Ensign Worth Bagley, USN (Brother of David Bagley)

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

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 3: World War I and the Sinking of the USS Jacob Jones

During the first month of 1917, Bagley  moved from the command of the USS Drayton (DD-23) to the USS Jacob Jones (DD-61).  By May 1917, his ship was conducting anti-submarine patols and convoy escort duties in the western approaches to the British Islands.  Later, his area of operations widened to include the Irish Sea and English Channel.

In December 6, 1917, the Jacob Jones left Brest Harbor, France,   At about 1621 that afternoon, the watch spotted a torpedo wake.  The destroyer tried to avoid it, but it struck the ship's starboard side and pierced the fuel oil tank.

Though Bagley and his crew worked frantically to save the ship, it went down within eight minutes, carrying 64 out of 99 crewmen with it.  Bagley and 37 others made it into the icy waters in boats and rafts. Thanks to the humanitarian effort by the German U-boat skipper Hans Rose, who radioed their location to Queenstown, they were picked up by December 8.

Bagley was given the Navy Distinguished Service Cross for his role.

--Cooter

Admiral David W. Bagley, USN (Commander of the USS Jacob Jones)-- Part 1: From a Naval Family

He was the commander of the USS Jacob Jones  (DD-61) which was sunk by a German U-boat in World War I.  I have been writing about this ship in the last several blogs.  The wreck of this ship has just recently been found.

From Wikipedia.

DAVID WORTH BAGLEY

(January 8, 1883 to May 24, 1960)

Was an admiral in the U.S. Navy during World War II.  (I will be writing about him in this blog and not my World War II one because of his command of the Jacob Jones.)

He was the brother of Ensign Worth Bagley, the only  United States Navy officer killed in action during the Spanish-American War and the father of admirals  David H. Bagley and Worth H. Bagley.  So this is another one of those big-time Navy families.

His father, William Henry Bagley, was a Confederate officer from North Carolina.

Looks like I'll have to do some more RoadTrippin' Through History with this family.

--Cooter

USS Jacob Jones (DD-61)-- Part 7: Honors Awarded and Wreck Found

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

USS Jacob Jones (DD-61)-- Part 6: A Humanitarian Gesture and Rescue

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

USS Jacob Jones (DD-61)-- Part 5: Sank in Eight Minutes

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.

USS Jacob Jones (DD-61)-- Part 4: The Sinking

In early December, the Jacob Jones helped escort a convoy to Brest, France, with five other Queenstown-based destroyers.  The last to depart from Brest and return to Ireland was the Jones and was steaming alone along a zig-zag pattern when she was spotted by  the German submarine U-53.  At 16:20 on December 6, 1917,  lookouts on the American ship spotted a torpedo 800 yards distant headed for the ship's starboard side.

Despite having her rudder put hard left and emergency speed rung up, the Jones was unable to move out of the way and the torpedo struck her rudder.  Even though the depth charges did not explode, the ship went adrift.  The jolt had knocked out the power, so the destroyer was unable to  send a distress signal since she was steaming alone.

No other ship was present that would know of the Jacob Jones' predicament.

--Cooter

USS Jacob Jones (DD-61)-- Part 3: Rescuing Survivors

On 8 July 1917, the Jones rescued 44 survivors from the Valetta, torpedoed by the U- 87.  While escorting the British steamship Dafila two weeks later, lookouts on the USS  Jacob Jones spotted a periscope, but before it could attack, the U-45 torpedoed and sank the steamship.  The Jones rescued 26 of the 29 crew members before it sank.

On 19 October the British armed merchant cruiser Orama and ten destroyers, including the Jacob Jones were escorting an eastbound convoy of twenty steamers, when the U-62 surfaced in the midst of the group.  The submarine launched its only remaining torpedo and sank the Orama.  The Jones then rescued 309 survivors.

--Cooter

USS Jacob Jones (DD-61)-- Part 2: Early War Activity

The Jacob Jones was launched 29 May, 1915  by sponsor  Mrs. Jerome  Parker Crittenden, a great-granddaughter of the ship's namesake Commodore Jacob Jones (1768-1815), a U.S. naval officer during the War of 1812.

The USS Jacob Jones (DD-61) was commissioned  on 10 November 1916 under the command of Lieutenant Commander  William S. Pye.  He is perhaps best-known for his remark on December 6, 1941:  "The Japanese will not go to war with the United States.  We are too big, too powerful, and too strong."

Following commission, the Jones conducted training exercises off the New England coast then entered Philadelphia Navy Yard for repairs.

On 3 February 1917, the day the United States broke diplomatic relations with Germany, the Jones  nearly sank in the navy yard.  Contemporary reports said it might have been an act of sabotage.  Upon the U.S. entry into the war on  6 April 1917, the ship patrolled off  the coast of Virginia.

She and a group of destroyers sailed from Boston for Europe on  7 May and arrived at  Queenstown, Ireland, on 17 May.

The Jacob Jones' duties involved patrolling and escorting convoys in the Irish Sea and occasionally rescuing crews of sunken ships.

--Cooter

USS Jacob Jones (DD-61)

From Wikipedia.

Was a Tucker-class destroyer and first U.S. warship named for Jacob Nicholas Jones (there were two others).

It was laid down 4 August 1914, launched  19 May 1915 and commissioned  10 February 1916.

*********************************

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

LENGTH:  315 feet 3 inches

BEAM:  30 feet 6 inches

DRAFT:  9 feet 8 inches

 SPEED:  30 knots

COMPLEMENT:  99 officers and enlisted

ARMAMENT:

Four 4-inch guns

Eight 21-inch torpedo tubes

--Cooter

Wreck of First U.S. Destroyer Lost to Enemy Action Found: The USS Jacob Jones

From the August 19, 2022, Chicago Tribune "WW I Navy destroyer."

The wreck of the first U.S. Navy destroyer lost to enemy action has been found off the coast of southwest England, 105 years after it was sunk by a German submarine.

A team of British divers announced the find on Facebook last week saying it was thrilled to have located the World War I ship, the USS Jacob Jones, about sixty nautical miles south of Newlyn, a fishing harbor in Cornwall.

More than a century ago, in 1917, after the United States entered World War I against Germany, the Jacob Jones left Boston for Ireland, whetre it performed rescue operations, picking up survivors from British steamships that had been hit by German submarines and escorting convoys through dangerous waters.

On December 6, 1917, the Jacob Jones left Brest, France, for Queenstown, Ireland, according to U.S. Naval records.  About 20 miles off the coast of southern England, a German submarine torpedoed the Jones.  There were seven officers and 103 crew members aboard the ship.  Eight minutes later, the ship sank, and 64 men  lost their lives.

--Cooter

World War I Chronology, December 1917: Sinking of the USS Jacob Jones

From the VFW magazine , April 1917.

DECEMBER 6--  The U.S. destroyer Jacob Jones is torpedoed and sunk with the loss of 64 lives near the Scilly Isles.

DECEMBER 6--  U.S. Battleship Division 9 arrives at Scapa Flow in the Orkneys to reinforce the British Grand Fleet as the 6th Battle Squadron.

--DaCoot