Horatio Bridge
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Horatio Bridge (April 8, 1806 – March 18, 1893) was an officer of 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 ...
who, as Chief of the Bureau of Provisions, served for many years as head of the Navy's supply organization. Appointed by his former college mate, President
Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...
, Bridge held this post under various administrations, including the whole period of the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. He also had the distinction of being the first man in the Navy to employ the idea of comprehensive fleet supply. Under his direction, the systematic supply of Navy vessels on the
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
and
Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...
coasts during the Civil War was established and carried out with conspicuous success.


Early life and education

The son of a judge, Bridge was born at
Augusta, Maine Augusta is the capital of the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Kennebec County. The city's population was 18,899 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth-most populous city in Maine, and third-least populous state capital in the Un ...
. He received his early education in private schools and at
Hallowell Academy Hallowell may refer to: Places *Hallowell, Maine, United States, a city in Kennebec County * Hallowell, Kansas, United States * Hallowell, Ontario, Canada Other uses * Hallowell (surname) *Hallowell family The Hallowell family is an American fami ...
. Bridge was graduated from
Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...
in the class of 1825, which included among its members
Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...
and
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...
. According to a newspaper item of 1893, it was Horatio Bridge's appreciation of Hawthorne's early writings, and his faith in this man of genius, that, to use Hawthorne's own words, "was responsible for my being an author". One of his later books, ''
The Snow-Image, and Other Twice-Told Tales ''The Snow-Image, and Other Twice-Told Tales'' is a collection of short stories by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. Released in late 1851 with a copyright of 1852, it is the final collection of tales by Hawthorne published in his lifetime. Bac ...
'', was dedicated to his friend and benefactor, Horatio Bridge. The Commodore himself wielded a graceful pen, and besides contributions to periodicals was the author of ''The Journal of an African Cruiser'', which was edited by Hawthorne, and ''Personal Recollections of Nathaniel Hawthorne''.


Legal and naval careers

After graduation from Bowdoin College, he studied law at Northampton Law School; was admitted to the bar, and practiced his profession at Augusta and
Skowhegan Skowhegan () is the county seat of Somerset County, Maine. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 8,620. Every August, Skowhegan hosts the annual Skowhegan State Fair, the oldest continuously-held state fair in the United States. Skowh ...
(then Milburn), Maine. After ten years of practice, he found law distasteful to him and entered the U.S. Navy as a
purser A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. ...
in 1838. After several long cruises in African, European, and
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
waters, he was called to
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
and appointed Chief of the Navy's
Bureau of Provisions and Clothing Bureau ( ) may refer to: Agencies and organizations * Government agency *Public administration * News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location * Bureau (European Parliament), the administra ...
. He handled with great skill the responsible duties of this office. Of the skill and ability which he showed in its management, Senator James Grimes testified in a debate in 1865: "No Bureau of this government has been more admirably and accurately managed then the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing." To this, Senator John P. Hale, added; "I think a great reason, and a very important one, is because there is at the head of that Bureau an honest, vigilant, and faithful man". During Bridge's tenure as head of the Bureau, he made many significant innovations in the Navy's supply system. Some of the more important ones were: * Advertising for competitive bids became mandatory except for personal services, and except in the case of emergency. * Preserved meats, pickles, butter, cheese, and desiccated vegetables could be bought without formal advertising and sealed bids. * A requirement was written into the statutes which specified that "the Chief of the Bureau, also known as the Paymaster General, be appointed from the list of Paymasters of the Navy of not less than ten years standing". This meant that for the first time it was legally impossible for the Paymaster General to be a civilian. * In 1862, the agitation against the
rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Ph ...
ration became so pronounced that on September 1 of that year, it was finally eliminated and as a compensation, men's pay was raised five cents a day. It has been said that the Act was responsible for the origin of the old Navy song: "''They raised our pay five cents a day, and took away our grog forever''". According to a Navy press notice, Bridge resigned his position as Chief of the Bureau in 1869. However, shortly thereafter he accepted the position as the first Chief Inspector of Clothing, which he held until the passage of the law debarring all Navy officers from active duty after reaching the age of sixty-two. He was detached from duty after serving afloat and ashore for fifty-five years.


Family life

Commodore Bridge was married to Charlotte Marshall of Boston when he was forty years old. They had one daughter who died at the age of five. To appease his sorrow, his friend Hawthorne wrote him: "... I trust you will be able to feel that though it is good to have a dear child on earth, it is likewise good to have one safe in heaven. She will await you there and it will seem like home to you now. Affectionately, Nath". While he seldom visited his home town, he kept the affection and respect of his townspeople to a most unusual degree. His friends there remembered him as a remarkable old man, whose clear mind and strong memory would have done credit to a man in the prime of life. He was also noted for his military bearing and elastic step. Concerning his fine character, the ''
Kennebec Journal The ''Kennebec Journal'' is a six-day morning daily newspaper published in Augusta, Maine. It is owned by MaineToday Media, which also publishes the state's largest newspaper, the ''Portland Press Herald''. The newspaper covers Augusta and the s ...
'' said: "Commodore Bridge was a man of sterling principles and rugged honesty, with a strong mind and a warm heart; a gentleman of the old school in all that means, of broad culture and with a genial polished manner".


Last years and legacy

Upon final retirement, on March 1, 1871, he went to his country home, "The Moorings", at Athens, Pennsylvania, where he spent the rest of his life. Here, according to ''The Athens News'', he was an exemplary Christian and for many years had been an earnest and devout member of the Episcopal Church. Following Bridge's death in March 1893, he was buried in Athens. Two US Navy ships have been named in his honor: USS ''Bridge'' (AF-1) and USS ''Bridge'' (AOE-10).


References


External links


USS ''Bridge'' website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bridge, Horatio 1806 births 1893 deaths 19th-century American Episcopalians People from Augusta, Maine Bowdoin College alumni Union Navy officers United States Navy officers People from Skowhegan, Maine Northampton Law School alumni