August 5, This Date in Civil War Naval History: Farragut and the USS Monitor

From the August 5, 2021, Chicago Tribune.

These two things were of significant importance to the Civil War Navis.

**  1864:  

Admiral David Farragut is said to have given his famous order, "Damn the torpedoes!  Full speed ahead!" as he led the Union fleet against Confederate forces in Alabama's Mobile Bay.

Of course, I have been writing about two other naval officers who were at this battle:  Charles V. Gridley and J.R.M. Mullany, although neither would have heard the admiral's utterance as they were at the end of the line on the USS Oneida.

**  2002:  

The coral-encrusted gun turret of the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor was raised form the floor of the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

--Old B-Runner

J.R.M. Mullany, USN-- Part 1: Gridley's Commander at the Battle of Mobile Bay

The commander of the USS Oneida, on which eight men received Medals of Honor and Charles Gridley received highest accolades at the Battle of Mobile Bay was this man.

I had never heard of him before so did some research.

From the USS Mullany site.

The USS Mullany (DD-528)was a Fletcher-class destroyer that served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1971 when it was sold to Taiwan.  It was the second ship named  for  Rear Admiral  James Robert Madison Mullany.

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James Robert Madison Mullany was a U.S. Navy officer born in New York City on 26 October  1818 and died  in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania on 17 September 1887.

He was the son of  Colonel James R. Mullany, Quarter Master general of the U.S. Army and entered the Navy as a midshipman from New Jersey, 7 January 1832.

He was promoted passed midshipman on 23 June 1838, and lieutenant 29 February 1844.

Mullany was actively engaged in the Mexican War and took part in the capture of  Tobasco in June 1847.

--Old B-Runner

Some More on Charles V. Gridley-- Part 2: Service at the Battle of Mobile Bay

During the Battle of Mobile Bay, Gridley was placed  all of the way forward on the USS Oneida, where he could watch the channel for  mines and gave steering directions to   the ship's commander,  Cmdr.  J.R.M. Mullany.  During the action,  the Oneida had eight men killed and thirty wounded, including its commander.

Though a shell hit close to Gridley, he was unscathed.

The Oneida was lashed to the USS Galena and in the rear of the line of battle and came under fire of both Fort Morgan and the Confederate ram CSS Tennessee.  One shot in particular did heavy damage to the Oneida and wounded its commander in several places, causing the amputation of his left arm.

His commanding officer was highly pleased with his actions and wrote:  "The conduct of Acting Ensign  C.V. Gridley is beyond all praise.  He had charge of the  master's division and assisted  in conning the ship from the topgallant forecastle."

Following the war, Gridley was detailed to transport a group of Confederate  prisoners to Texas who had accepted the option of going into exile in Mexico.  On arriving, it was found that the former Confederates would have no way of continuing south, as the bridges across the Rio Grande had been destroyed.  In spite of their being former enemies, Gridley did not abandon his passengers.  he took it upon himself to transport them  across to Mexico.

I am writing about him in my Cooter's History Thing blog right now and continuing with his service in the U.S. Navy after the Civil War.

--Old B-R'er

Some More on Charles V. Gridley-- Part 1

Back in June, I was writing about Charles V. Gridley and his service in the United States Navy, including the Civil War.  He was probably most famous as being the recipient of George Dewey's command, "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley." at the Battle of Manila Bay which was a huge American victory during the Spanish-American War.

I have come across some more information on his Civil War service and will include it here.

From "The Spanish-American War Centennial Website, Capt. Charles V. "Steve" Gridley.

He was just 16 when appointed to the USNA and graduated in 1864 in the bottom half of his class, which also included future notables Robley Evans and  Charles Sigsbee (who was in command of the USS Maine when it blew up in Havana Harbor).  Both of these men were at the Battles of Fort Fisher.

His first assignment was on the USS Oneida in Farragut's fleet where he got his baptism of fire at the Battle of Mobile Bay.  He would not  experience such a large action again for thirty-four years, at Manila Bay.

