Thursday, November 18, 2021

John H. Russell, Jr., 16th Commandant USMC-- Part 1: Son of Navy Mexican and Civil War Officer

From Wikipedia.

Earlier this month, I was writing about the USS Russell (DDG-59) which was the November featured U.S. warship in the 2021 Paralyzed Veterans of America calendar.

This ship was named after John H. Russell, Sr. and John H. Russell, Jr..  John H. Russell, Sr. was a U.S. Navy officer in the Mexican War and Civil War.  I wrote about him in my Running the Blockade:  Civil War Navy blog thus month.

John Jr., followed his father into military service, only with the U.S. Marines.

Born November 14, 1872.  Died March 6, 1947.

He was born at Mare Island, California, and the son of Rear Admiral John Henry Russell (1827-1897) and appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy by President Grover Cleveland in May 1888.  Graduated in June 1892, spent two years at sea, passed his final examinations and transferred to the USMC as a second lieutenant  on July 1, 1894.

In 1896, he joined the USS Massachusetts of the North Atlantic Squadron and served on that ship until after the end of the Spanish-American War.  The Massachusetts operated in waters off Cuba and Puerto Rico during the conflict, but was not at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba.

--Cooter


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