Samuel Dana Greene Sr. (February 11, 1839 – December 11, 1884) was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War, mostly noted for his service aboard the during the

Battle of Hampton Roads The Battle of Hampton Roads, also referred to as the Battle of the ''Monitor'' and ''Virginia'' (rebuilt and renamed from the USS ''Merrimack'') or the Battle of Ironclads, was a naval battle during the American Civil War. It was fought over t ...

Biography

Early life and career

Greene was born in

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, Maryland, the son of future U.S. Army General

George S. Greene George Sears Greene (May 6, 1801 – January 28, 1899) was a civil engineer and a Union general during the American Civil War. He was part of the Greene family of Rhode Island, which had a record of distinguished military service to the United S ...

. He entered the United States Naval Academy on September 21, 1855, and graduated on June 9, 1859, with the rank of midshipman. He was stationed on the steam sloop , which transported John Elliott Ward, the American ambassador to various cities in China to settle American claims.

Civil War

When the Civil War broke out, the ''Hartford'' was ordered to return home. Greene, having been promoted to lieutenant on August 31, 1861, arrived in Philadelphia on December 2, 1861. After a short leave, he volunteered for duty on the ''Monitor''. Greene was appointed executive officer, serving under Commander Lieutenant

John L. Worden John Lorimer Worden (March 12, 1818 – October 19, 1897) was a U.S. Navy officer in the American Civil War, who took part in the Battle of Hampton Roads, the first-ever engagement between ironclad steamships at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 9 M ...

during its historic four-hour battle at Hampton Roads, Virginia, with the Confederate

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 ...

warship on March 9, 1862. During the battle he assumed full command of ''Monitor'' when Worden was temporarily blinded by shell fragments from an explosion from one of ''Virginia''s broadsides. After the subsequent retreat and assessment of all damage Greene ordered the return to battle and continued engaging the ''Virginia'' to a standoff. Greene continued to command the ''Monitor'' until

Thomas O. Selfridge Jr. Thomas Oliver Selfridge Jr. (February 6, 1836 – February 4, 1924), son of Rear Admiral Thomas O. Selfridge, was an officer in the United States Navy. Early life Born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, Selfridge graduated from the United State ...

took command on March 10, 1862. From April to May 1862 Greene continued to serve as executive officer on ''Monitor'' during the

Battle of Drewry's Bluff The Battle of Drewry's Bluff, also known as the Battle of Fort Darling, or Fort Drewry, took place on May 15, 1862, in Chesterfield County, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. Four Union Navy warships, inclu ...

on the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

, Virginia, and later provided naval support for General McClellan's forces on land along that river. Greene was aboard the ship when it foundered in a gale 20 miles off Cape Hatteras on December 31 – January 1, 1863, which Greene survived after being pulled into a lifeboat by the ship's surgeon, Dr. Grenville M. Weeks. In 1863 Greene served aboard the gunboat on the blockade of North Carolina, then in 1864–1865 aboard the sloop , under the command of

Christopher R. P. Rodgers Rear Admiral Christopher Raymond Perry Rodgers (4 November 1819 – 8 January 1892) was an officer in the United States Navy. He served in the Mexican–American War, the American Civil War, as superintendent of the Naval Academy, president of the ...

, sailing around South America and across the Pacific to Singapore in search of the Confederate raider .

Post-war career

Greene was promoted to Lieutenant Commander on August 11, 1865, and served as instructor of

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

at the Naval Academy from 1866 to 1868. From 1868 to 1871 he served in 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 ...

, aboard the sloops and , and the screw steamer . He served as the head of the department of astronomy, navigation and surveying at the Naval Academy from 1871 to 1875, receiving promotion to Commander on December 12, 1872. Greene commanded the and between 1875 and 1878, was assistant superintendent of the academy from 1878 to 1882, then commanded the in 1883–1884. Greene was serving as the executive officer of the Portsmouth Navy Yard when on December 11, 1884, at the age of 45, he committed suicide at

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsmou ...

, and was buried in the

Juniper Hill Cemetery Juniper Hill Cemetery is a historic cemetery at 24 Sherry Avenue in Bristol, Rhode Island founded by George R.Usher, James D'Wolf Perry, Byron Diman, Ambrose E. Burnside, James H. West, Charles H. R. Doringle, and Lemanuel W. Briggs. The origina ...

in Bristol, Rhode Island. Davis, 1981, p. 168

Personal life

Greene was married twice. First to Mary Willis Dearth (1839-1874) and second to Mary Abby Babbitt (1839-1926). Mary Abby Babbitt was the daughter of Major Jacob Babbitt (1809-1862) of the 7th Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry, who was killed in action at the

Battle of Fredericksburg The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat, between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsi ...

. Greene had three children by his first wife - Samuel Dana Greene Jr. (1864-1900), who graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1883, Mary Richmond (Greene) Conover (1867-?) and Charles de Boketon Greene (1871-?).

Namesake

The destroyer (1919–1945) was named for him.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Samuel American educators 1839 births 1884 deaths Union Navy officers United States Navy officers Military personnel from Cumberland, Maryland Suicides in New Hampshire United States Naval Academy alumni American expatriates in China Greene family of Rhode Island Burials at Juniper Hill Cemetery