--Old B-Runner

John P. Vincent Gridley, Charles Gridley's Son, Killed in Tragic Accident Aboard the USS Missouri (BB-11) in 1904

From Find-A-Grave.

BIRTH:  26 March 1880

DEATH:  13 April 1904  (aged 24)

BURIAL:  Lakeside Cemetery, Erie Pennsylvania.

The stone inscription:  "Lt. USMC.  Killed by an explosion in the  After Turret of the USS Missouri off Pensacola, Florida.

Until the day break and the Shadows flee away."

From Wikipedia.

The USS Missouri (BB-11) was a Maine-class battleship commissioned in 1903.  On April 13, 1904, the ship suffered an accident during gunnery practice; the port 12-inch gun in her rear turret flared backwards  on firing and ignited  three propellant charges in the turret.

The resulting fire suffocated 36 men in the turret.  Quick action by the surviving members of the turret crew prevented the fire from spreading to  the magazines, which would have destroyed the ship.  For their actions, three men were awarded the Medal of Honor.  The Missouri returned to Newport News for repairs, which were completed by early June.

--Old B-Runner

Civil War Service of Charles V. Gridley

From the Nation Cyclopaedia.

In 1860, he was appointed from Hillsdale, Michigan, to the United States Naval Academy  by Representative  Henry Waldron.  The opening of the civil War advanced the graduation of the Class of 1864, to which he belonged by one year; and on October 1, 1863, he was appointed ensign and assigned to the steam sloop-of-war USS Oneida, attached to the West Coast Blockading Squadron.

He was in a number of engagements, and while on the Oneida specially distinguished himself at the Battle of Mobile Bay, August 5, 1864.  He was  favorably mentioned in the Oneida's official report of the ship's executive officer:  "The conduct of  acting ensign Charles V. Gridley is beyond all praise.  He had charge of the master's division and assisted in the conning the ship from the gallant forecastle."

At the end of the war,  he was ordered to the steam sloop  USS Brooklyn, flagship of the Brazilian Station.

--Old B-Runner

Charles Vernon Gridley a Member of the Sons of the American Revolution As Well

From the National Register of the Sons of the American Revolution (1902)

CHARLES VERNON GRIDLEY.

U.S. Navy, died in service June 5, 1898.

Great grand-son of  Miner Sholes, private  Connecticut Militia, pensioned.

Great grand-son of Elisha Gridley, private Connecticut Militia, pensioned.

--Brock-Perry

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From Lineage Book of Daughters of the American Revolution.

MRS. ANN ELIZA SHOLES GRIDLEY

Born New York, New York.  Wife of Franklin Gridley.  Descendant of Miner Sholes.

MINER SHOLES

(1760-1842)

Enlisted 1779, and 1781  was a private in Captain Joseph Carew's Company.  he was wounded in a skirmish with Tories in 1783 when serving with Captain  Simon Allen.

In 1832 he applied for a pension.  His claim was allowed.  He was born in New London, Connecticut; died in Edminston, New York.

--Old B-Runner

Gridley's Mother, Ann Eliza Sholes Gridley-- Part 2

Ann Sholes and her husband Frank moved to Hillsdale, Michigan,  as newlyweds in 1845.  The Gridleys ran a  grocery store and had two sons and a daughter.  The youngest, little Helen, died at ten weeks of age.  Exactly what occurred to husband Frank is not known, but he was committed to the Michigan Insane Asylum, remaining apart from Ann until his death in 1887.

Her efforts to improve Oak Grove Cemetery through the Ladies  Cemetery Association  are well documented, as was her charity work as one of the founders of St. Peter's Episcopal Church.

Considered one of Hillsdale's most heroic figures, the name of Ann Gridley was chosen in 1911 as the name of the town's newly-organized Daughters of the American Revolution.

