Raymond Rodgers Belmont

1863–1887 (age 24)

Naval Officer

Biography

Raymond Rodgers Belmont spent his brief life committed to the U.S. Navy, embracing the discipline of service and the promise of exploration that the naval profession offered in the decades after the Civil War. He trained with care, learning navigation, seamanship, and leadership as he prepared for the responsibilities of an officer.

Although his career was cut short by his death in 1887, those who served alongside him remembered a young man of earnest purpose whose devotion to duty hinted at the contributions he might have made had he lived longer.