"Constitution" during her memorable escape from the British fleet, and also took part in the engagement with the frigate "Guerriere," 19 Aug., 1812, for which he received a silver medal and was included in the vote of thanks to Hull and his officers. He was 1st lieutenant of the corvette "Adams" during her cruise in 1814 when she captured ten prizes, but was chased by a British fleet into Penobscot bay. There she ran ashore, and, to pre- vent capture, was destroyed by her crew, who erected a fort armed with the guns from the ship, and drove the enemy away. He was promoted for his services during the war to master-commandant, 27 April, 1816, and commanded the brig " Prometheus" in the Mediterranean squadron after the Algerine war in 1816-'17, and then the sloop "John Adams " in the West Indies, suppressing piracy in two cruises — in 1818-'19 and 1821-2. He served at the Washington navy-yard in 1823-'5, and as inspector of ordnance in 1825-'9. He was promoted to captain, 3 March, 1825, surveyed Narragansett bay, R. I., and commanded the frigate " Constellation," of the Mediterranean squadron, in 1829-'32. He was commodore commanding the Pacific squadron in 1834-'6, a member of the board of navy commissioners in 1837-'40, and inspector of ordnance from 1841 till 1850.
WAFER, Lionel, British surgeon, b. in Wales
about 1640; d. in London, England, about 1705. He made several voyages to the South sea as surgeon on board merchant vessels, and in 1676 visited
the Malay archipelago. In 1677 he settled in Jamaica, where he practised his profession for some time, but in 1679 he accepted the appointment of surgeon on the fleet of two noted buccaneers, named Cook and Linen, who were joined by others while cruising along the coast of South America. They met, in Carthagena, William Dampier, who induced Wafer to enter his service. The after participated in Dampier's raids in the West Indies and on the Atlantic coast, and accompanied him in the expedition across the Isthmus of Darien
in 1680. But they quarrelled, and Wafer was abandoned on the road with four mutineers. They were surrounded by hostile Indians ; but one of the
soldiers, who understood their language, told the natives that Wafer was a great magician, and he lived with the Indians for several years, till he ob-
tained permission to visit his own country, on promising to return and marry the chief's sister and to bring with him some dogs from England.
He sailed away in 1684 on board a French buccaneer. He afterward was reconciled with Dampier, and sailed with him till 1685, when he became sur-
geon on board Capt. Nathaniel Davis's ship, and continued to lead a privateer's life in the South sea. In 1688 he came to North America and was among the first settlers of Philadelphia, where he resided
in 1688-'90, returning in the latter year to London. He wrote " A New Voyage and Description of the Isthmus of America" (London, 1699), which
was translated into French (Paris, 1706), and German (Halle, 1759). It contained the fullest description that had been published of the Isthmus of
Darien, the Indians that inhabited it, and its natural productions, and also interesting facts regarding Mexico, communicated to him by a Spanish
captain. The Swedish version (Upsala, 1789) contains also an interesting description of New Spain that is attributed to Wafer.
WAGGAMANN, George Augustus, senator, b.
in Somerset county, Md., in 1782; d. in New Orleans,
La., 22 March, 1843. He was educated in Maryland,
and practised law in New Orleans, was
interested in sugar-planting, and held various offices,
including that of secretary of state of Louisiana in
1830-'3. He was elected U. S. senator in place of
Edward Livingston, resigned, and served as a Whig
from 3 Jan., 1832, till 3 March, 1835. He died from
the effects of a wound that he received in a duel.
WAGNER, Daniel Christian, Alsatian
navigator, b. in Mulhouse about 1501; d. in Patagonia
in 1552. He early entered the Spanish service,
and acted as chief pilot in Mexico and Peru. In
1539 Gutierrez de Vargas, bishop of Placencia,
sent Admiral Camargo to explore the Strait of
Magellan. The fleet sailed from Seville in
August, 1539, Wagner acting as chief pilot, anchored
on 20 Jan., 1540, near Cape Virgins, and, after
entering the strait, stopped at Port Famine, but was
forced out by a hurricane and two vessels sank,
the crew seeking refuge on shore. A few days
later Admiral Camargo returned to search for the
shipwrecked, and Wagner went in a boat to
reconnoitre; but a new tempest carried Camargo out
to sea, and he entered Islay, in Peru. Wagner,
thus abandoned on the shore, met a part of the
shipwrecked crews, and with their help built
barracks in which they wintered, suffering greatly
from cold and famine. In the summer they built
a boat and they arrived in Islay in December, 1541.
In 1552 Wagner was appointed to the command
of a new expedition to explore the strait, but died
during the journey. The “Collection des grands
et petits voyages” (50 vols., Paris, 1750-'75)
attributes to Wagner a narrative entitled “Relation
de l'expédition de l'Amiral Camargo au détroit
de Magellan en 1539-'40, du naufrage de deux
navires de la flotte, et des souffrances, aventures, et
miraculeuse échappe des naufragés.”
WAGNER, John, surgeon, b. in Charleston,
S. C., 7 July, 1791; d. there, 22 May, 1841. He
was graduated at Yale in 1812, studied medicine
in New York, went to England in 1815, where
he became the pupil of Sir. Astley P. Cooper for
three years, and, while attending his lectures, was
employed as a dresser in Guy's hospital, London.
Two large manuscript volumes on surgery and
anatomy remain as a register of the important
cases that he studied during this period. He
received a degree from the Royal college of surgeons,
and also studied in Paris under Dupuytren. On
his return he settled in Charleston, S. C., where he
soon rose to eminence as a surgeon. He successfully
performed the third operation for osteosarcoma
of the lower jaw. In 1826 he began a
course of dissections and demonstrations in practical
anatomy. In the art of making and preserving
anatomical preparations he was rarely excelled,
and his specimens, which still remain, are models.
In 1829 he was elected professor of pathological
and surgical anatomy in South Carolina medical
college, which is said to have been the first college
to establish this department. In 1832 he succeeded
Dr. James Ramsey in the chair of surgery.
WAGNER, Moritz Friedrich, German explorer, b. in Baireuth, Bavaria, 3 Oct., 1813. He received his education at the University of Augsburg, was afterward clerk in a mercantile house in Marseilles, and in 1834 went to Paris, Erlangen, and Munich, to study natural science. He visited Algiers in 1836-'8, studied geology at Göttingen in 1838-'42, explored the Caucasus and Armenia in 1842-'6, at the expense of the Berlin academy of sciences, and visited Italy in 1846-'9, and Asia Minor, Persia, and Kurdistan in 1850-'1. In 1852-'5, with Karl von Scherzer, he visited the United States, Central America, and the West Indies, and he went again to America in 1857, at the invitation of King Maximilian II. of Bavaria.
