From Wikipedia.
The USS Winslow was noted for its participation in the 1st and 2nd Battles of Cardenas during the Spanish-American War.
It and launched 8 May 1897.was laid down at Baltimore, Maryland, and commissioned 29 December of that year with Lieutenant John B. Bernadou in command.
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
Length: 161 feet
Beam: 16 feet
Speed: 25 knots
Complement: 20 officers and enlisted
Armament:
three 1-pounder guns
three 18-inch torpedo tubes
--Cooter
In the last post, I wrote that Ensign Worth Bagley, brother of David Bagley, USN, was the only naval officer killed in action during the Spanish-American War when his ship, the torpedo boat USS Winslow was hit by a shell from a Spanish warship.
The USS Winslow (TB-5) was named after the famed CivilWar naval officer John Ancrum Winslow who commanded the USS Kearsarge when it sank the Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama.
There was also a World War I destroyer, the USS Winslow (DD--53), an O'Brien-class destroyer which was decommissioned in 1922.
The destroyer USS Winslow (DD-359), a Porter-class destroyer commissioned in 1937 that served in World War II It was named for John Ancrum Winslow and his second cousin, Admiral Cameron Winslow.
Cameron Winslow served in the Spanish-American War and World War I.
Looks like I'll have to be doing some RoadTrippin' Through History.
--Cooter
From Wikipedia.
Ensign Worth Bagley (April 6, 1774-May 11, 1898) was the only naval officer killed in action in the Spanish-American War. He is also the brother of David Bagley who rose to the rank of admiral and commanded the USS Jacob Jones, sunk in WW I.
He was born in Raleigh, North Carolina. and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1895. After serving two years on the USS Montgomery (C-9), USS Texas and USS Maine, he was made ensign on July 1, 1897. In November he was appointed inspector of the new torpedo boat USS Winslow. and when she was commissioned on December 28, he was assigned the ship's executive officer under Lt. John Baptiste Bernadou.
In April 1898, the Winslow was with the fleet when it mobilized for action in Cuba On the morning of May 11 the Winslow went with the USRC Hudson and USS Wilmington (PG-8) to force the entrance to the harbor of Cardenas.
She was fired upon by the Spanish gunboat Antonio Lopez and immediately there was a general engagement. The Winslow was soon disabled and with difficulty was hauled out of range of Spanish guns by the Hudson.
Just as the engagement ended, Ensign Bagley and four sailors were killed by a shell.
--Cooter
He was releived of all duties on March 12, 1946, and placed on the retired list with the rank of admiral on April 7, 1947 after 42 years of continuous service. Admiral Bagley died at the Naval Hospital, San Diego, California, on May 24, 1960.
Admiral Bagley is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
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The first three vessels named USS Bagley: Torpedo Boat No. 24, DD-185 and DD--386 were named for Ensign Worth Bailey (the only naval officer killed in action in the Spanish-American War). The fourth, DE-1069, was named for both Worth Bagley and his brother, Admiral David W. Bagley.
Bagley Amphitheater at Barbers Point, Hawaii, was completed 1 April 1945 with seating capacity for 7,200.
--Cooter
In May 1935,orders were sent to Bagley in Newport, Rhode Island, to attend the Naval War College. Upon completing his senior course, he remained there as a staff member. Next came duty as Commander, Destroyer Squadron 20, Destroyers, Scouting Fleet.
From July 1937 to May 1938, he served as Commander, Minecraft, Battle Force. While in that position, he was promoted to flag rank, to date from April 1, 1938. In May of that year, now Rear Admiral David W. Bagley, began a 32-month tour of duty as Commandant, Mare Island Navy Yard on the West Coast.
At the beginning of 1941, he broke his flag on the USS Tennessee (BB-43), as Commander, Battleship Division 2. And they were based at a little-known to many Americans, island base out in the Pacific Ocean called Pearl Harbor.
--Cooter
Bagley returned to the United States after the sinking of the Jacob Jones and become the commander of the new destroyer USS Lea (DD-118) then under construction at Philadelphia Navy Yard and put her into commission on October 2, 1918 and commanded her until January1919 when he became the American port officer at Rotterdam, Netherlands, with the additional duty as naval attache in the American legation at The Hague.
INTERWAR YEARS
Bagley had attache and shore duty until March 1922 when he was given command of the USS Reno (DD-303, and commander of Destroyer Division 32, Pacific Fleet. In 1924, he had another two-year stint at the Naval Academy.
From there, in 1926, he became chief of staff to the Commander, Naval Forces, Europe
He returned to sea in December 1931 as commanding officer of the heavy cruiser USS Pensacola (CA-24) then serving on the Atlantic with Cruiser Division 4, Scouting Fleet untill 1933 when he went to Washington, D.C. for duty at the Bureau of Navigation and later became assistant bureau chief.
