Mr. Bampfield is a retired defense-related consultant living in Arlington, Virginia. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1960 and served in units of the submarine, surface, and aviation communities. As a chief petty officer in 1972, he was selected to serve as a warrant officer and was commissioned as an avionics limited duty officer in 1976. He retired as a lieutenant in 1981. His interest in Robert Smalls is the result of family history research. In 1876, Smalls's daughter Elizabeth was married in Beaufort to one Samuel J. Bampfield.
