William Kennon Mayo (1824–1900) was an officer in the
United States Navy, most notably during the
Mexican–American War and the
American Civil War.
Biography
Mayo, a native of
Virginia, 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 U.S. Navy on October 18, 1841. He was first active in service during the Mexican–American War. Mayo was given charge of the boats of the landing party during the surrender of
Monterrey
Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...
. He also took part in the capture of
Tampico and
Vera Cruz Veracruz is a state in Mexico. Veracruz or Vera Cruz (literally "True Cross") may also refer to:
People
* María González Veracruz (born 1979), Spanish politician
* Philip Vera Cruz (1904–1994), Filipino American labor leader
* Tomé Vera Cruz ...
.
After the war, Mayo was attached to a number of ships. His duties included
surveying
Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...
, other scientific work, and for a time, he was an instructor at the
U.S. Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of ...
in
Annapolis
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
. In 1855, Mayo received his commission as
lieutenant.
In January 1862, during the Civil War, he was appointed executive officer of the
corvette
A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...
during the
Union blockade of
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 ...
. In June 1862 Mayo was promoted to the rank of
lieutenant commander.
Five months after his advancement in rank, Mayo was given command of the gunboat . This vessel operated in the Western Gulf Squadron and was successful in capturing a number of small enemy vessels.
In February 1864, Mayo was stationed in Washington, D.C., on special duty. He returned to Charleston to participate in the blockade of that city's harbor the same July. As commander of the
monitor , Mayo won the commendation of the
Secretary of the Navy for assisting the effectiveness of the naval blockade.
After the capitulation of Charleston, Mayo became ordnance officer of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.
Mayo stayed in the Navy following the end of the Civil War, and was assigned to various ships and posts. In 1886, he was made a commander. Afterwards, Mayo spent nearly three years on navigation duty in
Boston. Following this, he led a number of ships in station service.
Mayo was commandant of the
Norfolk Naval Shipyard
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...
from 1882 to 1885. He was promoted to the rank of
commodore on July 2, 1882.
He was retired upon his own application on May 18, 1886. Mayo died in Washington, D.C., in April 1900.
See also
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayo, William Kennon
1824 births
1900 deaths
Military personnel from Virginia
United States Navy personnel of the Mexican–American War
Union Navy officers