--Old B-Runner

Gridley's Mother: Ann Sholes Gridley

From Charles V. Gridley Find-A-Grave.

Charles Gridley's mother, Ann Eliza  Sholes Gridley (1825-1909) is listed as a Civil War nurse and a Daughter of the American Revolution.  She is buried with Charles' father at Oak Grove Cemetery in Hillsdale, Michigan.

From the Hillsdale (Michigan) Historical Society.

ANN SHOLES GRIDLEY

In her obituary in the local newspaper, the statement is made, "no one knows how much this esteemed woman did for Hillsdale."  Ann became famous as the mother of Capt. Charles Gridley of Manila Bay "You may fire  when you are ready, Gridley!"

She was also well-known nationally for her thirty years' service in the land office in Washington, D.C.

Known locally for her tireless work as a volunteer nurse on the fields of battle of the Civil War, Ann went to the front to administer aid to the sick and wounded.  She received personal thanks from Generals Grant, Sherman and Sheridan.

--Old Secesh

Lucius E. Gridley, Charles' Brother

From Find-A-Grave.

BIRTH:  5 January 1849, Hillsdale, Michigan

DEATH:  17 November 1920, Washington, D.C.

BURIAL:  Arlington National Cemetery

A newspaper obituary reads:

"Lucius  Egbert Gridley dies; in Treasury for 41 years.   Civil War veteran was brother of  Commander of Olympia at  Battle of Manila."

He is also listed as   a Civil War veteran - Private (musician)  Co. A,  2nd Michigan Infantry.

--Old B-Runner

Find-A-Grave: Charles Vernon Gridley From Mobile Bay to Manila Bay

CAPTAIN CHARLESVERNON GRIDLEY

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

Charles V. Gridley--Part 4: Death and Legacy

Gridley was physically spent after the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898.  His health began to sink even faster once he was released from the strain of command.  Transferred from the USS Zafiro to the commercial steamer Coptic on May 27, but had to be taken aboard on a stretcher.

He knew that his condition was grave and wrote simply, "I think I am done for it, personally."  

Aboard the Coptic, on June 5, 1898, Gridley died while it was at Kobe, Japan.

His body was cremated and sent home.  Services were held at Erie, Pennsylvania's Cathedral of St. Paul and he was buried at Lakeside Cemetery in Erie.

Gridley was a member of   the Empire State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.

Four ships in the U.S. Navy have been named after him.

USS Gridley  (DD-92) 1918-1922

USS Gridley (DD-380)  Lead ship of her class of destroyers (1936-1947)

USS Gridley (DLG-21)   Guided Missile Frigate 1961-1994)

USS Gridley (DDG-101) (2007 to present)

A monument to Gridley was erected in a city park in Erie, Pennsylvania, which is named Gridley Park.

--Old B-Runner

Charles V. Gridley-- Part 3: His Send-Off After the Battle

Several weeks after the Battle of Manila Bay, Charles Gridley was sent home.  One crewman described what happened:

"He came up out of his cabin dressed in civilian clothes and was met by the rear admiral (Dewey) who extended him a most cordial hand.  A look of troubled  disappointment flitted across the captain's brow, but vanished  when he stepped to the head of the gangway and, looking  over, saw not the launch, but a twelve-oared cutter manned entirely by the officers of the Olympia.

"There were men in the boat who had not pulled a stroke  for a quarter of a century.  Old Glory was at the stern and a captain's  silken coach-whip at the bow; and when Captain Gridley, beloved alike by officers and men, entered the boat, it was up oars,  and all that,  just as though they were common sailors who were to row him to the Zafiro.

"When he sat down upon the handsome boat-cloth that was spread for him,   he bowed his head, and his hands hid his face as Lieutenant Reese, acting coxswain.  ordered, 'Shoveoff; out oars; give away!'  

