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 ...
Augustus Henry Kilty (November 25, 1807 – November 10, 1879) was a
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 ...
officer who served 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 ...
.
Biography
Born at
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
, Kilty was appointed
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 Afr ...
on July 4, 1821.
He served in the frigate in the
West India Squadron from 1827, then in the frigate in the
Brazil Squadron
The Brazil Squadron, the Brazil Station, or the South Atlantic Squadron was an overseas military station established by the United States in 1826 to protect American commerce in the South Atlantic during a war between Brazil and Argentina. When th ...
from 1829.
Kilty was promoted to
passed midshipman
A passed midshipman, sometimes called as "midshipman, passed", is a term used historically in the 19th century to describe a midshipman who had passed the lieutenant's exam and was eligible for promotion to lieutenant as soon as there was a vacan ...
on April 28, 1832, and served aboard the
schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
in the West India Squadron in 1832–34.
He was commissioned as a lieutenant on September 6, 1837, and served on the sloop in the
East India Squadron
The East India Squadron, or East Indies Squadron, was a squadron of American ships which existed in the nineteenth century, it focused on protecting American interests in the Far East while the Pacific Squadron concentrated on the western coast ...
,
taking part in Commodore
George Reid
Sir George Houston Reid, (25 February 1845 – 12 September 1918) was an Australian politician who led the Reid Government as the fourth Prime Minister of Australia from 1904 to 1905, having previously been Premier of New South Wales f ...
's operations in defense of American merchantmen at
Quallah Batto in 1839.
He then served on the frigates and in the
Mediterranean Squadron between 1843 and 1848.
In 1850 he was stationed on the
receiving ship
A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. Hulk may be used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, an abandoned wreck or shell, or to refer to an old ship that has had its rigging or internal equipmen ...
at New York, and was at Baltimore a year later, returning to New York in 1855. Kilty was simultaneously promoted to
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 September 14, 1855,
and placed on the Reserve List.
Kilty returned to the Active List on January 6, 1859,
and was stationed in Baltimore in 1860 as a recruiting officer.
From 1861 Kilty commanded the ironclad gunboat of the
Mississippi Flotilla,
and saw action at
Island No. 10
Island Number Ten was an island in the Mississippi River near Tiptonville, Tennessee and the site of a major eponymous battle in the American Civil War.
In the mid-19th century the United States Government began to adopt a uniform numbering plan ...
and
Fort Pillow. He commanded an expedition to
White River, Arkansas, and during the operation, on June 17, 1862, was severely wounded, causing the loss of his left arm.
Kilty received his commission as a
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 16, 1862, and spent the years 1863–64 on ordnance duty. He commanded the
ironclad
An ironclad is a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by Wrought iron, iron or steel iron armor, armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships ...
frigate in the
North Atlantic Squadron
The North Atlantic Squadron was a section of the United States Navy operating in the North Atlantic. It was renamed as the North Atlantic Fleet in 1902. In 1905 the European and South Atlantic squadrons were abolished and absorbed into the Nort ...
from 1864 to 1865, and was promoted to
commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore''
* Air commodore ...
on July 25, 1866, and served as the Commandant of the
Norfolk Navy Yard
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...
.
Kilty was placed on the Retired List on November 25, 1868, and received promotion to
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 ...
on July 13, 1870. He died on November 10, 1879.
Namesake
The destroyer , launched in April 1918, was named in his honor.
See also
Notes
References
*
*
External links
Picture History : Augustus H. Kilty (1807-1879)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilty, Augustus H.
1807 births
1879 deaths
Union Navy officers
United States Navy admirals
People of Maryland in the American Civil War
People from Annapolis, Maryland