Benjamin Franklin Bache (February 7, 1801 – November 1, 1881) was a surgeon in the
United States Navy before and during the
Civil War. He was a great-grandson of the Revolutionary War statesman and author,
Benjamin Franklin.
Bache was born in Monticello, Virginia,
graduating from
Princeton University in 1819, and from the medical department of the
University of Pennsylvania in 1823.
[Shrady, George F., ed. (1881)]
''The Medical Record''
Vol. 20 (July 2—December 31, 1881), p. 557. William Wood & Company.
He entered the
Navy as an assistant surgeon in 1824, and in 1828 was promoted to the rank of surgeon. From 1838 to 1841 he served as fleet surgeon of the
Mediterranean Squadron.
simultaneously serving as
professor of natural science at
Kenyon College,
Ohio.
[Chamberlain, Joshua L., ed. (1900)]
''Universities and Their Sons''
Vol. V, p. 99. R. Herndon Company.
Bache was in charge of the
Philadelphia Naval Asylum from 1845 to 1847. He then served as fleet surgeon of 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 1848 to 1860, and at the Naval Hospital in New York from 1850 to 1854, serving as director of the medical laboratory of the
Brooklyn Navy Yard from 1855 to 1872. During the
Civil War, the laboratory provided medical supplies to the
Union army. Bache retired on February 1, 1868, and in 1871 was appointed medical director with rank of Commodore.
Commodore Bache died at his home on 283
Henry Street, New York, after a short illness on November 1, 1881.
See also
*
Richard Bache, B.F. Bache's grandfather
References
1801 births
1881 deaths
Princeton University alumni
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni
Kenyon College faculty
United States Navy commodores
Union Navy surgeons
Franklin family
People from Charlottesville, Virginia
United States Navy Medical Corps officers
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