Dudley Wright Knox
Dudley Wright Knox | |
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Navy Cross Legion of Merit |
Commodore Dudley Wright Knox (21 June 1877 – 11 June 1960) was an officer in the
Early life
Born in Fort Walla Walla, Washington, Knox attended school in Washington, D.C., and graduated from the United States Naval Academy on 5 June 1896.
Professional career
During the Spanish–American War he served aboard the screw steamer Maple, a tender, in Cuban waters. He commanded the gunboats Albay and Iris during the Philippine–American War of 1899-1902 and the latter during the Chinese Boxer Rebellion of 1899-1901. He then commanded three of the Navy's first destroyers: Shubrick, Wilkes and Decatur, before commanding the First Torpedo Flotilla. During the 1907-1909 cruise of the "Great White Fleet", sent around the world by President Theodore Roosevelt, he served as ordnance officer of the battleship Nebraska (BB-14).
On May 18, 1908, while the Great White Fleet rested in
He attended the
After returning to the United States in March 1919, he served for a year on the faculty of the Naval War College, when he became a key figure on the Knox-King-Pye Board that examined professional military education. In 1920–21 he commanded the armored cruiser Brooklyn (ACR-3), then the protected cruiser Charleston (C-22) before resuming duty in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.
In 1920 Knox first began his work as a naval publicist, serving as naval editor of the
For a quarter of a century his leadership inspired diligence, efficiency, and initiative while he guided, improved, and expanded the Navy's archival and historical operations. [3] His personal connections to President Roosevelt, Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King, and other senior leaders in the Navy Department allowed him to play an instrumental role behind the scenes in the years leading up to and during World War II.
His writings included his first book The Eclipse of American Sea Power (1922)[4] and A History of the United States Navy (1936), the latter recognized[by whom?] as "the best one-volume history of the United States Navy in existence". Through his personal connection with President Roosevelt, he was able to publish key, multi-volume collections of documents on naval operations in The Quasi-War with France in 1798–1800, the First Barbary War and the Second Barbary War.
Advanced to Commodore on 2 November 1945, he was awarded the Legion of Merit for "exceptionally meritorious conduct" while directing the correlation and preservation of accurate records of the U.S. naval operations in World War II, thus protecting this vital information for posterity.[citation needed]
Knox was relieved of all active duty 26 June 1946. He died in Bethesda, Maryland, on 11 June 1960. His papers in 24 boxes are in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress.
The
Published works
- Report and Recommendations of a Board Appointed by the Bureau of Navigation Regarding the Instruction and Training of Line Officers, by Dudley W. Knox, Ernest J. King, and William S. Pye. (1920)
- The Eclipse of American Sea Power (1922)
- The Naval Genius of George Washington with a foreword by Admiral Hilary P. Jones. (1932)
- Naval Documents Related to the Quasi-War between the United States and France, 1798–1800 Seven volumes. Published under direction of the Secretary of the Navy. Prepared by the Office of Naval Records and Library, Navy Department, under the supervision of Captain Dudley W. Knox, U.S. Navy (ret.), with an introduction by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. (1935–1939)
- A History of the United States Navy, with an introduction by William L. Rodgers (1936); revised with a foreword by Chester W. Nimitz (1948, 2006)
- Naval Documents Related to the United States Wars with the Barbary Powers Six volumes. Published under direction of the Secretary of the Navy. Prepared by the Office of Naval Records and Library, Navy Department, under the supervision of Captain Dudley W. Knox, U.S. Navy (ret.). (1939–1944)
- Naval sketches of the war in California; reproducing twenty-eight drawings made in 1846–47, by William H. Meyers; descriptive text by Capt. Dudley W. Knox; introduction by Franklin D. Roosevelt (1939)
- Carte de la partie de la Virginie où l'armée combinée de France & des Etats-Unis de l'Amérique a fait prisonnière l'Armée anglaise, commandée par Lord Cornwallis le 19 octbre. 1781: avec le plan de l'attaque d'York-town & de Glocester, levée et dessinée sur les lieux par ordre des officiers genx. de l'Armée française & américaine / à Paris, ches Esnauts et Rapilly. (1945)
- Dudley Wright Knox: A Register of his Papers in the Library of Congress (1971)
Decorations
Commodore Dudley Wright Knox's ribbon bar:
 
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| 1st Row | Navy Cross
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Legion of Merit | ||||||||||
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| 2nd Row | Navy Expeditionary Medal | Philippine Campaign Medal | Spanish Campaign Medal | |||||||||
| 3rd Row | China Relief Expedition Medal | Cuban Pacification Medal
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Mexican Service Medal | |||||||||
| 4th Row | World War I Victory Medal w/ Overseas Clasp | American Defense Service Medal | American Campaign Medal | |||||||||
| 5th Row | World War II Victory Medal
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Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George | Officer of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus | |||||||||
References
- Kohnen, David. Twenty-First Century Knox: Influence, Sea Power and History for the Modern Era. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2016.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- ^ "Births, Marriages, and Deaths". Army and Navy Register. 43 (1485): 18. May 30, 1908. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ "Dudley Wright Knox". Naval History and Heritage Command. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ "Knox (DE-1052) II". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ISBN 978-1148983004.
External links
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