--Cooter
He was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, on January 8, 1883, and attended North Carolina State College for two years before entering the United States Naval Academy in 1900 and graduating February 4, 1904. He went to sea on the USS Missouri (BB-11).
In 1905, Passed Midshipman Bagley was transferred to the Asiatic Fleet and assigned to the gunboat USS Concord and later to the USS West Virginia (ACR-5). He was commissioned an ensign while on the Concord. In 1908, he reported to the USS Rhode Island (BB-17) of the Atlantic Fleet and made the voyage around the world as part of the Great White Fleet
In April 1909, he left the Rhode Island and spent a year with the General Electric Company in New York for a year of instruction. After this came service on the staffs of the Atlantic and Asiatic fleets. In 1914, he was a lieutenant on the USS Michigan (BB-27) in the Atlantic Fleet.
He got his first command in September 1915 when he took over the USS Drayton (DD-23).
--Cooter
Several men were recognized for their actions in the aftermath of the torpedo attack. Stanton F. Kalk (posthumously) and Commander David W. Bagley received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal.
Others honored included Chief Boatswain's Mate Harry Gibson (postumously) and Chief Electrician's Mate L. J. Kelly, who both received the Navy Cross.
Richards, Scott and Chief Boatswain's Mate Charles Charlesworth all received letters of commendation.
The German commander, Hans Rose was awarded the Pour le Merite and Ritterkreuz des Hohenzollerschen Hausordens mit Schwertem for this and other achievements during the war.
WRECK LOCATED
On August 11, 2022, British deep sea divers located the wreck of the Jacob Jones off the coast of the Isles of Scilly at a depth of 377 feet. Numerous artifacts were located, including the ship's bell.
AsI mentioned before, there was also a USS Jacob Jones (DD-245) that was also sunk by a U-boat in World War II. I will eventually write about it in my Tattooed on Your Soul: World War II blog
The destroyer's commander, David W. Bagley, noted in his official account of the sinking, that about 30 minutes after the Jacob Jones sank, the German U-boat U-53, commanded by Hans Rose, surfaced about two to three miles from the rafts and took one of the American sailors on board. According to the Uboat.net site, the Germans took on board two badly injured American sailors.
In addition, Hans Rose radioed the American base at Queenstown with the approximate coordinates of the sinking before departing the area. That was a very nice thing to do.
Bagley, unaware of Hans Rose's humanitarian gesture,left most of the food, water and medical supplies with Lieutenant Commander John W. Richards, whom he left in charge of the rafts. Then he, the Jacob Jones' executive officer, Norman Scott and four crewmen and rowed to the nearby Isles of Scilly for aid.
At 13:00 on 7 December, they were spotted by a British patrol vessel just six nautical miles from their destination. They were relieved to hear that the British sloop HMS Camellia had found and taken aboard most of the Jones' survivors earlier that morning. In addition, a small group had also been rescued on the night of the sinking by the American steamer Catalina.
--Cooter
From the October 2022 American Battlefield Trust calendar.
SARATOGA, NEW YORK
26 acres saved
The American game-changing victory at Saratoga, New York, on October 7 (today), 1777, marked the end of British General John Burgoyne's efforts to control the Hudson River Valley and the beginning of a Franco-American alliance, which brought the American Revolution to a global stage.
The American Battlefield Trust, along with the Saratoga National Historical Park, has saved 26 acres at the upstate New York battlefield and continues to work with American Veteran Archaeology Recovery to coordinate archaeological endeavors in the storied terrain.
As I said before, I am very glad that the former Civil War Trust has expanded its efforts to include the two other wars fought on American soil, the American Revolution and the War of 1812.
--Cooter
From the American Battlefield Trust.
OCTOBER 7, 1763
** Proclamation of 1763. King George III banned American colonists from settling beyond the Appalachian Mountains.
OCTOBER 7-23, 1765
** Stamp Act Congress meets in Philadelphia to discuss the crisis.
SEPTEMBER 5 -- OCTOBER 26, 1774
** The First Continental Congress meets at Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia.
OCTOBER 7, 1777
** Battle of Saratoga, New York, concludes with a major American victory.
OCTOBER 19, 1781
** British General Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown, Virginia.
--Cooter
The destroyer's commander, David W. Bagley, ordered all life boats launched. As the ship sank, her bow raisd in the air almost vertically before she sank. At this point, the armed depth charges near the stern began to explode, killing men unable to escape the destroyer and stunning many in the water.
The Jacob Jones was the first American destroyer ever lost to enemy action. It sank in just eight minutes after being hit by the torpedo. Two officers and 64 men of the crew died out its 99 man complement.
Several of the crew, including Lieutenant, Junior Grade, Stanton F. Klak, the officer-of-the-deck, when the torpedo struck, began to get men out of the water and into life rafts. He was working in the cold North Atlantic waters and was striving to equalize the loads on the various rafts. Sadly, he died of exhaustion and exposure.
