BIRTH: 24 November 1844, Logansport, Indiana
DEATH: 5 June 1898, Kobe, Japan
BURIAL: Lakeside Cemetery, Erie, Pennsylvania
United States Naval Officer. Am 1864 graduate of the USNA. (which had temporarily moved to Newport, Rhode Island during the Civil War for safety), he served as acting ensign on board the USS Oneida at the August 5, 1864, Battle of Mobile Bay.
By the time of the Spanish-American War in 1898, he had risen to the rank of captain, and was in command of the USS Olympia during the May 1, 1898, Battle of Manila Bay. The Olympia served as the American Asiatic Squadron's commander George Dewey's flagship.
At the start of the battle, he commanded Captain Gridley to commence his bombardment on the Spanish ships with the words: You may fire when ready, Gridley." The phrase, widely reported in American newspapers, became a popular catch-phrase of the time.
Captain Gridley would die a month later after an illness on board a different ship while it was anchored off Kobe, Japan.
--Old B-Runner
No comments:
Post a Comment