George F. Brady, USN-- Part 2: Committed Suicide and Gravestone Didn't List His Medal of Honor

In addition to the Medal of Honor, he was promoted to the warrant officer rank of Gunner on June 27, 1898.  His first assignment at the new rank was on the armored cruiser USS New York (ACR-2).  Then, he was transferred to Naval Torpedo Station in Newport, Rhode Island, on 21 November 1900.

His old ship, the USS Winslow, on which he won his Medal of Honor, was stationed there from 1901 to 1904, so it is likely he was back on his old ship.

Sadly, he committed suicide while serving on the USS Monongahela at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine, on November 6, 1903.  He stated shortly before his suicide that "the pain was unbearable", but it is unclear if his pain was physical or emotional.

He was buried in the Island Cemetery in Newport, Rhode Island, where his wife and children lived.  As his tombstone did not indicate that he had received the Medal of Honor, this fact was not discovered until January 20 when Charles Mogayzel of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, was able to find Brady's gravesite.

Representatives of the U.S. Navy and local veterans  organizations dedicated a Medal of Honor grave marker on Brady's grave on Memorial Day later that year.

His name in records pertaining to the Medal of Honor list his name as "George F. Brady" and the name on his tombstone is "George P. Brady."  The reason for this discrepancy is probably that his name was mis-transcribed when his Medal of Honor citation was written.

--Cooter

Ships on Which Charles Gridley Served

The ships Charles V. Gridley served upon ran the whole history of the U.S. Navy from 1860 (actually back to 1798) to 1898.  A lot of years.

The ships went from wooden to steel, sails to steam.

USS Constitution (USNA)

USS Oneida

USS Brooklyn  (This ship was at the Battle of Mobile Bay and the Battles of Fort Fisher.  Gridley served on it after the war.)

USS Kearsarge

USS Michigan  (1871)

USS Monongahela  (1873)

USS Trenton

USS Marion (his first actual command 1892)

USS Olympia

--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

Charles Dwight Sigsbee: the Maine's Commander

Well, I was wondering about Sigsbee's desk and bathtub as well as other objects.

From Wikipedia.

(1845-1923)  Noted pioneering oceanographer.

He was captain of the USS Maine when it exploded.

Appointed acting midshipman 16 July 1862 from the USNA.  During the Civil War, he served aboard the USS Monongahela, USS Wyoming and USS Shenandoah (not the Confederate cruiser of the same name). He was at the Battle of Mobile Bay and both battles of Fort Fisher.

He commanded the USS Kearsarge (which sank the famed CSS Alabama) and was on the European Station 1885-1886.

Sigsbee and his officers were exonerated by the court of inquiry after the Maine sank and later commanded the USS St. Paul in 1898 at the second battle of San Juan and the  Texas in 1900.

In 1905, he commanded the USS Brooklyn when it brought home the remains of naval hero and Father of the U.S. Navy John Paul Jones from France for internment at the USNA.

Retired from the Navy in 1909 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

--DaCoot