Uriel Sebree
Uriel Sebree | |
---|---|
Born | Fayette, Missouri, U.S. | February 20, 1848
Died | August 6, 1922 Coronado, California, U.S. | (aged 74)
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/ | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1863–1910 |
Rank | Rear admiral |
Commands held | USC&GS Silliman USC&GS Thomas R. Gedney USS Pinta USS Wheeling (PG-14) USS Thetis USS Abarenda (AC-13) USS Wisconsin (BB-9) Commandant U.S. Naval Station Tutuila Pathfinder Squadron 2nd Division, U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander-in-Chief U.S. Pacific Fleet |
Relations | Frank P. Sebree (brother) |
Other work | Commandant (Acting governor) of Tutuila |
Uriel Sebree (February 20, 1848 – August 6, 1922) was a career officer in the
After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1867, Sebree was posted to a number of vessels before being assigned to a rescue mission to find the remaining crew of the missing
Early life and career
Uriel Sebree was born in
One episode in Sebree's early military history which influenced his later career was his participation in the second Polaris rescue mission. The Polaris expedition was an 1871 exploration of the Arctic that had aimed to reach the North Pole.[3]: 100 The expedition was troubled from the start: its leader, Charles Francis Hall, died in mysterious circumstances before the end of their first winter.[3]: 162–165 The following year, the Polaris remained trapped in ice and unable to return home. During a violent storm, the crew was separated into two groups: a small group of explorers was stranded on the now-crippled Polaris and the remainder were marooned on an ice floe.[3]: 198 These latter 19 survivors were discovered by chance and rescued by the civilian whaler USS Tigress.[3]: 326–331 Because of the Tigress's success, the Navy chartered the ship, temporarily rechristened her USS Tigress, and used her to launch a rescue attempt to locate the remainder of the crew. For this attempt the ship would be commanded by a group of eight navy officers, led by Captain James A. Greer, although much of the original civilian crew was retained. Lieutenant Sebree was one of the officers chosen for the mission.[4]
This rescue mission was the first official United States military expedition to the Arctic; previous expeditions, including that of the Polaris itself, had been led by civilians.
Midshipman – 1867 | |
---|---|
1867–69 | United States Coast Survey on board the A. D. Bache. The following year he was given his first two commands: the Silliman and then the Thomas R. Gedney, both ships of the United States Coast Survey. He remained on the latter ship for nearly three years before being assigned to USS Brooklyn in 1882.[1] In 1883, he was given his first command of a Navy ship, USS Pinta, with orders to sail to Alaska.[9]
Court martialOn October 3, 1883, prior to leaving for Alaska, the Pinta collided with the civilian Secretary of the Navy.[13] Believing the sentence to be too harsh, Secretary William E. Chandler reduced it to a public reprimand only.[14] Sebree was subsequently transferred to USS Powhatan, although not as the ship's commanding officer.[1]
Greely Relief ExpeditionOne month after joining the Powhatan, Sebree was transferred again, this time to serve as the Upernavik, Greenland, arriving on July 2, 1884, and then made its way back to the United States, landing at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on August 1, 1884. Schley later reported that a delay of just two more days would have been fatal to the remaining six members of the expedition.[15]: 257–272 Sebree and the other members of the relief expedition gained fame from the voyage. Even ten years later, in 1895, a report by The New York Times celebrating the 50th anniversary of the United States Naval Academy listed Sebree as one of the most "famous" graduates, despite his relatively low rank.[16]
After his return from the expedition Sebree taught at the Naval Academy for two years before being transferred to the 13th Lighthouse District, to serve as the lighthouse inspector for Oregon and Washington Territory. While stationed there he was promoted to lieutenant commander in March 1889.[1][17] Valparaíso riotsIn September 1889 he was made the Valparaiso, Chile in October 1891, and gave testimony toward the events during the later investigation.[19]
