Seth Ledyard Phelps (1824-1885), a native of Ohio, served as midshipman and junior officer in the Navy, sailing off the coasts of Africa, and in the Mediterranean and Caribbean. One of his first assignments was on a scientific expedition to Chile under Lt. James M. Gilliss from 1849 to 1852. While on the US Susquehanna, (1856-1858), he weathered a severe yellow fever epidemic and spoke before the U.S. Senate about it. During the Civil War, he was active in the Western Rivers. He resigned from the Navy in 1864, worked as an agent for the Pacific Mail Steamship, and became the U.S. Minister to Peru from 1883 until his death in 1885.
From the description of Seth Ledyard Phelps papers, 1856-1873. (The Mariners' Museum Library). WorldCat record id: 775010548
