of rendering the navy odious to the nation from the scenes of want & extravagance which it has too long exhibited must serve as a model on which to prefect a general system of economy. In making to you,- Sir, these remarks the Navy Commissioners are aware that you have with themselves long witnessed the evils of which they complain, & which every countenance will be given to assist you in remedying them, they calculate with confidence on a disposition on your part to forward the public interests." From November 1824 through May 1827, he commanded the Mediterranean Squadron. After his final naval command, returned to New York where he became the Navy agent at the port there. Societies During the 1820s, Rodgers was a member of the prestigious Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences, who counted among their members former presidents Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams and many prominent men of the day, including well-known representatives of the military, government service, medical and other professions. Final years Several years before Rodgers retired from the Board of Naval Commissioners his health began to decline, it is believed from a case of cholera. On advice that his condition would benefit from a leave of absence he was persuaded to take a trip across the Atlantic to England. Rodgers subsequently resigned his commission with the blessing of President Andrew Jackson and Secretary Mahlon Dickerson of the Navy. On May 10 he sailed for London, embarking from New York on the packet ship Montreal and spent several weeks in London. He also visited the towns of Plymouth and Portsmouth and was escorted and given much attention by the Admiralty of the Royal Navy and many notable people. He was the guest of two close friends, Admiral Sir James Stirling and Lady Hillyarm who were with the Mediterranean Fleet while Rodgers was serving there, dealing with the piracy of the Barbary states. Late in August 1837 Rodgers returned to the United States with little improvement in his health. He remained at his home at Lafayette Square in Washington for several weeks, but with his health now steadily declining again he was placed in the care of the naval asylum at Philadelphia under the care of a naval doctor and friend, Dr. Thomas Harris. His wife took up residence in a boarding house nearby. Soon his already frail condition began to