Naval officer; born near
Belleville, Ill., Oct. 11, 1841; graduated at the
United States Naval Academy in 1861; and was assigned to the
Vandalia on blockading duty off
Charleston.
While there he captured the schooner
Henry Middleton, of
Charleston, and took it to New York.
On Nov. 7 he participated in the
battle at Port Royal, S. C. He was made lieutenant in 1862.
During the remainder of the
Civil War he served on the
Wabash and other vessels of the
Atlantic and
Gulf squadrons; took part in the bombardment of
Sewell's Point, Va., in May, 1862; and in the reoccupation of
Norfolk, Va. In 1866 he was promoted lieutenant-commander; in 1876, commander; in 1891, captain; and in 1899,
rear-admiral.
In 1900, when the
Boxer troubles broke out in
China, he was assigned to the command of the
American naval forces in
Chinese waters.
He arrived at
Taku on the
Newark, May 28, and on the following day sent ashore 108 marines.
The other foreign war-ships in the harbor also landed about 100 men each.
When an attempt was made to send this international force to
Peking to rescue the members of the foreign legations there, the Tsung-li-Yamen (or
Chinese foreign office) refused permission, but subsequently a portion of the allied troops,
including sixty-three American marines, were sent by train to the capital, reaching it on June 1.
The troubles grew rapidly worse, and on June 17 the foreign admirals at
Taku, with the exception of
Admiral Kempff, sent a demand for the evacuation of the Taku forts by 2 P. M. In answer to this demand the Chinese opened fire upon the foreign war-ships which had congregated in the harbor.
The
British,
French,
Russian, and Japanese ships replied, and after seven hours the forts surrendered.
At first there was general regret among naval officers and others that
Admiral Kempff had not taken part in the bombardment of the forts.
Later, however, he gave as his reasons that a state of war against
China did not exist; that such an attack would be legally an act of war; and that formal aggression by the foreign governments would be regarded by the Chinese as constituting a state of war, would unite all the Chinese against the powers, and increase the difficulty of settling the trouble.
These reasons were found to be in strict harmony with the policy of the United States government.
Admiral Kempff's action was approved by his
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232]
government, and was subsequently commended by many
European statesmen.