From September 1892 to July 1893, Sebree served as assistant to the inspector of the 3rd Lighthouse District.[20][21] Sebree taught at the Academy from 1893 to 1896.[1] At the end of his time there, he was briefly given command of USS Wheeling (PG-14) before being put in command of the Thetis, which was doing survey work off the coast of California.[22] In 1897 he was promoted to commander.[23] During the Spanish–American War, Sebree again commanded the Wheeling in the Pacific for the duration of the war.[24] His assignment was to patrol the coast of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, far from both the Caribbean and Pacific theaters of the war, and he saw no significant action.[25] After the war, he was transferred to the 12th Lighthouse District as an inspector.[26] American SamoaOn October 9, 1901, Sebree was promoted to captain and received orders to travel to American Samoa to take command of USS Abarenda (AC-13) and to be commandant of the United States Naval Station Tutuila.[27] Three days later, he was promoted to captain.[28] At this time the commandant of the naval station was considered the acting governor of the territory as Congress had not yet formalized the U.S. Navy's role there. Sebree was the replacement for Commandant Benjamin Franklin Tilley, who had recently had charges brought against him for immorality and drunkenness. While Sebree was in transit to the islands, Tilley was tried and acquitted of the charges against him but the decision to replace him was not changed.[29]: 139 Captain Sebree arrived in Samoa and took up his new post on November 27, 1901.[30] Acting governorUnlike Tilley, who had been the first acting governor of the territory, Sebree was very concerned about his legal status. Officially, he was only commandant of the naval station then under construction, although the deed of cession of the territory acknowledged his theoretical authority to govern the people. He was concerned that lawsuits could be brought against him or future acting governors until the situation was clarified and made official by the United States government.[29]: 150–153 To this end, he made a recommendation to the United States Congress to assemble a panel to consider the territory's status and requested that an Assistant Secretary of the Navy come to the territory to meet with him. Both requests were refused.[29]: 150–153 A further example of this ambiguity came in March 1902, when Sebree received orders to give up command of the Abarenda to give him additional time as commandant and "governor".[31] To these orders, he responded that he still had not been officially made "governor" and that, if he were to act as a governor, he should be given the proper credentials and legal authority to do so.[29]: 150–153 The Navy did not respond directly to Sebree's request, but he was given command of USS Wheeling three months later.[32] Aunu'u. The Fita Fita Guard, the local militia that Tilley had organized, continued its training, and Sebree arranged to train some members of the force as a military-style brass band. Sebree also attempted to improve local agriculture and even petitioned the Department of Agriculture for assistance, but was turned down.[29] : 150–153
Petition for civilian governmentTensions escalated between foreign traders on Samoa and the local populace, due in part to controls which Tilley had put in place to protect Samoan farmers from exploitation. On December 16, 1902, Sebree was granted a leave of absence to return to the United States and care for his wife who had been badly hurt in a fall.[33] In his place, Lieutenant Commander Henry Minett, Sebree's executive officer, was made acting commandant of the station and therefore acting governor of the territory. He was also given command of the Wheeling. Captain Edmund Beardsley Underwood was selected as Sebree's replacement, but that decision was not made official immediately, and Underwood remained in Washington to consult with Sebree and President Roosevelt on the governance of the territory. Underwood's selection was not announced until May 1903.[34] Later careerFollowing his wife's recovery, Sebree returned to service and was given command of USS Wisconsin (BB-9) on February 11, 1903. The Wisconsin was the flagship of the North Squadron of the Pacific fleet under Robley D. Evans.[35] While under Sebree's command, the Wisconsin and her crew were evaluated as one of the best, according to annual targeting exercises.[36] Nicholson court-martialIn the late summer of 1903, Yantai, China. He was promptly brought up on charges of "drunkenness", "scandalous conduct tending to the destruction of good morals", and "falsehood" and taken to the Wisconsin for his court martial.[37] Sebree and a group of six other officers found him guilty of the first charge, guilty of a lesser offense for the second charge, and not guilty on the third. His sentence was determined to be a reduction in grade equivalent to one year of seniority. Three of the officers, not including Sebree, wrote a supplementary opinion requesting clemency for Nicholson.[38]
