Tunis Augustus Macdonough Craven (11 January 1813 – 5 August 1864) was an officer in the
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 ...
. His career included service in the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
and 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 ...
.
Early life
Tunis Augustus Macdonough Craven was born in
Portsmouth, N. H., January 11, 1813. He was the youngest son of Tunis Craven, a Naval Storekeeper, stationed at the Portsmouth Yard, and his wife, Hannah Tingey, daughter of Commodore
Thomas Tingey
Thomas Tingey (11 September 1750 – 23 February 1829) was a commodore of the United States Navy. Originally serving in the British Royal Navy, Tingey later served in the Continental Navy. Tingey served with distinction during the Quasi-War and ...
, a longtime commandant of the
Washington Navy Yard
The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is the former shipyard and Weapon, ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy.
The Yard currently serv ...
. His brother,
Thomas Tingey Craven would also join the navy, rising to the rank of rear admiral, while another brother,
Alfred Wingate Craven
Alfred Wingate Craven (20 October 1810 - 29 March 1879) was a chief engineer of the Croton Aqueduct Department, was a founding member—and host of its initial meeting—of the American Society of Civil Engineers and Architects, which later became ...
(1810–1879), became a noted civil engineer.
In his youth he attended the
Columbia College Grammar School in New York, his father having removed his family to
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, when ordered to duty in the
New York Yard. February 2, 1829, Craven was appointed an acting
midshipman from New York (warranted November 18, 1831), and was attached to the and .
U.S. Navy service
Promoted to passed midshipman in September 1835, he was on duty in connection with the
United States Coast Survey
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
almost continually until 1843, nearly two years after his promotion to lieutenant, in September 1841. In 1838 he married Mary Carter, a member of one of the oldest and most influential families on Long Island, who died in 1843, leaving three children. The same year, Lieutenant Craven was ordered to the receiving ship at New York, where he remained until ordered to the in May, 1846. In the meantime, he had married again and moved from Brooklyn to
Bound Brook, New Jersey. His second wife was Marie L. Stevenson, of Baltimore, Maryland, with whom he had three children. Craven served on the ''Dale'' during the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
with the Pacific Squadron. He was given command of the chartered
schooner ''Libertad'' in 1847, patrolling the coast of
Baja California Sur to intercept Mexican ships trying to bring men and military material to their army in the territory. In the
Bombardment of Punta Sombrero, Craven engaged in a gun duel with a shore battery guarding the anchorage of
Mulege.
After his return from duty on the ''Dale'', he was employed on U.S. Coast Survey duty until 1859, with the exception of a year (1850) at the Naval Observatory. Most of this time, he commanded the steamer , but in October 1857, sailed in the ''Varina'' in command of the Atrato Expedition, which was for the purpose of surveying a route for a proposed ship canal through
Isthmus of Darien
An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmus ...
(now called Panama) by way of the
Atrato River
The Atrato River () is a river of northwestern Colombia. It rises in the slopes of the Western Cordillera and flows almost due north to the Gulf of Urabá (or Gulf of Darién), where it forms a large, swampy delta. Its course crosses the ...
.
In 1859 Lieutenant Craven was given command of the steamer , Home Squadron, in which he captured two slavers; in 1860 he saved the crew of the ''Bella'', a foundering Spanish vessel, for which he was given a gold medal and diploma by Queen
Isabella II
Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868.
Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successi ...
. About the same time, the New York Board of Underwriters presented Mrs. Craven with a silver service for efficient services rendered to merchant vessels at sea by her husband.
In 1861 Lieutenant Craven was ordered to take command of the , Home Squadron, but was shortly after promoted to commander and given command of the , special service. The ''Tuscarora'' went to England with orders to report to the U.S. Minister, Mr. Adams. While in Southampton, the Confederate steamer came in; but after she departed, the ''Tuscarora'' had to wait 24 hours to follow. After giving up the chase, Commander Craven went to the Mediterranean, where he succeeded in watching the so closely that her officers and crew finally abandoned the ship at Gibraltar.
