John Gardner

"View of New York from Weehawken Heights, New Jersey" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1881 - 1884.

John Gardner's last ship he sailed was the USS Mohican. The sloop, with seaman John Gardner on board, cruised to the Pacific Northwest in 1870 and sailed to patrol off the Coast of Mexico in May of that year. On 17 June 1870, the Mohican attacked the HMS Forward, which had terrorized the coast of Mexico for a month (Mohican I (ScSlp). The HMS Forward had become a pirate vessel under the flag of San Salvadore and commanded by Captain Viscayno (The Colonial Despatches Team). The attack on the HMS Forward led to a full-blown gun battle in the Teacapan River, which ended with the Forward running aground, its engines broken to pieces, and the ship burned to the water's edge (Lewis/Dryden, 176 ). This was done by six boats of the Mohican and 88 men (Lewis/Dryden, 176 ). The sloop Mohican continued her cruise as far south as Callao through August 1871 and then returned to Mare Island Navy Yard in California (Mohican I (ScSlp).

"This engraving, originally published in Harper's Weekly (1861), depicts U.S. Navy warships bombarding Fort Beauregard (right) and Fort Walker (left).

USS Mohican is one of the steam ships. (NHHC, NH 59256)

When the Mohican returned to Mare Island, John Gardner was ill, and he would eventually be transferred to the Brooklyn Naval Hospital in July of 1872 and remain there until April 15, 1873. John Gardner was awarded a pension of $10.75 a month and would enter Sailors Snug Harbor on April 25, 1873. While at the Harbor, John Gardner would receive leave to attend church at St Peters in New Brighton. John Gardner would remain at the Harbor for three years, six months, and twenty-four days dying on November 19, 1876. John is buried in Plot 3 of Sailors Snug Harbor Cemetery.

"U.S. Naval Hospital" The New York Public Library Digital Collections - 1844 - 1900.

• Harpers Weekly 1861.U.S. Navy warships bombarding Fort Beauregard and Fort Walker , Civil War Naval Operations and Engagements - Port Royal South Carolina - 7 November 1861, Naval History and Heritage Command, URI: https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/browse-by-topic/wars-conflicts-and-operations/civil-war/cw-operations-and-engagements/1861-civil-war/portroyal.html .
• Mohican I (ScSlp). Naval History and Heritage Command, August, 11, 2015, URI: https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/mohican-i.html .
• SSHRegisterA_Inmate574_Gardner_John. Register page of Sailors' Snug Harbor resident number 574 from the Register of Inmates A. Register is a large handwritten volume, Date Created: April 25 1873 Place: New York (State)--New York--Staten Island publisher: The Trustees of Sailors' Snug Harbor, The Sailors' Snug Harbor records are the Property of the Trustees of the Sailors’ Snug Harbor. The collection is on permanent loan at the Stephen B. Luce Library of SUNY Maritime College, URI: https://maritimedigitalcollections.com/Detail/objects/7714
• The Colonial Despatches Team. HMS Forward, 1855-1869, The Colonial Despatches of Vancouver Island and British Columbia 1846-1871, Edition 2.4, ed. The Colonial Despatches Team. Victoria, B.C.: University of Victoria. https://bcgenesis.uvic.ca/forward.html.
• The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. "View of New York from Weehawken Heights, New Jersey" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1881 - 1884. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e1-2c13-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
• The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, The New York Public Library. "U.S. Naval Hospital" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1844 - 1900. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/5e66b3e9-1123-d471-e040-e00a180654d7
• Wright, E.W. (Edger Wilson). Lewis & Dryden's marine history of the Pacific Northwest , Portland, Lewis & Dryden Printing Company, 1895, URI: https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcbooks/items/1.0222484 .
• Further research on John Gardner's Naval record can be conducted at the National Archives and Records of the Brooklyn Naval Hospital.