Dressed to Kill, Dressed to Till
In 1873 a uniform coat, tailored in the same manner as a double-breasted civilian tailcoat, was introduced for evening wear. This coat, bearing the rank of Commander, and the Civil War era naval vest with which it is displayed, both belonged to Richard Kidder Breese (1831-1881) and descended in the family until sold at auction in 2006, from whence acquired. Breese was appointed a Midshipman in 1847. Warranted a Passed Midshipman in June 1852, Breese took part in the Commodore Matthew C. Perry’s expedition to Japan for the next three years. In mid-1855, while serving with the U.S. Coast Survey, he was promoted to the ranks of Master and Lieutenant. He was serving aboard the USS San Jacinto when the Civil War began and present when she stopped the British steamship Trent and removed two Confederate agents, an incident that provoked a brief crisis in U.S. relations with Great Britain. From late 1861 Breese commanded part of the flotilla of mortar schooners that helped capture New Orleans in April 1862. Promoted to Lieutenant Commander in mid-1862, he served with Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter on the Mississippi River and off the Atlantic Coast for most of the rest of the conflict, distinguishing himself during the siege of Vicksburg, in the land assault on Fort Fisher, and as Porter’s Fleet Captain. Beginning in September 1865, Breese spent a year as Assistant to the Naval Academy’s Superintendent, achieving the rank of Commander. In 1870-1872 he commanded the steam sloop Plymouth in European waters. He was Inspector of Ordnance at New Orleans for several months in 1872-1873, followed by two years as Commandant of Midshipmen at the Naval Academy and as Inspector of Hydrography. Breese was promoted to Captain in 1874 and died at Newport, Rhode Island on 13 September 1881. USS Breese was named in honor of him and a street in the Washington Navy Yard also bears his name.
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