooklyn , New York , on 17 November 1891 . He is buried at Green - Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn .