Carl Theodore Vogelgesang - Naval Commissioner To Brazil

Naval Commissioner To Brazil

In 1922, the President of Brazil sent a request to President Warren G. Harding asking that Admiral Vogelgesang be detached from the 3rd Naval District and sent to Brazil to aid in the reconstruction and reorganization of the Brazilian Navy. At first the United States Government did not heed the request, because under Admiral Vogelgesang the New York Navy Yard had been free from strikes and had enjoyed its best financial status in years; consequently, the Governor of New York, senators, and other prominent New Yorkers protested that Rear Admiral Vogelgesang should be retained at the New York Navy Yard.

When a second Brazilian request came asking for Rear Admiral Vogelgesang along with a statement that if he could not be spared Brazil would have to make a selection from the British Royal Navy, the United States decided that the value of establishing a good relations with Brazil merited sending Vogelgesang there. Vogelgesang was ordered to form a commission, and, with 35 other selected U.S. Navy officers, proceeded to Rio de Janeiro. Having a basic knowledge of French and Spanish, he was able in six weeks' time to absorb the Portuguese language sufficiently to conduct his lectures to the Brazilian officers in their native tongue.

During his two years' service in Brazil as Naval Commissioner in the Diplomatic Service, he was instrumental in planting the first seeds of friendship between Brazil and the United States. As a mark of esteem for his excellent service, the Brazilian Government sent an envoy to place a commemorative plaque in the Mahan Library at the United States Naval Academy in his honor.

Early in his Brazilian assignment, Vogelgesang was promoted to rear admiral, to date from 16 October 1922, the first person from California to become a flag officer.