Ensign Worth Bagley (April 6, 1874 – May 11, 1898) was a

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 ...

officer during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, distinguished as the only U.S. naval officer killed in action during that war.

Biography

Born in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

, a son of

William Henry Bagley William Henry Bagley (July 5, 1833 – February 21, 1886) was an American military officer, politician, and newspaperman. He served as clerk of the North Carolina Supreme Court, having been elected January 18, 1869, and holding that position until ...

, he graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

in 1895. After serving two years on , , and , he was made

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

, July 1, 1897. In November he was appointed inspector of the new

torpedo-boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...

, and when she went into commission on December 28, he was assigned as her

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

under

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

John Baptiste Bernadou. In April 1898, the ''Winslow'' was with the fleet, mobilized for operations in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n waters. On the morning of May 11 the ship went with and to force the entrance to the harbor of Cárdenas. She was fired upon by the Spanish

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

''Antonio López'', and immediately there was a general engagement. The ''Winslow'' was soon disabled, and was with difficulty hauled out of range of the Spanish guns by ''Hudson''. Just as the engagement ended, Ensign Bagley and four sailors were killed by a shell.

Namesakes

The first three U.S. Navy ships named USS ''Bagley'', , , and , were named for Ensign Worth Bagley. The fourth, , honors both Worth Bagley and his brother, Admiral

David W. Bagley David Worth Bagley (January 8, 1883 – May 24, 1960) was an Admiral (United States), admiral in the United States Navy during World War II. He was also the brother of Ensign Worth Bagley, the only United States Navy officer killed in action durin ...

References

history.navy.mil: USS ''Bagley''

Attribution

From the 1901 ''Encyclopaedia of United States History''

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagley, Worth 1874 births 1898 deaths American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Worth United States Navy officers American military personnel killed in the Spanish–American War United States Naval Academy alumni