Edward Dunham Robie (September 11, 1831 – June 7, 1911) was a naval engineer, inventor, and Union naval officer during 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 ...

Early life and career

Robie was born in Burlington, Vermont, the son of Jacob and Louisa (Dunham) Robie. He was educated at the local academy in

Binghamton, New York Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...

, where he was awarded a scholarship prize and a warrant as an assistant engineer in 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 ...

in 1852. He was Third Assistant Engineer on the frigate USS ''Mississippi'',

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

of Commodore Matthew Perry's historic expedition to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

from 1852 to 1855, which opened up that nation to the world for the first time. In 1857, now Second Assistant Engineer, he was ordered to the frigate USS ''Susquehanna'', which was involved in the first, albeit unsuccessful, attempt to lay a

transatlantic telegraph cable Transatlantic telegraph cables were undersea cables running under the Atlantic Ocean for telegraph communications. Telegraphy is now an obsolete form of communication, and the cables have long since been decommissioned, but telephone and data a ...

across the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, from

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He was promoted to First Assistant Engineer in 1858, and was ordered to the USS ''Niagara'', which made a round-trip voyage late that year to

Monrovia, Liberia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As th ...

, transporting slaves liberated in August when a slave ship was captured off

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

by another U.S. warship. Just prior to Robie's arrival on the ship, the ''Niagara'' had participated in the second attempt, this time successful, to lay the

Transatlantic telegraph cable Transatlantic telegraph cables were undersea cables running under the Atlantic Ocean for telegraph communications. Telegraphy is now an obsolete form of communication, and the cables have long since been decommissioned, but telephone and data a ...

. He married Helena Adams in 1858. His next assignment was as First Assistant Engineer aboard the steam sloop USS ''Lancaster''. ''Lancaster'', flagship of the

Pacific Squadron The Pacific Squadron was part of the United States Navy squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially with no United States ports in the Pacific, they operated out of storeships which provided naval s ...

, was cruising in the

Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in th ...

(

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

) when the Civil War started, and did not find out about the outbreak of hostilities until it arrived in Hawaii, two months later.

Civil War

President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

signed Edward Robie's commission as chief engineer in September 1861, and Robie went to sea again, this time on the steam sloop USS ''Mohican''. The ''Mohican'' was involved in the capture of forts at Port Royal, South Carolina, and

Fernandina, Florida Fernandina Beach is a city in northeastern Florida and the county seat of Nassau County, Florida, United States. It is the northernmost city on Florida's Atlantic coast, situated on Amelia Island, and is one of the principal municipalities comp ...

, and on blockading duty off

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. He subsequently served as Senior Engineer of the North Atlantic Squadron, superintended the construction of the ironclad ram USS ''Dictator'' in 1862–1863, served on the steam ship ''Ericsson'' in 1864, and USS ''Dictator'' in 1864 and 1865. That year, he also served on the Engineer Board of Examiners.

Postwar career

In 1866, Robie sailed to the Pacific aboard USS ''Ossipee'', via the

Strait of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south. The strait is considered the most important natural pass ...

. On arriving in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

, he was promoted to fleet engineer on board the flagship USS ''Pensacola''. In 1869, he served on a commission headed by Rear Admiral Louis M. Goldsborough that condemned the design of USS ''Wampanoag'', contained numerous design features unprecedented in American naval construction. Robie was stationed at the Boston Navy Yard in 1870 and 1871, then ordered to USS ''Wabash'', which sailed the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

. He improved a steam steering engine for that frigate, which was the first successful steam steerer used in the Navy. Robie later served for a time as Fleet Engineer on the North Atlantic and Gulf Squadrons, and from 1874 to 1877, was Chief Engineer of the Norfolk Navy Yard. Later duties included special inspection duty at Pitsburg, Ohio, and the Cold Spring Foundry in New York, Fleet Engineer in the Pacific on the flagship USS ''Pensacola'', Chief Engineer at Boston, then New York and finally Norfolk Navy yards. His last tour of duty was with the

Navy Department Navy Department or Department of the Navy may refer to: * United States Department of the Navy, * Navy Department (Ministry of Defence), in the United Kingdom, 1964-1997 * Confederate States Department of the Navy, 1861-1865 * Department of the Na ...

in Washington, D.C., where he remained until forced to retire due to his age, on September 11, 1893. He had served nearly 17 years at sea and more than 21½ years ashore. During the

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 ...

, Robie was recalled to help evaluate candidate vessels for the Auxiliary Naval Force at the ports of

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

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and

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. He also supervised the fitting out of ships at the Boston Navy Yard. Robie retired with the rank of commodore, but an act of Congress in 1906 promoted him 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 ...

in appreciation for his services during the Civil War. Rear Admiral Robie died at his home in Washington on June 7, 1911. He was buried at

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 ...

on June 9. His gravestone bears the title "Chief Engineer, U. S. Navy" rather than his final military rank.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robie, Edward D. 1831 births 1911 deaths People from Burlington, Vermont Military personnel from Vermont American military engineers People of Vermont in the American Civil War Union Navy officers United States Navy personnel of the Spanish–American War United States Navy admirals Military personnel from Washington, D.C. Burials at Arlington National Cemetery

Early life and career

Civil War

Postwar career

See also

References

External links