Samuel was born on the 23rd of July, 1834 in Rawdon, Quebec, Canada. His parents were Irish immigrants and he would go on to enlist in the US Navy at the age of 22 and served in the American Civil War. It was his actions during the Korean Expedition that would earn him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:

On board the U.S.S. Colorado during the attack and capture of the Korean forts, 11 June 1871. Fighting courageously at the side of Lt. McKee during this action, Rogers was wounded by the enemy.

Samuel left the Navy after 27 years as a Chief Petty Officer and several years later he was a lighthouse operator at Spectacle Reef in Northern Lake Huron, South Channel, and Grand Marais, Michigan. Samuel F Rogers died on the 1st of November, 1905 at the age of 71 and is buried in the Forest Home Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois: section CL, plot 1700.