Lieutenant Commander Daniel Lawrence Braine

Daniel Lawrence Braine (May 18, 1829 – January 30, 1898) was an admiral of 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 ...

Early life

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on May 18, 1829, Braine was appointed

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 ...

in 1846. He served on the and the during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

Civil War service

During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

he commanded the and took part in an engagement with the rebel battery at

Sewell's Point Sewells Point is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States, located at the mouth of the salt-water port of Hampton Roads. Sewells Point is bordered by water on three sides, with Willoughby Bay to t ...

, in the first naval engagement of the war. He also took part in the attack and capture of Fort Hatteras and Fort Clarke and engaged the enemy at Kimmekerk Woods above

Cape Hatteras Cape Hatteras is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina. As a temperate barrier island, the landscape has been shaped by wind, waves, and storms. There are long stretches of beach ...

. He was promoted to lieutenant commander in July 1862.

Post-Civil War

Braine was promoted to commander in July 1866. On November 1, 1871, he was elected as a Companion of the New York Commandery of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or, simply, the Loyal Legion, is a United States military order organized on April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Union Army. The original membership was consisted ...

– a military society of officers who had served the Union during the American Civil War. He was assigned insignia number 1338. Between 1873 and 1875 he commanded the on its cruise to

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

in search of the ill-fated ''Polaris'' Expedition. During this cruise, he was promoted to the rank of captain in 1874. In 1875, he took command of the receiving ship USS ''

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

'', after which he was assigned to command USS ''

Powhatan Powhatan people () are Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands who belong to member tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy, or Tsenacommacah. They are Algonquian peoples whose historic territories were in eastern Virginia. Their Powh ...

''. As a senior captain, Braine was permitted to use the customary title

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

beginning in 1885, and in late 1886 he was assigned to command the

South Atlantic Squadron The Brazil Squadron, the Brazil Station, or the South Atlantic Squadron was an overseas military station established by the United States in 1826 to protect American commerce in the South Atlantic during a war between Brazil and Argentina. When t ...

with promotion to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

the following year. In 1889 he was assigned to command of the

Brooklyn Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York, U.S. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a se ...

, where he served until his retirement.

Retirement and death

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Braine retired from the Navy in May 1891. In 1895 he became a Veteran Companion of the New York Commandery of the

Military Order of Foreign Wars The Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States (MOFW) is one of the oldest veterans' and hereditary associations in the nation with a membership that includes officers and their hereditary descendants from all of the Armed Services. Memb ...

and received insignia number 45. He died in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

on January 30, 1898.

Namesake

The

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

, (1943–1971) was named in his honor.

Dates of rank

* Midshipman, May 30, 1846. * Passed Midshipman, June 8, 1852. * Master, September 15, 1855. * Lieutenant, September 16, 1855. * Lieutenant Commander, July 16, 1862. * Commander, July 25, 1866. * Captain, December 11, 1874. * Commodore, March 2, 1885. * Rear Admiral, September 4, 1887. * Retired List, May 18, 1891.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Braine, Daniel 1829 births 1898 deaths United States Navy rear admirals (upper half) Union Navy officers People of New York (state) in the American Civil War United States Navy personnel of the Mexican–American War Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery