Commander Richard Wainwright (January 15, 1817 – August 10, 1862) was an officer in the

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during the

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who commanded ,

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of Admiral David G. Farragut's

West Gulf Blockading Squadron The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading. The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required the monitoring of of Atlantic ...

Early life

Wainwright was born in

Charlestown, Massachusetts Charlestown is the oldest Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Also called Mishawum by the Massachusett, it is located on a peninsula north of the Charles River, across from downtown Bost ...

, on January 15, 1817. He was the son of Robert Dewar Wainwright and Maria Montresor Auchmuty. He was a cousin of Comdr. Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright.

Career

Wainwright was commissioned in the United States Navy on May 11, 1831. He attended the naval school at

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Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, in 1837–1838, and became a

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 vac ...

on June 15, 1837. From 1838 to 1841, he served with the

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in the

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

''Consort''. He was commissioned

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on September 8, 1841 and commanded the steamer in the U.S.Navy's

Home Squadron The Home Squadron was part of the United States Navy in the mid-19th century. Organized as early as 1838, ships were assigned to protect coastal commerce, aid ships in distress, suppress piracy and the Atlantic slave trade, make coastal surveys ...

from 1848 to 1849, served again on U.S. Coast Survey duty from 1851 to 1857, and cruised in the

steam frigate Steam frigates (including screw frigates) and the smaller steam corvettes, steam sloops, steam gunboats and steam schooners, were steam-powered warships that were not meant to stand in the line of battle. The first such ships were paddle stea ...

on special service from 1857 to 1860. He was stationed at the

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, on ordnance duty from 1860 to 1861. Following the outbreak of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

in April 1861, Wainwright was promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

on April 24, 1861, and commanded ,

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

David G. Farragut's

. During the passage of the forts below

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, on the night of April 24 and 25, 1862, he performed gallant service in extinguishing a fire on ''Hartford'' while continuing the bombardment of the forts. Commended by Farragut for his actions, Wainwright later participated in the squadron's operations below Vicksburg,

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, until taken ill with fever.

Personal life

On March 1, 1849, Wainwright married Sarah "Sally" Franklin Bache (1824–1880) in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

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. She was the daughter of Sophia Burrell (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Dallas) Bache and Richard Bache, Jr., who served in the Navy of the Republic of Texas and was elected to the

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. Her maternal grandparents were Arabella Maria Smith and Alexander J. Dallas, an American statesman who served as the

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under

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. She was the paternal granddaughter of Sarah (''née'' Franklin) Bache and

Richard Bache Richard Bache (September 12, 1737 – April 17, 1811) was a businessman, a marine insurance underwriter, and later served as Postmaster-General of the American Post Office. He also was the son-in-law of Benjamin Franklin. Early life Bache was ...

, and the great-granddaughter of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

. Together, they were the parents of: * Richard Wainwright, who was a naval officer in the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

. * Dallas Bache Wainwright, who was an officer with the

United States Coast and Geodetic Survey The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey ( USC&GS; known as the Survey of the Coast from 1807 to 1836, and as the United States Coast Survey from 1836 until 1878) was the first scientific agency of the Federal government of the United State ...

. * Maria Campbell Wainwright, who married Rear Admiral

Seaton Schroeder Seaton Schroeder (August 17, 1849 – October 19, 1922) was an admiral of the United States Navy. He contributed to the development of the Driggs-Schroeder rapid-fire gun. Biography Schroeder was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Francis Sc ...

. Wainwright died at

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, Louisiana, on August 10, 1862, aboard USS ''Hartford''.

Legacy

Three ships have been named for Richard Wainwright, his cousins,

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current ...

, and grandson.

References

Notes; ;Sources * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wainwright, Richard 1817 births 1862 deaths

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

United States Navy officers People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War American people of English descent Franklin family Union Navy officers United States Coast Survey personnel