Arent Schuyler Crowninshield (March 14, 1843 – May 27, 1908) was a

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. He saw combat during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, and after the war held high commands both afloat and ashore.

Early life

Born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, he was the grandson of

Jacob Crowninshield Jacob Crowninshield (March 31, 1770 – April 15, 1808) was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts and appointee to the position of U.S. Secretary of the Navy, which he never filled. His brother Benjamin Williams Crowninshield did succes ...

(appointed Navy secretary under

President Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

, but who died before taking up the office), and grandnephew of

George Crowninshield Jr. George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

(adventuring owner of ''

Cleopatra's Barge ''Cleopatra's Barge'' was the first oceangoing yacht built in the United States. It was built in 1816 at Salem, MA by shipbuilder Retire Becket for owner George Crowninshield Jr. Crowninshield died in 1817 after a single pleasure voyage to the Me ...

'', first yacht to cross the Atlantic) and

Benjamin Williams Crowninshield Benjamin Williams Crowninshield (December 27, 1772 – February 3, 1851) served as the United States Secretary of the Navy between 1815 and 1818, during the administrations of Presidents James Madison and James Monroe. Early life Crownins ...

United States Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the United States Department of the Navy, Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States D ...

from 1815 to 1818. Some sources give his first name as Alton.

Education and career

Arent graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

on May 28, 1863 and immediately went into action in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, participating in the assault on Fort Fisher while serving on the

steam sloop Steam frigates (including screw frigates) and the smaller steam corvettes, steam sloops, steam gunboats and steam schooners, were steam-powered warships that were not meant to stand in the line of battle. There were some exceptions like for exam ...

.''The Encyclopedia of the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars''
/ref> After the war, he rose steadily through the ranks, becoming

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on November 10, 1866, and

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

on March 25, 1880. He commanded the training ship from 1878 to 1881, the

school ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classr ...

of the New York Nautical School from 1887 to 1891, and the

sloop-of-war In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...

from February 1892 to November 1893. Promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on July 21, 1894, he took command of the new

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

at her commissioning in 1895, leaving in 1897 to become chief of the

Bureau of Navigation The Bureau of Navigation, later the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection and finally the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation — not to be confused with the United States Navys Bureau of Navigation — was an agency of the United ...

with the rank of Rear Admiral. During the 1898

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, Crowninshield was appointed to the Naval War Board, and had a large part in the United States Naval operations planning that resulted in resounding victories like the

Battle of Manila Bay The Battle of Manila Bay ( fil, Labanan sa Look ng Maynila; es, Batalla de Bahía de Manila), also known as the Battle of Cavite, took place on 1 May 1898, during the Spanish–American War. The American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore ...

. He retired from the Navy in April 1902, completing 39 years on active service. Admiral Crowninshield was a member of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Army. The original membership was composed of members ...

. Rear Admiral Crowninshield died in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, on May 27, 1908, and is buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

.Arlington National Cemetery
/ref>

Personal life

He married Mary Bradford (1844–1913), daughter of the writer

Sarah Hopkins Bradford Sarah Hopkins Bradford (August 20, 1818 – June 25, 1912) was an American literature, American writer and historian, best known today for her two pioneering biographical books on Harriet Tubman. Most of her work consists of children's literatur ...

, in

Dresden, Germany Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth la ...

, on July 27, 1870. His wife became a published writer herself.

References

External links

Arent S. Crowninshield Memoirs, 1896-1910 MS 33
held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy {{DEFAULTSORT:Crowninshield, Arent S. 1843 births 1908 deaths Crowninshield family People from New York (state) Union Navy officers United States Navy rear admirals United States Naval Academy alumni Presidents of the State University of New York Maritime College Burials at Arlington National Cemetery