View source for John D. Sloat

{{short description|Military Governor of California}}
{{Infobox governor
| honorific-prefix    = 
| name                = John Drake Sloat
| honorific-suffix    = 
| image               = John D. Sloat.jpg
| alt                 = John Drake Sloat
| order               = 1st
| office              = Military Governor of California
| term_start          = July 7
| term_end            = 29, 1846
| lieutenant          = 
| predecessor         = [[Pío Pico]] (civil governor)
| successor           = [[Robert F. Stockton]]
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1781|7|26}}
| birth_place         = [[Sloatsburg, New York]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|1867|11|28|1781|7|26}}
| death_place         = [[New Brighton, New York]], U.S.
| restingplace        = [[Green-Wood Cemetery]], [[New York City]]
| restingplacecoordinates = 
| party               = 
| otherparty          = <!--For additional political affiliations-->
| spouse              = 
| partner             = <!--For those with a domestic partner and not married-->
| relations           = 
| children            = 
| residence           = 
| alma_mater          = 
| religion            = 
| awards              = {{USS|Sloat||2}}<br />The Sloat Monument in Monterey was built in his honor. <br/>Sloat Blvd in San Francisco.
| signature           = 
| signature_alt       = <!--Military service-->
| nickname            = 
| allegiance          = {{flag|United States of America|1795}}
| branch              = {{flagicon image|US Naval Jack 15 stars.svg}} [[United States Navy]]
| serviceyears        = 1800–1861
| rank                = [[File:USN commodore rank insignia.jpg|35px]] [[Commodore (United States)|Commodore]]<br />[[File:USN Rear Admiral rank insignia.jpg|35px]] [[Rear admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]]
| unit                = {{USS|United States|1797|2}}
| commands            = {{USS|Grampus|1820|2}}<br/>{{USS|St. Louis|1828|2}}<br/>[[Pacific Squadron]]
| battles             = [[War of 1812]]<br/>[[Capture of the sloop Anne|Capture of the sloop ''Anne'']]<br/>[[Mexican–American War]]
}}
'''John Drake Sloat''' (July 26, 1781<ref>{{Cite ANB|title=Sloat, John Drake|first=Harlan|last=Hague|doi=10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.0400914|}}</ref><ref>{{cite DANFS | title = Sloat I (Destroyer No. 316) | url = https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/sloat-i.html | accessdate = 2022-05-14}}</ref> – November 28, 1867) was a [[Commodore (United States)|commodore]] in the [[United States Navy]] who, in 1846, claimed [[California]] for the [[United States]].

==Life==
He was born at the family home of [[Sloat House]] in [[Sloatsburg, New York]], of Dutch ancestry. He was orphaned at an early age, his father, Captain John Sloat, having been mistakenly shot and killed by one of his sentries two months before he was born,<ref name="NRHP nom">{{cite web|last=Tholl|first=Claire|title=National Register of Historic Places nomination, Sloat House|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=7914|publisher=[[New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation]]|date=May 1974|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120517091214/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=7914|archive-date=17 May 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> and his mother dying a few years later. 

Appointed [[midshipman]] in the Navy in 1800, he was [[Master (naval)|sailing master]] of the [[frigate]] {{USS|United States|1797|2}} under Commodore [[Stephen Decatur]] during the [[War of 1812]], and was promoted to lieutenant for conspicuous gallantry in the capture of the frigate {{HMS|Macedonian}}. Sloat then commanded the [[schooner]] {{USS|Grampus|1820|2}} during which he fought the [[Capture of the sloop Anne|March 1825 naval campaign]] against the pirate ship of [[Roberto Cofresí]]. He later served on the [[Ship of the line|ships]] {{USS|Franklin|1815|2}} and {{USS|Washington|1814|2}}, and from 1828 commanded the [[sloop-of-war|sloop]] {{USS|St. Louis|1828|2}} with the rank of [[master commandant]], to which he had been promoted in 1826. He was promoted to [[Captain (USN)|captain]] in 1837, and from 1840 to 1844 was in charge of the [[Portsmouth Navy Yard]].<ref>{{Cite Americana|wstitle=Sloat, John Drake |year=1920}}</ref>

