Roger Nelson Stembel (December 27, 1810 – November 20, 1900) was an officer of the United States Navy during the Civil War.

Early life

Stembel, born in Middletown, Maryland, was appointed midshipman in the United States Navy on March 27, 1832. He served in the West Indies, Mediterranean, Home, Brazil, China, and East India Squadrons and participated in the Seminole Wars prior to the Civil War.

Stembel retired on December 27, 1872, and was promoted to rear admiral on June 5, 1874. After retirement, he lived in Washington, D.C. and spent his summers in Narragansett, Rhode Island. In October 1900, Admiral Stembel and his wife stopped at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in Manhattan on their way back to Washington from Rhode Island. His wife fractured her hip in a fall and, while waiting for her recovery, he contracted a cold and then pneumonia, dying at the hotel on November 20, 1900. His wife Laura also contracted pneumonia and died a month later. Stembel and his wife are buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.

The destroyer was named in his honor. Stembel was the son-in-law of James McBride of Hamilton, Ohio, and therefore connected with several prominent politicians related to the Lytle family.

See also

  • Ulysses S. Grant
  • Bibliography of the American Civil War

References

Sources

  • Arlington National Cemetery: Roger Nelson Stembel
  • Stembel Family History; see Henry Stembel