Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 5).djvu/21

APPLETONS'

CYCLOPÆDIA OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

PICKERING, Charles Whittle, naval officer, b. in I'lirKinimlh. N. II.. 2:! I'ec., islo; d. in St. Augustine, Flu., 2!l Feb., 1888. He was appointed midshipman on 22 May, 1S22, became lieut> nuui on 8 Deo., 1838. and was attached to the Pacific si[uadri>u. In 18">4 he served as executive officer of the Cyaiie." which conveyed Lieut. Isaac G. Strain (</. v.) and his exploring party to Darien, and afterward rescued them and brought them to New York. He was at the bombardment of Grey- town, Nicaragua, in 1854, which was reduced to a-hes after four hours' siege. On 14 Sept., 1855, he became commander, and in 1859-'61 he was inspec- tor of a light-house district near Key West, Fla. lie was commissioned captain on 15 July, 1862. commanded I he Kearsarge " in the Mediterranean and in the West Indies, and was in charge of the ' Housatonic" when that vessel was destroyed by a submarine torpedo near Charleston on 17 Feb., 1865. When lie had recovered from his wounds he took command of the " Vanderbilt," and in 1865 he was ordered to Portsmouth navy-yard. He was placed i in the retired list on 1 Feb., 1867, and made commodore on 8 Dec. of the same year.

PICKERING, John, jurist, b. in Newington, N. H., 22 Sept., 1737: d. in Portsmouth, N. II., 11 April, 1805. He was graduated at Harvard in 1761, studied law. was admitted to the bar. and was a member of the New Hampshire constitutional con- vention. In 1787 he was elected a member nf the convention that framed the constitution of the United States, but he declined to serve. He was judge of the supreme court of New Hampshire in 1790- '5, and at one time chief justice, and subse- quently judge of the U. S. district court for New Hampshire ; but his mind became impaired, and he was removed from office in 1804. Dartmouth gave him the degree of LL. D. in 1792.

PICKERING, Timothy, statesman, b. in Sa- lem. Mass., 17 July, 1745; d. there, 20 Jan., 1S29. He was great-great-grandson of John Pickering, who came from England and settled in Salem in 1642. Timothy was graduated at Harvard in 1 ?!>::. He studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1768, but practised very little, and never attained distinction as a lawyer. He served for some time as register of deeds for Essex PI unity, and at the same time showed considerable interest in military stud- ies. In 1766 he was commissioned by Gov. Ber- nard lieutenant of militia, and in 1775 was elected colonel, which office he held until after he had joined the Continental army. Twelve days after his election he witnessed and peacefully resisted Col. Leslie's expedition to Salem. On 19 April he marched at the head of 300 men to cut off the re- treat of the British frmn Lexington, and at sunset had reached Winter Hill, in Somerville, a few min- utes after the British had passed on their disorderly retreat to Charlestown. In later years political ene- mies unfairly twitted him for failing to ef- fect the capture of the whole British force on this occasion. In the course of that year he published a small vol- ume, illustrated with copper-plate engrav- ings, entitled " An Easy Plan of Disci- pliu'e for a Militia."

It was a useful book,

and showed considerable knowledge of the military art. It was adopted by the state of Massachusetts, and was generally used in the Continental army until su- perseded by the excellent manual prepared by Huron Steuben. In September, 1775, Col. Pickering was commissioned justice of the peace, and two months later judge of the maritime court for the counties of Suffolk, Essex, and Middlesex. In -May. 1776. he was elected representative to the general court. On 24 Dec. of that year he set out from Sulem. at the head of the Essex regiment of 700 men, to join the Continental army, and after stop- ping for some time, under Gen. Heath's orders, at Tarrytown, reached Morristown, 20 Feb., where he made a very favorable impression upon Washington. The office of adjutant-general falling vacant l>y the resignation of Col. Reed, Washington at once of- fered it to Col. Pickering, who at first declined the appointment because he did not consider himself fit for it and because it would conflict with the discharge of his duty in the place that he already held. He afterward reconsidered the matter and resigned all his .civil offices, and his appointment .is adjutant-general was announced, 18 June, at the headquarters of the army at Middlebrook. He then expressed an opinion that the war would not and ought not to last longer than a year, and on several occasions was inclined to criticise impa-