However, Rear Admiral Evans, the commander of the Secretary of the Navy William Henry Moody stating that Admiral Evans had overstepped his authority by publicly reprimanding them without a court martial and that charges should be brought against him. On November 18, 1903, Moody denied the petition and the sentences were left to stand.[39]
During this controversy, Sebree remained silent on the issue, and it is unknown whether he was a member of the majority or not. Evans commented in his critique that he was unsure who the other supporters of the majority decision were. As criticism swirled around the trial itself, the editors of the magazine United Service defended Sebree and stated that he had "universal esteem throughout the Navy service" and that he had a "large experience, sound judgment, even temper and most excellent record".[40] Following this announcement, Sebree was transferred to the Naval War College in Rhode Island to work as an instructor and as Secretary of the Lighthouse Board.[41][42] Lightship No. 58 incidentIn December 1905, a storm and mechanical failures caused major problems for the crew of the Azalea.[43] The fallout over this incident caused enough of a stir that the military had to respond to it directly. Under Navy rules, the eleven officers and crew members of the No. 58 were denied pay while they were recovering from their injuries and until they were posted to new vessels under a regulation that prohibited pay to sailors whose ships had sunk. The sailors appealed to Sebree, as Secretary of the Lighthouse Board, but he did not or could not accommodate them. Instead, the officers were given commendations by Secretary Victor H. Metcalf and "preference in future appointments".[43] Admiral Dewey and Captain Sebree made a second recommendation, which was approved, that Captain Gibbs receive a commendation and a pay increase for his service.[44]
Pathfinder SquadronSebree was promoted to cruisers to South American governments as well as transfer ships to the Pacific Fleet in what was seen as an example of American gunboat diplomacy. Along the way, Sebree had formal meetings with Brazilian President Afonso Pena,[46] Peruvian President José Pardo y Barreda, and United States diplomatic staff in both countries.[47] He also met with representatives in Chile and other countries.[48] When the squadron finally arrived in California, it was joined by USS California and participated in public-relations events at West Coast ports.[49] The diplomatic mission over, the Pathfinder Squadron, with the California and others, became the 2nd division of the United States Pacific Fleet, with Sebree remaining in command. Rear Admiral William T. Swinburne was placed in command of the full fleet.[50]
On June 5, 1908, Sebree was nearly killed during a speed trial of the Tennessee off the coast of California. He had just completed a tour of the starboard boiler room when a steam pipe burst, instantly killing two officers and wounding ten others, three fatally. Witnesses reported that Sebree and other officers had left the boiler room only 50 seconds earlier.[51] In August 1908, the full Pacific Fleet was dispatched to numerous ports in the Pacific Ocean on a diplomatic mission similar to the one undertaken by Sebree in South America the previous year. Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Pacific FleetOn April 15, 1909, Admiral Swinburne, the commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet, announced his retirement, and Sebree was appointed to replace him on May 17.[57] Good public relations remained a major goal of the fleet, and in June, the fleet was displayed at the Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition. President William Howard Taft led the exposition's opening ceremony, and many American dignitaries were in attendance.[58] Asiatic Fleet commanded by Rear Admiral John Hubbard.[61] On February 19, 1910, Sebree officially retired and was replaced as head of the Pacific Fleet by Rear Admiral Giles B. Harber.[62]
Shortly after retiring, Sebree was given a farewell banquet which included British Field Marshal Herbert Kitchener as a notable guest and California Governor James Gillett as toastmaster.[63] In retirement, Sebree continued to attend Navy functions. In 1916, Sebree reported that the United States Navy lagged behind the world's other major navies. A single dreadnought, he claimed, could ravage the entire Pacific Fleet which was at that time relying on submarines for defense.[64] The Atlantic Fleet already had dreadnoughts in commission.[65]
Sebree died at his home in Coronado, California, on August 6, 1922. He and his wife, Anne Bridgman Sebree, are buried in Arlington National Cemetery. They had one son, John Bridgman Sebree (1889–1948), who served in the United States Marine Corps.[66] Honors and awardsSebree Peak[67] and Sebree Island,[68] both in Alaska, are named for the admiral. References
Further reading
External links
|