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 Charlestown is the oldest neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Originally called Mishawum by the Massachusett tribe, it is located on a peninsula north of the Charles River, across from downtown Boston, and also adjoins t ...

, Selfridge graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1854. He was the first officer to receive a diploma from the Academy.

Civil War

At the beginning of the American Civil War, he helped with efforts to destroy the untenable Norfolk Navy Yard; and he then escaped from that burning and beleaguered base in the USS ''Cumberland'', helping to save 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 ...

for the Union Navy. He participated in the capture of the Hatteras forts and was on board ''Cumberland'' on 8 March 1862 when she was sunk by Confederate ironclad, CSS ''Virginia''. He then briefly commanded USS ''Monitor'', after 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 ...

was wounded; and then commanded the USS ''Alligator'', an experimental submarine, in testing operations based at the Washington Navy Yard. In August, he joined the Mississippi Squadron, and subsequently commanded the USS ''Cairo'' and the USS ''Conestoga'' when those ships were sunk in action. Late in the war, he returned to the Atlantic where he commanded the USS ''Huron'' in the attacks on Fort Fisher; and he participated in the ensuing bombardment of

Fort Anderson Fort Anderson can refer to: *Fort Anderson (Kentucky) ; A Union fort used in the American Civil War and site of the Battle of Paducah, Kentucky *Fort Anderson (North Carolina) ; A Confederate fort used in the American Civil War *Fort Anderson Locate ...

and the capture of Wilmington, North Carolina.

Postwar

His postwar service included command of USS ''Nipsic'', USS ''Enterprise'', and USS ''Omaha'' – the last two on the Asiatic Station. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1881. While in command of the ''Omaha'' in 1887, Selfridge conducted target practice off the coast of the Japanese island of

Ikeshima Ikeshima or Ikejima ( ja, 池島), also sometimes listed as Ike Island, is an island in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. Initially within the borders of Kamiura village, from 1955 until its merger with the city of Nagasaki in 2005, it was part of ...

which resulted in the deaths of four Japanese and the wounding of seven others. This created an international incident, but Selfridge was acquitted at a court martial in 1888. In 1885, Captain Selfridge, of the U. S. man-of-war ''Omaha'', delegated a lieutenant to present his compliments to Captain De Saune, the French commander of the ''Isère'', laden with the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...

, and suggest that Gravesend Bay would be a safer anchorage than the Sandy Hook Horseshoe. He was promoted to commodore in 1894 and then had duty as Commander in Chief of the European Squadron from 1895 to 1898. While commanding the European Squadron his flagship was the cruiser USS ''San Francisco''. He was promoted to rear admiral in 1896, which made him and his father the first father and son to be admirals in the United States Navy. His nephew,

Thomas Etholen Selfridge Thomas Etholen Selfridge (February 8, 1882 – September 17, 1908) was a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army and the first person to die in an airplane crash. He was also the first active-duty member of the U.S. military to die in a crash whil ...

, a US Army Field Artillery officer and one of the first pilots in the nascent Army Air Service, became the first person ever to die in the crash of a powered airplane in 1908. Rear Admiral Selfridge retired on February 6, 1898. He died from heart disease in Washington, D.C., on February 4, 1924. Like his father, he was a Veteran Companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and an Honorary Hereditary Companion of the Military Order of Foreign Wars. He was also a Chevalier of the French

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

Namesake ships

USS ''Selfridge'' (DD-320) was named for the elder Rear Admiral Selfridge, while USS ''Selfridge'' (DD-357) was named for both officers.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Selfridge, Thomas O. Jr. 1836 births 1924 deaths People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War United States Naval Academy alumni Union Navy officers United States Navy admirals