Daniel Ammen
Daniel Ammen | |
---|---|
Born | Brown County, Ohio, US | May 15, 1820
Died | July 11, 1898 Washington, D.C., US | (aged 78)
Place of burial | |
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/ | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1836–1878 |
Rank | Rear admiral |
Commands held | Bureau of Navigation Bureau of Yards and Docks |
Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Relations | BG Jacob Ammen |
Other work | Author |
Daniel Ammen (May 15, 1820 – July 11, 1898) was a U.S. naval officer during the American Civil War and the Reconstruction era, as well as a prolific author. His last assignment in the Navy was Chief of the Bureau of Navigation.[1]
Early career
Daniel Ammen was born on May 15, 1820, in Brown County, Ohio, the son of David and Sarah Ammen. His father served in the War of 1812 and migrated to Ohio from Virginia.[2] His older brother was Jacob Ammen, who became a brigadier general in the Union Army. They both attended the same school as Ulysses S. Grant, who was best friends with Daniel. As children, Ammen rescued Grant from drowning.
Ammen entered the Navy as a
In March 1840, Ammen was attached to USS Preble and took part in a cruise along the coast of Labrador, the Preble sailed for the Mediterranean Sea in January 1841 to join the squadron of Commodore Charles W. Morgan. In May that year he was transferred to the USS Ohio, in which he returned to Boston, Massachusetts, in July 1841.[1]
He was subsequently ordered to the
In October 1843, Ammen was transferred to the sloop USS Lexington and made several trips to the Mediterranean Sea to deliver supplies. He was attached to the USS Vincennes in April 1845 and took part in the cruise to the East Indies. Following his promotion to the rank of Master (equivalent of present rank of Lieutenant (junior grade), Ammen was granted three-month leave with permission to visit Europe and then join the Mediterranean Squadron under Commodore Charles W. Morgan, whose Ammen knew from his previous assignment in 1841.[1]
Morgan promoted Ammen to
Following a tour of coast survey duty, Ammen was ordered to the gunboat
He then served at the
American Civil War
One month following the outbreak of the War, Ammen was attached to the frigate USS Roanoke and immediately embarked for the Union blockade. He was aboard, when Roanoke destroyed the Confederate schooner Mary off Lockwood Folly Inlet, North Carolina, in July 1861. Ammen was appointed commanding officer of newly commissioned gunboat USS Seneca in September that year and took part in the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.[1]
Ammen then participated in the
Upon his promotion to
He took part in the
Ammen became ill again in January 1864 and spent two months with treatment. He then assumed temporary command of the
The recruits were recently transferred from the Army to the Navy as replacements, and shortly after the departure from Aspinwall, approximately 30 recruits began planning the plot to seize the ship. They intended to kill everyone who should oppose them, and the conspiracy included the running of the vessel, after her seizure, on their own account. The mutineers attacked Captain Tinklepaugh, but he refused to comply and called for Commander Ammen.[3][4]
Captain Tinklepaugh, who had expected the difficulty and was prepared, aimed his revolver at the head of the one of mutineers' leaders, and warned him that if he advanced a step further he would lose his life. Mutineer sprang forward and Tinklepaugh killed him instantly, Ammen subsequently pulled out his revolver and shot another one, who tried to attack him. The rest of the mutineers then surrendered and Ammen ordered to put them all to the handcuffs.[3][4]
In October 1864, Ammen was appointed commander of the USS Mohican and commanded Mohican during the attacks on Fort Fisher in December 1864 and January 1865.[1]
Postwar service
Following the War, Ammen was assigned to the Naval Machinery at Charlotte, North Carolina, in July 1865 and remained there until September that year, when he was appointed commanding officer of the monitor USS Miantonomoh. He served with that vessel within the North Atlantic Squadron until March 1866, when he was detached for special duty in Hartford, Connecticut. While there, Ammen was promoted to the rank of captain on July 25, 1866.[1]
He was appointed commanding officer of a newly commissioned
Following his return stateside and leave with family, Ammen was appointed chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks in May 1869. He was responsible for building and maintaining navy yards, drydocks, and other facilities relating to ship construction, maintenance, and repair until August 1871.
He was subsequently appointed chief of the Bureau of Navigation and promoted to commodore on April 1, 1872. While in this assignment, his principal responsibilities were to provide nautical charts and instruments and to oversee several activities involved navigation research, including the Naval Observatory. In 1872 he was appointed member of a commission to examine and report on the feasibility of constructing a canal through Nicaragua. The commission reported in favour of the Nicaraguan route, which he strongly advocated. He was promoted to rear admiral on December 11, 1877. Ammen served with the Bureau of Navigation until his retirement from the Navy on June 4, 1878.[5][1][6]
Retirement
Two years later, he wrote The American Inter-Oceanic Ship Canal Question. Afterwards he was a member of the board to locate the new Naval Observatory, and a representative of the United States at the Interoceanic Ship Canal Congress in Paris. He designed a cask balsa to facilitate the landing of troops and field artillery, a life-raft for steamers, and the steel ram USS Katahdin in 1893.[6]
Ammen later purchased a farm twelve miles from Washington, D.C., at Ammendale, a station named in his honor. The Ammendale Normal Institute was built there with his support in 1880.[6]
His publications include The Atlantic Coast in The Navy in the Civil War Series; Recollections of Grant; and The Old Navy and the New.
He died on July 11, 1898, in Washington, D.C., and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.[7] Ammen was married and had one son, Ulysses Grant Ammen (1871–1913), who served as Paymaster in the Navy.
Namesake
Two ships in the United States Navy have been named USS Ammen for him.
References
- ^ Smith, Milton Emanuel (1907). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. .
- ^ ISBN 0-16-050565-8. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
- ^ a b c "MUTINY AT SEA.; Conspiracy to Seize the California Steamer Ocean Queen Two of the Ringleaders Killed; June 16, 1864". The New York Times. 16 June 1864. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
- ^ a b c "Daniel Ammen – New Advent". newadvent.org. New Advent Websites. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^ "Burial Detail: Ammen, Daniel". ANC Explorer. Arlington National Cemetery. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- (1901) Encyclopaedia of United States History
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.