Individual Details

United States Naval Officer. He was in command of the Navy Yard at Pensacola when Florida seceded from the Union in 1861. He turned the facility over to state forces without resistance. Earlier in his career he distinguished himself as commander of the Navy's East India Squadron during the so-called "Arrow War" also known as the Second Opium War in China in 1857. Although the conflict was primarily between France, Britain and China, Chinese forces fired on American vessels in a swelling of anti-foreign fervor. Armstrong oversaw the occupation and destruction of the Canton "barrier forts" after which the Chinese guaranteed American neutrality. He joined the Navy as midshipman in 1809, and served on the sloop-of-war Frolic, when it was captured by the British in 1814. In 1866 he was pro-rated commodore.

Birth	7 Aug 1794	Shelbyville, Kentucky
Marriage	1819	Hannah Crowninshield
Marriage	1836	Elizabeth Crowninshield
Military	6 Mar 1863	Chelsea, Suffolk, Massachusetts
Death	25 Aug 1868	Salem, Essex, Massachusetts

Spouse

Elizabeth Crowninshield (1794 - 1870)

Spouse

Hannah Crowninshield (1789 - 1834)

Father	James Armstrong ( - )
Mother	Elizabeth Morris ( - )