Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright II (July 27, 1821 – January 1, 1863) was an officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, who was killed in action during the

Battle of Galveston The Battle of Galveston was a naval and land battle of the American Civil War, when Confederate forces under Major Gen. John B. Magruder expelled occupying Union troops from the city of Galveston, Texas on January 1, 1863. After the loss of ...

Early life

Wainwright was born on July 27, 1821, in

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Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright I Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright I (February 24, 1792 – September 21, 1854) was a provisional Episcopal bishop in Manhattan, New York City. Early life Wainwright was born in Liverpool, England on February 24, 1792. He was the son of Peter Wainwri ...

(1792–1854) and Amelia Maria Phelps. His father, an Episcopal bishop, served as the fifth Bishop of New York, from 1852 to 1854, and was instrumental in the founding of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. His paternal grandparents were Peter Wainwright and Elizabeth Mayhew. He was a cousin of naval officer Richard Wainwright.

Career

He entered the

on June 30, 1837, at age 16, as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

. He attended the

Philadelphia Naval Asylum Naval Square is a gated community within the Graduate Hospital neighborhood of Philadelphia that served as the first United States Naval Academy from 1834 to 1845, when the Naval Academy formed in Annapolis. It continued as a retirement home f ...

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, from 1842 to 1843, and became a

passed midshipman A passed midshipman, sometimes called as "midshipman, passed", is a term used historically in the 19th century to describe a midshipman who had passed the lieutenant's exam and was eligible for promotion to lieutenant as soon as there was a vac ...

on June 29, 1843. He was appointed acting-

master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

, November 10, 1849, and commissioned

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

, September 17, 1850. He was on special duty in

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in 1861. He commanded the , Admiral

David Dixon Porter David Dixon Porter (June 8, 1813 – February 13, 1891) was a United States Navy admiral (United States), admiral and a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the U.S. Navy. Promoted as the second U.S. Navy officer ...

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

in Farragut's fleet, in the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, and took part in operations below Vicksburg. He was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

when his ship was attacked and captured by

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

forces under the command of General John Bankhead Magruder during the

on January 1, 1863. He was reportedly personally killed by Confederate naval commander Leon Smith, and a valuable signal book was taken from his corpse.Day, James M. (1965) "Leon Smith: Confederate Mariner," East Texas Historical Journal: Vol. 3: Iss. 1, Article 7.
/ref> - Registration required, accessed on 25 October 2017

Personal life

On February 8, 1844, he married Maria Byrd Page in Virginia. She was the daughter of Robert Powell Page (1794–1849), himself a grandson of the

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. The Governor (United States), governor is head of the Government_of_Virginia#Executive_branch, executive branch ...

John Page, and Mary Francis, the daughter of Thomas Willing Francis of Philadelphia. After her mother's death, her father remarried to Susan Grymes, daughter of Archie Randolph. Together, they had four children: * Elizabeth "Lizzie" Wainwright (died 1883), who married John Page Burwell in 1875. * Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright III (died 1870), a Lt. in the U.S. Navy who was killed by pirates on the Pacific coast. * Robert Powell Page Wainwright, a Lt. of Cavalry who married Josepha Sewell. * Maria Wainwright (born 1855), who married Henry Slaughter in 1873. She later married Louis James and attained some reputation as an actress going by the name "Fannie Louise Buckingham."

Legacy

His grandson,

Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV (23 August 1883 – 2 September 1953) was an American army general and the Commander of Allied forces in the Philippines at the time Japan surrendered to the United States, during World War II. Wainwright comman ...

(1883–1953), was a general during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Honors

Three ships have been named for Jonathan and some of his relatives.

References

;Notes ;Sources * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wainwright, Jonathan Mayhew 1821 births 1863 deaths

Jonathan Mayhew Jonathan Mayhew (October 8, 1720 – July 9, 1766) was a noted American Congregational minister at Old West Church, Boston, Massachusetts. Early life Mayhew was born at Martha's Vineyard, being fifth in descent from Thomas Mayhew (1592–16 ...

United States Navy officers Union Navy officers People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Union military personnel killed in the American Civil War American people of English descent