John Russell Bartlett (1843–1904) was an American

naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

and

oceanographer Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...

Early life

Bartlett was born on September 26, 1843 in New York. He was the son of John Russell Bartlett, an ethnologist and Secretary of State of Rhode Island. His mother was Eliza Allen Rhodes. He grew up in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

Navy career

Bartlett entered 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 ...

in November 1859 and attended the Academy until being transferred to the steam sloop USS ''Brooklyn'' in the early months of 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 ...

. While on board the ''Brooklyn'', he was present during the capture of Forts Jackson and St. Philip in April 1862, the capture of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

a few days later, as well as the

Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Missis ...

. He was promoted to ensign in 1863 and served on Admiral Dahlgren's staff during the blockade of Charleston from 1863 to 1864. He was promoted to lieutenant in February 1864. He also participated in the assault on

Fort Fisher Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865. The fort was located on one of Cape Fear Rive ...

in North Carolina in January 1865. After the war, he mapped parts of

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

Tehuantepec Tehuantepec (, in full, Santo Domingo Tehuantepec) is a city and municipality in the southeast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is part of the Tehuantepec District in the west of the Istmo Region. The area was important in pre Hispanic peri ...

, and the Coatzacoalcos River. He was promoted to lieutenant commander in July 1866. He married Jeanie R. Jenckes of

Lonsdale, Rhode Island Lonsdale (also known as Londsdale) is a village and historic district in Lincoln and Cumberland, Providence County, Rhode Island, United States, near Rhode Island Route 146 and Route 95. The village was originally part of the town of Smithfield ...

on February 6, 1872. He was promoted to the rank of

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. ...

in 1877. From November 1878 until 1882, he commanded the oceanographic survey ship ''George S. Blake'' of the US Coast and Geodetic Survey, where he discovered, between

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

and

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 ...

, the Bartlett Deep. Other accomplishments while commanding the ''Blake'' included working with biologist Alexander Emanuel Agassiz and studying the

Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension the North Atlantic Current, North Atlantic Drift, is a warm and swift Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida a ...

. From 1882 until 1888 he was in charge of the

Hydrographic Office A hydrographic office is an organization which is devoted to acquiring and publishing hydrographic information. Historically, the main tasks of hydrographic offices were the conduction of hydrographic surveys and the publication of nautical cha ...

. In 1888 he was one of 33 co-founders the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and ...

. He was promoted to captain in 1892. On December 10, 1896 he assumed command of the newly "repaired" monitor USS ''Puritan''. He was involuntarily retired from the Navy on 12 July 1897 for "incapacity resulting from incident of service".

Later life

In 1898 he received an honorary Doctor of Science degree (Sc.D.) from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

. 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 ...

, Bartlett was recalled to active duty on 25 April 1898 and served until October of that year. Upon his recall, he was placed in charge of the

Office of Naval Intelligence The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) is the military intelligence agency of the United States Navy. Established in 1882 primarily to advance the Navy's modernization efforts, it is the oldest member of the U.S. Intelligence Community and serves ...

and the Coast Signal Service. On July 9 he was also placed in command of the Auxiliary Naval Force which consisted of 41 vessels, 200 officers and 3,000 men. The Auxiliary Naval Force was responsible for coastal defense and was organized into nine districts which covered the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts of the United States. With the rapid conclusion of hostilities against Spain, the Auxiliary Naval Force was disbanded almost as quickly as it was formed with most of its vessels being deactivated by the end of August. In February 1903, he was promoted by President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

to the rank of rear admiral on the retired list.''New York Times''. February 13, 1903. Bartlett died in Lonsdale, Rhode Island in 1904. He was buried in the

Swan Point Cemetery Swan Point Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Established in 1846 on a 60-acre (0.24 km2) plot of land, it has approximately 40,000 interments. History The cemetery was first organ ...

in Providence.

Memberships

Admiral Bartlett was a member of numerous hereditary and military societies. These included 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 ...

, the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...

, the Naval Order of the United States, the Society of Colonial Wars and the

Naval and Military Order of the Spanish War The Naval and Military Order of the Spanish War was a short lived military society formed by American officers who had served during the Spanish–American War. History The Naval and Military Order of the Spanish-American War (NMOSAW) was founded ...

. In 1890 he became a charter member of the Rhode Island Society of the

Sons of the American Revolution The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR or NSSAR) is an American Congressional charter, congressionally chartered organization, founded in 1889 and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky. A non-prof ...

Legacy

The U.S. Navy oceanographic research ship was named after him. The ''Bartlett'' served in the Navy from 1969 to 1993.

Dates of rank

* Acting Midshipman - 25 November 1859 * Ensign - 8 September 1863 * Lieutenant - 22 February 1864 * Lieutenant Commander - 25 July 1866 * Commander - 25 April 1877 * Captain - 1 July 1892 * Retired List - 12 July 1897 * Rear Admiral on the Retired List - February 1903

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartlett, John Russell 1843 births 1904 deaths National Geographic Society founders American oceanographers Directors of the Office of Naval Intelligence Military personnel from New York City People of New York (state) in the American Civil War United States Naval Academy alumni Burials at Swan Point Cemetery