After seeing action in the Civil War patrolling the blockade and detaining Confederate vessels in locales as far afield as France and Cuba, in 1866 the Sacramento was assigned to special service in the waters off China and Japan. Rodgers’ log notes that the ship left Boston in November of 1866 and daily records begin on Tuesday January 15, 1867 noting that the ship “Left Monrovia at 9 pm for Cape Palmas.” (Rodgers makes no note of it here, but traveling aboard the Sacramento were the President of Liberia, a contingent of his cabinet, and Maryland Senator John Marshall, all of whom were bound for Cape Palmas). From the Cape she continues her cruise south towards Cape of Good Hope. Her points of call between Palmas and Africa’s southernmost point include, Luanda, and Sadanah Bay. At the latter point Rodgers disembarks, socializes with the local Dutch population, and proceeds to Cape Town via Horseback rather than ship: “Rode 12 miles yesterday evening and stopped about dark at a Dutch farm house for the night got a very good supper and slept two in a bed. Started at 6 am and found the road rather hilly at 8 am stopped at a Dutch farmhouse fed and got breakfast.” After rounding the Cape of Good Hope, the Sacramento began to steam northwards eventually crossing the equator and passing Sri Lanka.



Rodgers’ account logs typical navy activity as well as recording the men snatching chances to fish, engage in target practice from the ship, and build fires on the shore, until June 19th when he notes that: “At 7:45 pm this day the ship went ashore on a shoal 18 miles” off the coast of present day Kakinada. “All hands at work all night trying to get the ship off[.] Ship in heavy breakers at 1pm [...] at 930 A.M. launched a raft of which I had command, made a safe passage through the breakers and landed all my passengers. All hands landed from the ship in safety." Rodgers and his crew managed to reach "Cocanada" where they paused ("Did not seem much like Sunday – but all hands had a good rest") before finding passage back to New York aboard the British Ship SS General Caulfield. On this return voyage, Rodgers records what could have been an encounter with bioluminescent phytoplankton: "Last night the appearance of the sea was wonderful such as no one on board had seen before This was phosphorencence [sic] the whole Ship being lighted up by it and the sea for miles around looked as if on fire." Rodgers’ career did not go down with the Sacramento, and he was eventually granted command of the entire Asiatic squadron.

13x17 cm.