Percival Drayton (August 25, 1812 – August 4, 1865) was a career
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. He served 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 ...
, the
Mediterranean Squadron and as a staff officer during the
Paraguay Expedition
The Paraguay expedition (1858–1859) was an American diplomatic mission and nineteen-ship squadron ordered by President James Buchanan to South America to demand redress for certain wrongs alleged to have been done by Paraguay, and seize its cap ...
.
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 ...
, he commanded naval forces against Confederate forts defended by his brother
Thomas F. Drayton
Thomas Fenwick Drayton (August 24, 1809 – February 18, 1891) was a planter, politician, railroad president, slave owner and military officer from Charleston, South Carolina. He served in the United States Army and then as a brigadier gene ...
in the
Battle of Port Royal
The Battle of Port Royal was one of the earliest amphibious operations of the American Civil War, in which a United States Navy fleet and United States Army expeditionary force captured Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, between Savannah, Geor ...
. He served as Fleet Captain in the
West Gulf Blockading Squadron
The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederate States of America, Confederacy from trading.
The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required ...
and commanded 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 ...
during the
Battle of Mobile Bay
The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864, was a naval and land engagement of the American Civil War in which a Union fleet commanded by Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, assisted by a contingent of soldiers, attacked a smaller Confederate fle ...
under Rear Admiral
David Farragut
David Glasgow Farragut (; also spelled Glascoe; July 5, 1801 – August 14, 1870) was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. Fa ...
. It was to Drayton that Farragut issued his famous command, "Damn the torpedoes! Full steam ahead!"
Early life and family
Drayton was born in
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 ...
, to Anna Gadsden and
William Drayton
William Drayton (December 30, 1776May 24, 1846) was an American politician, banker, and writer who grew up in Charleston, South Carolina. He was the son of William Drayton Sr., who served as justice of the Province of East Florida (1765–17 ...
, a prominent lawyer and U.S. Representative. He had an older brother
Thomas F. Drayton
Thomas Fenwick Drayton (August 24, 1809 – February 18, 1891) was a planter, politician, railroad president, slave owner and military officer from Charleston, South Carolina. He served in the United States Army and then as a brigadier gene ...
. In 1833 the family relocated to
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, ...
, following the
Nullification Crisis, as William Drayton was a unionist. He was appointed as president of the
Second Bank of the United States
The Second Bank of the United States was the second federally authorized Hamiltonian national bank in the United States. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the bank was chartered from February 1816 to January 1836.. The Bank's formal name, ac ...
. Thomas, already grown, stayed in South Carolina and became a successful farmer and state senator.
William Drayton was a descendant of what had been a large landholding family in South Carolina. In the 1770s, his father William Drayton, Sr. had sold his property in South Carolina to his uncle John Drayton, after being appointed in the 1770s as chief justice of the Province of East Florida.
["Drayton Family Papers"](_blank)
including correspondence from 1783-1896, Historical Society of Pennsylvania
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a long-established research facility, based in Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chronicles, maps, press reports and v ...
, accessed 1 May 2012 John Drayton's branch consolidated the holdings at
Magnolia Plantation. After the American Revolutionary War, William Drayton, Sr. returned to South Carolina with his family and became prominent in its politics.
Military career
Percival Drayton was appointed a
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 ...
in the Navy in December 1827. He served two tours of duty with 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 ...
in the South Atlantic from 1828 to 1830 and from 1839 to 1842. He served four tours in the
Mediterranean Squadron from 1831 to 1832, 1835 to 1838, 1849 to 1850 and 1850 and 1852. He served one tour in the Pacific Ocean from 1842 to 1843 and one in the East Indies from 1845 to 1848.
During his time in the Brazil Squadron, stationed out of Rio de Janeiro, he served as a midshipman aboard the
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
. He attained the rank of Lieutenant in February 1838 and served aboard the schooner . His two years in the Pacific were served aboard the schooner .
[ He had shore duty assignments at the ]Naval Observatory
The United States Naval Observatory (USNO) is a Observatory, scientific and military facility that produces geopositioning, navigation and timekeeping data for the United States Navy and the United States Department of Defense. Established in 1 ...
in Washington, D.C., and at the New York Navy Yard
The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a ...
.