"Later in the day,  the lookout on the bridge reported, 'Zafiro under way sir,' and the deck officer passed on the word until a little twitter  from Pat Murray's pipe  brought all of the other  bo's'ns  around him, and in concert they sang out, 'Stand by to man the rigging!'  Not the Olympia alone, but every ship in the squadron dressed and manned, and  the last we ever saw  of our dear captain he was sitting in a chair out on the Zafiro's quarter-deck, apparently  listening to the [Olympia's] old band play."

--Old B-Runner

Charles V. Gridley-- Part 2: 'You May Fire When You Are Ready, Gridley'

From 1871 to 1875, he was stationed on the only U.S. Navy vessel on the Great Lakes, the USS Michigan which was home based at Erie, Pennsylvania.  While stationed there, he married Harriet, the daughter of Judge John Vincent and they had three children.  Harriet was also the cousin of Civil War hero  Brigadier General Strong Vincent, who was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Gridley was promoted to commander in 1882 and served as an instructor at the Naval Academy and the Cruiser Training  Squadron.

March 14, 1897, he was promoted to captain and ordered to the Asiatic Squadron where on July 28, 1897, he received command of the USS Olympia, Commodore  George Dewey's famous flagship in Yokohoma, Japan.

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SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR

During the Battle of Manila Nay in the Philippines on 1 May 1898, Gridley commanded the Olympia from inside the vessel's armored conning tower, an uncomfortably  hot station in the relentless Philippine sun.

Dewey gave his famous command, "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley."  What resulted was a very one-side American victory over the outmatched Spanish fleet.

At the conclusion of the battle,  Gridley was not in condition to celebrate as he was suffering from dysentery and what appears to have been liver cancer.  The heat and stress of the conning tower had further weakened him.  Dewey would have relieved him of his command had not Gridley protested.

George Dewey had been at the Battles of Fort Fisher.

--Old B-Runner

Charles V. Gridley-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

CHARLES VERNON GRIDLEY

(24 November  1844 - 5 June 1898) 

Officer in the U.S. Navy in the Civil War and Spanish-American War.

He was born to  Frank and Ann Eliza (Stokes)  Gridley in Logansport, Indiana, and his parents moved to Hillside, Michigan, when he was three months old.

After attending  Hillside College, he was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1860.  He reported for duty with his class in 1863, joining the crew of the sloop-of-war USS Oneida with the West Gulf Blockading Squadron.  

He distinguished himself at the Battle of Mobile Bay on 5 August 1864.

After the war, he stayed in the Navy and was promoted to lieutenant in 1867 and then to lieutenant commander on March 12, 1868.

--Old B-Runner

Charles Vernon Gridley of the USS Oneida: Was He Dewey's 'When Ready' Guy?

In the last post, I wrote that C.V. Gridley was an officer on the USS Oneida when it fought at the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864.  As a result of this engagement, eight members of the ship's crew received Medals of Honor.

Now, the man's last name struck a memory with me.  A memory of the Spanish-American War in which a famous order was given.  One that went, "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley."

The man whom uttered that was the famous Commodore Dewey.  Hero of the Battle of Manila Bay.

Was the Gridley ordered to do so, the same Gridley from the USS Oneida?

The answer is, yes he was.

--Old B-Runner

Some Confusion As to USS Oneida's Commander at Battle of Mobile Bay

Wikipedia has the commander of the USS Oneida at the Battle of Mobile Bay as Captain  C.V. Gridley.  The C.V. Gridley article in Wikipedia had him as a member of the Class of 1860 at the Naval Academy.  I don't think he could have made captain in that short of time.  The article also said that Gridley was on the USS Oneida.  Also, that article said he was appointed captain in 1897.

Someone on the Oneida, however, sure recommended a lot of people for the Medal of Honor.  Was it C.V. Gridley?

I looked up the Wikipedia Battle of Mobile  Order of Battle and that said the Oneida's commander was Commander J.R. Madison Mullaney.

Most likely, it was Mullaney in command of the Oneida at the battle with Gridley as one of his officers.

Old B-Runner