The ''Tuscarora'' was ordered home in 1863, and Commander Craven was detached and placed in command of the , then being built at Secor's yard, Jersey City. The following spring, the ''Tecumseh'' left New York and joined the squadron of Admiral Lee in the James River.
Death at Battle of Mobile Bay
Shortly after, the ''Tecumseh'' was sent to join
Admiral Farragut's fleet in the projected
attack on Mobile. The position of Commander Craven in the attack, which took place August 5, was at the head of the column of monitors which was on the starboard hand of the wooden vessels between them and Fort Morgan. Admiral Farragut in his reports states:
"The attacking fleet steamed steadily up the main ship channel, the ''Tecumseh'' firing the first shot at forty-seven minutes past six o'clock. At six minutes past seven the fort opened on us, and was replied to by a gun from the USS ''Brooklyn'', and immediately after the action became general. It was soon apparent that there was some difficulty ahead. The , for some cause which I did not then clearly understand, but which has since been explained by Captain Alden in his report, arrested the advance of the whole fleet, while at the same time the guns of the fort were playing with great effect upon that vessel and the ''Hartford''. A moment after I saw the ''Tecumseh'', struck by a torpedo, disappear almost instantaneously beneath the waves, carrying with her her gallant commander and nearly all her crew."
The captain and the pilot were in the conning tower directly over the turret, whence there was no escape save through a narrow opening. Upon reaching this Commander Craven turned to the pilot and said, "You first, sir." The pilot, John Collins, escaped, and, as he related, the vessel sank under him, carrying her crew of one hundred and sixteen in all, save himself and the few that were able to escape through the port holes. A buoy in Mobile Bay marks the spot where the ''Tecumseh'' lies.
Tribute
The English poet
Henry Newbolt
Sir Henry John Newbolt, CH (6 June 1862 – 19 April 1938) was an English poet, novelist and historian. He also had a role as a government adviser with regard to the study of English in England. He is perhaps best remembered for his poems "Vit ...
immortalized Commander Tunis' sacrifice in ''Craven''
(from The Project Gutenberg EBook of Collected Poems 1897 – 1907, by Henry Newbolt)
Craven
(Mobile Bay, 1864)
Over the turret, shut in his iron-clad tower,
Craven was conning his ship through smoke and flame;
Gun to gun he had battered the fort for an hour,
Now was the time for a charge to end the game.
There lay the narrowing channel, smooth and grim,
A hundred deaths beneath it, and never a sign;
There lay the enemy's ships, and sink or swim
The flag was flying, and he was head of the line.
The fleet behind was jamming; the monitor hung
Beating the stream; the roar for a moment hushed,
Craven spoke to the pilot; slow she swung;
Again he spoke, and right for the foe she rushed.
Into the narrowing channel, between the shore
And the sunk torpedoes lying in treacherous rank;
She turned but a yard too short; a muffled roar,
A mountainous wave, and she rolled, righted, and sank.
Over the manhole, up in the iron-clad tower,
Pilot and Captain met as they turned to fly:
The hundredth part of a moment seemed an hour,
For one could pass to be saved, and one must die.
They stood like men in a dream: Craven spoke,
Spoke as he lived and fought, with a Captain's pride,
"After you, Pilot." The pilot woke,
Down the ladder he went, and Craven died.
All men praise the deed and the manner, but we---
We set it apart from the pride that stoops to the proud,
The strength that is supple to serve the strong and free,
The grace of the empty hands and promises loud:
Sidney thirsting, a humbler need to slake,
Nelson waiting his turn for the surgeon's hand,
Lucas crushed with chains for a comrade's sake,
Outram coveting right before command:
These were paladins, these were Craven's peers,
These with him shall be crowned in story and song,
Crowned with the glitter of steel and the glimmer of tears,
Princes of courtesy, merciful, proud, and strong.
Namesakes
Three ships in the Navy have been named for him.
A portion of East 156th Street in
The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
was once called Craven Street in his honor.
Notes
References
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Craven, Tunis A.
1813 births
1864 deaths
United States Navy officers
United States Navy personnel of the Mexican–American War
People of New Hampshire in the American Civil War
Union Navy officers
Union military personnel killed in the American Civil War
People from Kittery, Maine