From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in March 1864:
PROMOTED. – The friends of Lieut. HENRY B. SEELY, of the U.S. Navy, will be pleased to learn that he has been promoted to Lieutenant Commander.
An 1857 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Henry B. Seely “served on the Sumter, South Atlantic blockading squadron, 1861-62; and on the Saranac, Pacific squadron, 1863-65. He was appointed lieutenant-commander, Feb. 21, 1864…” He devoted his entire career to the Navy until “…June, 1892, when he was retired on account of incapacity resulting from long and faithful service.”
The USS Saranac spent the war “protecting American commerce along the coast of California …After the Confederacy had collapsed, Saranac cruised at sea in search of Southern cruiser, CSS Shenandoah, which remained a menace to Union shipping until belatedly learning of the end of the war.”
You can read more about the Pacific Squadron at The California Military Museum. All the gold passing through the Port of San Francisco was a big target.
USS Saranac
