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Douglas R. Cassel
Lieutenant Commander Douglas R. Cassel was a United States Naval Officer and veteran of the American Civil War known for his service to Meiji Japan's armed forces. Early life and career Douglas Cassel was born in October 1845 Zanesville, Ohio, the fourth child of James W. and Amanda A. Cassel. After his father died in 1850, Douglas decided to join the United States Navy as his maternal grandfather had done. He received an appointment for the United States Naval Academy from Congressman Cydnor B. Tompkins, and entered the academy as a midshipman in September 1860. At 15 years old he was quartered on the USS ''Constitution'' He received demerits virtually every month during his first few years, including 6 for being "disorderly" during fencing on April 23, 1861, and 10 from Alfred Thayer Mahan for "visiting and skylarking after taps" on January 27, 1863. Given the Union's need for more officers, Cassel was promoted to acting ensign in September 1863, and ordered to report t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zanesville, Ohio
Zanesville is a city in and the county seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. It is located east of Columbus and had a population of 24,765 as of the 2020 census, down from 25,487 as of the 2010 census. Historically the state capital of Ohio, Zanesville anchors the Zanesville micropolitan statistical area (population 86,183), and is part of the greater Columbus-Marion-Zanesville combined statistical area. History Zanesville was named after Ebenezer Zane (1747–1811), who had blazed Zane's Trace, a pioneer trail from Wheeling, Virginia (now in West Virginia) to Maysville, Kentucky through present-day Ohio. In 1797, he remitted land as payment to his son-in-law, John McIntire (1759–1815), at the point where Zane's Trace met the Muskingum River. With the assistance of Zane, McIntire platted the town, opened an inn and ferry by 1799. In 1801, Zanesville was officially renamed, formerly Westbourne, the chosen name for the settlement by Zane. From 1810 to 1812, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foreign Government Advisors In Meiji Japan
The foreign employees in Meiji Japan, known in Japanese as ''O-yatoi Gaikokujin'' (Kyūjitai: , Shinjitai: , "hired foreigners"), were hired by the Japanese government and municipalities for their specialized knowledge and skill to assist in the modernization of the Meiji period. The term came from ''Yatoi'' (a person hired temporarily, a day laborer), was politely applied for hired foreigner as ''O-yatoi gaikokujin''. The total number is over 2,000, probably reaches 3,000 (with thousands more in the private sector). Until 1899, more than 800 hired foreign experts continued to be employed by the government, and many others were employed privately. Their occupation varied, ranging from high salaried government advisors, college professors and instructor, to ordinary salaried technicians. Along the process of the opening of the country, the Tokugawa Shogunate government first hired, German diplomat Philipp Franz von Siebold as diplomatic advisor, Dutch naval engineer Hendrik Harde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USS Dacotah
USS ''Dacotah'' – the only United States Navy ship to be so named – was a large () steam sloop that served the United States Navy in the Atlantic Ocean as well as in the Pacific Ocean. When the American Civil War occurred, ''Dacotah'' assumed the role of a gunboat in the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America. When the war was over, ''Dacotah'' – who was named for the American Dakota tribe – resumed her role protecting American interests worldwide by showing her presence in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Service history ''Dacotah'' was launched on 23 March 1859 by Norfolk Navy Yard and commissioned on 1 May 1860, Commander W. Radford in command. Sailing from Norfolk, Virginia on 30 June 1860, ''Dacotah'' rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived at Hong Kong on 8 January 1861 to join the East Indian Squadron. She cruised off China until returning to Hong Kong on 14 June. On 6 August, she sailed for home and arrived at St. Thomas, Virgin Island ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USS Brooklyn (1858)
USS ''Brooklyn'' was a sloop-of-war authorized by the U.S. Congress and commissioned in 1859. ''Brooklyn'' was active in Caribbean operations until the start of the American Civil War at which time she became an active participant in the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America. With her one 10-inch gun and twenty 9-inch guns, ''Brooklyn '' was a formidable fighting ship that could deliver damaging broadsides, and served on the Atlantic Ocean coast as well as the Gulf Coast of the United States in intercepting blockade runners. ''Brooklyn'' also served gallantly attacking Confederate forts and other installations on the Mississippi River. Post-war, ''Brooklyn'' remained active, serving for some years in the European theatre, as well as circumnavigating the globe. She was retired in 1889 and sold in 1890 after having well served her country for over three decades. Service history Early career ''Brooklyn'' – the first ship so-named by the U.S. Navy – wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island which it shares with the Dominican Republic. To its south-west lies the small Navassa Island, which is claimed by Haiti but is disputed as a United States territory under federal administration."Haiti" ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Haiti is in size, the third largest country in the Caribbean by area, and has an estimated population of 11.4 million, making it the most populous country in the Caribb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cap-Haïtien
Cap-Haïtien (; ht, Kap Ayisyen; "Haitian Cape"), typically spelled Cape Haitien in English and often locally referred to as or , is a commune of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the department of Nord. Previously named ''Cap‑Français'' ( ht, Kap-Fransè; initially ''Cap-François'' ht, Kap-Franswa) and ''Cap‑Henri'' ( ht, Kap-Enri) during the rule of Henri I, it was historically nicknamed the ''Paris of the Antilles'', because of its wealth and sophistication, expressed through its architecture and artistic life. It was an important city during the colonial period, serving as the capital of the French Colony of Saint-Domingue from the city's formal foundation in 1711 until 1770 when the capital was moved to Port-au-Prince. After the Haitian Revolution, it became the capital of the Kingdom of Haiti under King Henri I until 1820. Cap-Haïtien's long history of independent thought was formed in part by its relative distance from Port-au-Pri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USS Rhode Island (1860)
