Admiral David W. Bagley-- Part 4: Interwar Service

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

Admiral David W. Bagley-- Part 2: Quite the Varied Naval Career

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

He Fired When Ready-- Part 2: Charles V. Gridley's Inter-War Years

Charles Vernon Gridley of Hillsdale, Michigan, was appointed to the USNA in 1860, by Michigan Congressman Henry Waldron.   At the academy, which moved to Newport, Rhode Island for safety in the strongly pro-Confederate state of Maryland, he attained no particular distinction and graduated in the bottom half of his class.  But, he was well-regarded and somehow picked up the nickname of "Steve."

His first assignment was to the USS Oneida which then took part in the Battle of Mobile Bay where he achieved commendation.

After the war it was difficult for younger officers to rise in the ranks because the Navy had more officers than it had postings.  Even so, Charles rose through the ranks fairly fast.  (See yesterday's post.)  In 1892, he received his first command on the USS Marion and  was posted to the Asiatic Squadron. 

Finally in 1897, he received promotion to captain and given command of the USS Olympia of the Asiatic Squadron.  The Olympic was one of the most modern ships in the Navy at the time, having been commissioned in 1895, and this was a highly desirable posting.  

He proved to be a popular commander, somehow managing to run a tight ship without having to be a strict disciplinarian.

--Cooter

Charles V. Gridley-- Part 4: Stationed at Erie, Pennsylvania and Back to USNA

In 1871, Charles Gridley was posted to the USS Michigan, the only American warship on the Great Lakes and home harbored at Erie, Pennsylvania.  Being there over a period of time gave him the chance to socialize with the fairer sex.  The Michigan would be   confined to dock by the Lake Erie ice.

He soon met Ellie Vincent, the daughter of Judge John V. Vincent.  The two were married on May 10, 1872.  Thenceforth, Gridley would always consider Erie his home.  It was here that his family, which by 1880 included two daughters and a son, would continue to live.

By 1875, Lt. Cmdr. Gridley found himself with orders to report to his alma mater, the USNA, to teach seamanship, naval tactics and naval construction.  Throughout his career, Gridley was to experience an ever-growing reputation for his abilities and knowledge in sail shiphandling and navigation.  Now, he was training the officers of the future aboard the USS Monongahela and USS Constellation.

He is buried in a cemetery in Erie, Pennsylvania, which would explain how he came to be there.

--Cooter

William Charles Fitzgerald, USN, Navy Cross Recipient, Vietnam War

From Wikipedia

I have been writing about the Guided Missile Destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) in the three previous posts and got to wondering about who the ship was named after.

William "Bill" C. Fitzgerald (January 28, 1938 to August 7, 1967) was a United States naval officer who was killed in action during the Vietnam War, while serving as an advisor to the Republic of Vietnam Navy.  He received the Navy Cross posthumously for his rile in fighting  off a Viet Cong attack.

From Vermont, his father was a career Navy man who retired as a chief petty officer.  After high school graduation, he followed his father's footsteps and enlisted in the Navy.  Seaman Fitzgerald eventually earned selection for officer training by appointment to the  U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis with the Class of 1963.  He excelled there.

Midshipmen Fitzgerald graduated and was commissioned into the U.S. Navy on June 5, 1963 and then reported to the destroyer USS Charles H. Roan (DD-853), where he rose from "boot ensign" to weapons department head.

America's Long Line of Presidential Military Heroes-- Part 4: More World War II Presidents

World War II presidents, continued.

Richard Nixon, Navy,  began the war in Iowa, despite its lack of a coast, then was transferred to the Pacific where he never saw action either.  Gerald Ford was on an aircraft carrier and won ten battle stars.  Jimmy Carter was still a cadet at the U.S. Naval Academy during WW II and served on submarines and battleships in the late 1940s and 1950s and never saw action.

Ronald Reagan , who many thing never served, enlisted in the Army in 1942 but was classified 4F due to bad eyesight and remained stateside.

Of course, there was also George H.W. Bush, who flew planes off the USS San Jacinto aircraft carrier during the war and almost lost his life when he was shot down.  The other man in his plane did die.  Bush was rescued by a submarine.

--GreGen

James Harvey Tomb-- Part 1: U.S. Navy and U.S. Merchant Marine

In my Running the Blockade:  Civil War Navy blog I have been writing about a Confederate naval officer by the name of James Hamilton Tomb, who had quite a career in submersibles and torpedoes as well as the Brazilian Navy.  While looking for information on him, I came across the names of two more U.S. naval officers with the last name of Tomb who I thought perhaps were the sons of him.

It turns out that they were.  But since their service was not in the Civil War, I will write about them in this blog.

From Wikipedia.

JAMES HARVEY TOMB  (September 2, 1876 - September 23, 1946)

Served as Superintendent of the New York of the New York State Merchant Marine Academy and was appointed the first Superintendent of the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 1942.  He was also a U.S. Navy officer for 27 years.

He was a USNA graduate and an excellent marksman.  During World War I, he commanded the destroyer USS Hull in 1907 and USS Chauncey from 1908 to 1909.  Of interest to my War of 1812 readers, both of these destroyers were named after War of 1812 naval heroes, Isaac Hull and Isaac Chauncey.

During World War I, he commanded the former coastal liner Aroostook during the laying of the North Sea Mine Barrage that bottled up the German fleet.

--Cooter

Remembering the USS Maine Through Its Artifacts-- Part 2

Artiact location of the USS Maine.

UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY:  foremast, life preserver, two porthole covers, log glass, keys to the magazine,  electric light bulb and shade, a bugle, 1888 Penny from Sigbee's desk, Sigsbee's desk, Sigsbee's inkwell and binoculars.

I looked up Sigsbee and found that was the name of the Maine's commander at the time of the explosion.  I also later found out he had been at both battles of Fort fisher, another big interest of mine.

HAMPTON TOADS NAVAL MUSEUM, Norfolk, Virginia: Union Jack

MUSEUM, OF AMERICAN HISTORY, D.C.: stern scrollwork and name plate

RUTHERFORD B. HAYES PRESIDENTIAL CENTER, Fremont, Ohio: capstan

HANCOCK HISTORICAL MUSEUM, Findlay, Ohio:  Sigsbee's bathtub

MUSEUM OF HISTORY, Raleigh, N.C.: a bolt.

Well, that Sigsbee's bathtub in Ohio really peaked my interest.  More research needed to be on that.

--Cooter