James Harmon Ward, USN-- Part 1: First U.S. Navy Officer Killed in the War

From Wikipedia.

On June 27, 2016, I mentioned that that was the 155th  anniversary of the death of U.S. Naval Officer James Harmon Ward during an attack on Confederate positions at Mathias Point, Virginia.

(25 September 1806- 27 June 1861)

First U.S. Navy officer killed in the Civil War.  Born in Hartford, Connecticut and attended schools before being appointed a midshipman 4 March 1823.  Served on the USS Constitution for four years in the Mediterranean, then was on the African slave trade routes and in the West Indies because of piracy.

On October 10, 1845, the U.S. Naval Academy opened and Ward was one of the five founders of it.  generally considered as one of the most scholarly of U.S. Naval officers.

--Old B-Runner