The first USS ''Rhode Island'' was a side-wheel steamer in the United States Navy, commissioned in 1861. ''Rhode Island'' was built in New York City, in 1860 by Lupton & McDermut as ''John P. King''; burned and rebuilt and renamed ''Eagle'' in 1861 before being purchased by the U.S. Navy on 27 June 1861 from Spofford, Tileston & Company, at New York; renamed ''Rhode Island''; and commissioned at New York Navy Yard on 29 July 1861, Commander Stephen D. Trenchard in command. Service history Supply ship During the American Civil War, ''Rhode Island'' was employed as a supply ship, visiting various ports and ships with mail, paymasters officers stores, medicine, and other supplies. She departed New York on her first cruise on 31 July 1861, returning on 2 September. While cruising off Galveston, Texas, ''Rhode Island'' captured the schooner ''Venus'' attempting to run the blockade with a cargo of lead, copper, tin, and wood. During the remainder of 1861 and 1862 ''Rhode Islan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USS Powhatan (1850)
The first USS ''Powhatan'' was a sidewheel steam frigate in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for Powhatan, a Native American chief of eastern Virginia. She was one of the last, and largest, of the United States Navy's paddle frigates. ''Powhatan'' was built by Samuel Hartt and her keel was laid on 6 August 1847 at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, then Gosport Shipyard, at Portsmouth, Virginia. Her engines were constructed by Mehaffy & Company. She cost $785,000. She was launched on 14 February 1850 by the Norfolk Navy Yard and commissioned on 2 September 1852, Captain William Mervine in command. Service history Home Squadron, 1852 After shakedown out of the Norfolk Navy Yard, ''Powhatan'' joined the Home Squadron as flagship of Commodore John T. Newton and sailed for New York where she was visited by the Secretary of the Navy, John P. Kennedy. She departed New York on 16 October 1852 for Vera Cruz with the new Minister to Mexico, Judge Alfred Conkli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alfred Thayer Mahan
Alfred Thayer Mahan (; September 27, 1840 – December 1, 1914) was a United States naval officer and historian, whom John Keegan called "the most important American strategist of the nineteenth century." His book '' The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660–1783'' (1890) won immediate recognition, especially in Europe, and with its successor, ''The Influence of Sea Power Upon the French Revolution and Empire, 1793–1812'' (1892), made him world-famous and perhaps the most influential American author of the nineteenth century. Early life Mahan was born on September 27, 1840, at West Point, New York, to Dennis Hart Mahan (a professor at the United States Military Academy) and Mary Helena Okill Mahan (1815–1893), daughter of John Okill and Mary Jay (daughter of Sir James Jay). Mahan's middle name honors "the father of West Point", Sylvanus Thayer. Mahan attended Saint James School, an Episcopal college preparatory academy in western Maryland. He then studied at Columb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fencing
Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, singlestick, appeared in the 1904 Olympics but was dropped after that and is not a part of modern fencing. Fencing was one of the first sports to be played in the Olympics. Based on the traditional skills of swordsmanship, the modern sport arose at the end of the 19th century, with the Italian school having modified the historical European martial art of classical fencing, and the French school later refining the Italian system. There are three forms of modern fencing, each of which uses a different kind of weapon and has different rules; thus the sport itself is divided into three competitive scenes: foil, épée, and sabre. Most competitive fencers choose to specialize in one weapon only. Competitive fencing is one of the five activitie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USS Constitution
USS ''Constitution'', also known as ''Old Ironsides'', is a three-masted wooden-hulled heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She is the world's oldest ship still afloat. She was launched in 1797, one of six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794 and the third constructed. The name "Constitution" was among ten names submitted to President George Washington by Secretary of War Timothy Pickering in March of 1795 for the frigates that were to be constructed. Joshua Humphreys designed the frigates to be the young Navy's capital ships, and so ''Constitution'' and her sister ships were larger and more heavily armed and built than standard frigates of the period. She was built at Edmund Hartt's shipyard in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts. Her first duties were to provide protection for American merchant shipping during the Quasi-War with France and to defeat the Barbary pirates in the First Barbary War. ''Constitution'' is most noted f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Kenya. In the 17th century, a midshipman was a rating for an experienced seaman, and the word derives from the area aboard a ship, amidships, either where he worked on the ship, or where he was berthed. Beginning in the 18th century, a commissioned officer candidate was rated as a midshipman, and the seaman rating began to slowly die out. By the Napoleonic era (1793–1815), a midshipman was an apprentice officer who had previously served at least three years as a volunteer, officer's servant or able seaman, and was roughly equivalent to a present-day petty officer in rank and responsibilities. After serving at least three years as a midshipman or master's mate, he was eligible to take the e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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