Promoted to commander in September 1855, Drayton served as a staff officer during the Paraguay Expedition
The Paraguay expedition (1858–1859) was an American diplomatic mission and nineteen-ship squadron ordered by President James Buchanan to South America to demand redress for certain wrongs alleged to have been done by Paraguay, and seize its cap ...
aboard the frigate . In 1859, he returned to the United States and was assigned as a member of the Board of Examiners to 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 Annapolis, Maryland.[ At the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, he was stationed at the ]Philadelphia Navy Yard
The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries.
Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the cit ...
, where he directed the construction and renovation of ships for war service.
In the fall of 1861, Drayton was placed in command of the gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-steam ...
; he participated in the capture of Port Royal, South Carolina
Port Royal is a List of cities and towns in South Carolina, town on Port Royal Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 14,220 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Hilton Head Is ...
. His older brother Thomas F. Drayton
Thomas Fenwick Drayton (August 24, 1809 – February 18, 1891) was a planter, politician, railroad president, slave owner and military officer from Charleston, South Carolina. He served in the United States Army and then as a brigadier gene ...
, a graduate of West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
and classmate of Jefferson Davis
Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...
, had resigned with the secession of South Carolina. He was a general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
of the Confederate army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
and commanded the forts destroyed in this engagement. The Union forces captured Hilton Head, Beaufort and Parris Island and used them as a base to continue operations against Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina.[
Drayton became commanding officer of 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 ...
and was active in inshore operations in the waters of South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
, Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
and northern Florida through the summer of 1862. He was promoted to Captain in July 1862. In September 1862, he was given command of 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 ...
. He oversaw her outfitting and worked with John Ericsson
John Ericsson (born Johan Ericsson; July 31, 1803 – March 8, 1889) was a Swedish-American inventor. He was active in England and the United States.
Ericsson collaborated on the design of the railroad steam locomotive ''Novelty'', which com ...
to improve elements of monitor
Monitor or monitor may refer to:
Places
* Monitor, Alberta
* Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States
* Monitor, Kentucky
* Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States
* Monitor, Washington
* Monitor, Logan County, West Vir ...
design. In April 1863, Drayton commanded his ship as part of a nine ironclad attack on Forts McAllister and Sumter Sumter may refer to:
People Given name
* Sumter S. Arnim (1904–1990), American dentist
* Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr. (1893–1985), United States Army general
Surname
* Rowendy Sumter (born 1988), Curaçaoan footballer
* Shavonda E. Sumter ( ...
. The attack was unsuccessful and reinforced his opinion concerning the limitations of the monitor type ship for use against well-defended fortifications.
Drayton's next assignment was as Superintendent of Ordnance at the New York Navy Yard. In December 1863 he began a year as Fleet Captain to the commander of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron
The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederate States of America, Confederacy from trading.
The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required ...
, Rear Admiral David Glasgow Farragut
David Glasgow Farragut (; also spelled Glascoe; July 5, 1801 – August 14, 1870) was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. Fa ...
. He commanded the squadron 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 ...
, the big sloop-of-war and took part in the August 1864 Battle of Mobile Bay
The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864, was a naval and land engagement of the American Civil War in which a Union fleet commanded by Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, assisted by a contingent of soldiers, attacked a smaller Confederate fle ...
and the following operations within Mobile Bay
Mobile Bay ( ) is a shallow inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. The ...
. It was to Drayton that Farragut shouted his famous command, "Damn the torpedoes! Full steam ahead!".[
He was appointed 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 ...
in late April 1865. Drayton died of an obstructed bowel in Washington, D.C., on 4 August 1865 and was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery
Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts.
The cemetery is ...
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Namesakes
The U.S. Navy has named two destroyers in honor of Percival Drayton, including: ''Drayton'' (Destroyer # 23, later DD-23) of 1910–1935; and of 1936–1946.
References
*
Further reading
*
External links
Hagley Digital Archives - Percival Drayton to Samuel Francis du Pont
The New York Public Library Archives & Manuscripts - Percival Drayton Family Papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drayton, Percival
1812 births
1865 deaths
19th-century American naval officers
Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia)
Death in Washington, D.C.
Drayton family
People from Charleston, South Carolina
People of South Carolina in the American Civil War
Southern Unionists in the American Civil War
Union Navy officers
United States Navy officers
Deaths from bowel obstruction