=== California ===
[[Image:John D. Sloat Monument.jpg|left|thumb|The monument commemorating John D. Sloat.]] 
In 1844 Sloat was appointed to command the [[Pacific Squadron]], and in 1845, as tensions with [[Mexico]] grew, he was instructed to land in [[Alta California]] and claim it for the United States if war broke out.  Receiving a report of fighting on the [[Texas]] border while off [[Mazatlán]], he raced north (the British were reportedly interested in California too), engaged in a skirmish called the [[Battle of Monterey]], raised the flag over the Customs House at [[Monterey, California|Monterey]] on July 7, 1846, and issued a proclamation announcing that California was now part of the United States. He was a [[California_interim_government,_1846–1850#Interim_governors|military Governor of California]] for only twenty-two days, before handing over the office to [[Robert F. Stockton]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.militarymuseum.org/MP.html|title=The Mexican War and California: Monterey's Presidio Occupied and Improved|last=Ruhge|first=Justin|date=February 8, 2016|website=militarymuseum.org}}</ref>

Later, his poor health forced Sloat to take commands ashore, where he commanded the [[Norfolk Navy Yard]] 1847–1851,<ref>{{Cite NIE|wstitle=Sloat, John Drake |year=1905}}</ref> directed the construction of the [[Stevens Battery]] in 1855, and helped plan the [[Mare Island Navy Yard]]. He retired with the rank of captain in December 1861, and was promoted to [[Rear admiral (United States)|rear admiral]] on the retired list in July 1866. Sloat was a [[Freemason]], and belonged to [[Saint Nicholas]] lodge No. 321 in [[New York City]].  He died in [[New Brighton, New York]], and was buried in Brooklyn's [[Green-Wood Cemetery]].{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}

==Legacy==
Two destroyers were named {{USS|Sloat}} in his honor as well as the World War II [[Liberty ship]], the SS John Drake Sloat.

A memorial window dedicated to him was unveiled at [[St. Peter's Chapel, Mare Island]] in 1925. Sloat was on the 1852 board that selected [[Mare Island]] to be the site of the first U.S. naval base on the Pacific.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Forbes H. |title=THE WONDERFUL MEMORIAL WINDOWS of Mare Island Chapel. |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SFC19080607.2.161.7&srpos=22&dliv=none&e=------190-en--20--21--txt-txIN-%22a+a+McAllister%22------- |website=cdnc.ucr.edu |publisher=San Francisco Call, Volume 104, Number 7 |access-date=1 September 2024 |date=7 June 1908}}</ref>

The town, [[Sloat, California]], in Plumas County, California was named for him in 1910.

A major street, Sloat Boulevard, and the [[San Francisco Unified School District|Commodore Sloat Elementary School]], both in [[San Francisco]], California are named for him.

[[Sacramento City Unified School District|John Sloat Elementary School]] located in [[Sacramento, California]] is named for him.

Streets located in [[Monterey, California]], [[East Garrison, California]], Sacramento, California, and the [[Carthay, Los Angeles, California|Carthay Circle]] neighborhood of [[Los Angeles]] bear his name.

There is a monument erected in his honor on the [[Presidio of Monterey]] U.S. Army post.

His hometown of [[Sloatsburg, New York]] is named after his grandfather, Stephen Sloat.
{{Clear}}

==Dates of rank==
*Midshipman - 12 February 1800
*Sailing Master - 10 January 1812 
*Lieutenant - 24 July 1813
*Master Commandant - 21 March 1826
*Captain - 9 February 1837
*Reserved List - 27 September 1855
*Retired List - 21 December 1861
*Commodore on Retired List - 16 July 1862
*Rear Admiral, Retired List - 25 July 1866

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Base of John Sloat memorial.jpg|Base of John Sloat memorial
Sloat memorial overlooking Monterey Bay.jpg|Sloat memorial overlooking Monterey Bay
Sloat medallion - Native Sons Building - San Francisco, CA - DSC03980.jpg|Sloat medallion on Native Sons Building, San Francisco
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
''Knickerbocker Commodore: The Life and Times of John Drake Sloat, 1781-1867'' by Bruce A. Castleman, 2016, State University of New York Press

https://sites.rootsweb.com/~mdannear/firstfam/watkins.htm{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

==References==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20171028020542/http://www.dmwv.org/mexwar/documents/sloat.htm Proclamation to the Inhabitants of California] (7 July 1846).
* {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s14/sloat-i.htm}}

{{Governors of California}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sloat, John}}
[[Category:American people of the Bear Flag Revolt]]
[[Category:Commanders of the California Republic]]
[[Category:United States military governors of California]]
[[Category:People of the Conquest of California]]
[[Category:Military personnel from California]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of the Mexican–American War]]
[[Category:United States Navy rear admirals (upper half)]]
[[Category:American people of Dutch descent]]
[[Category:1781 births]]
[[Category:1867 deaths]]
[[Category:Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery]]
[[Category:People from Sloatsburg, New York]]
[[Category:19th-century American politicians]]