George Mifflin Bache, Jr. (November 12, 1841 – February 11, 1896) 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 ...

, fighting on the Union side in 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 ...

and continuing to serve for a decade after the war's end. The ''Fletcher''-class destroyer was named for him.

Early life and ancestors

He was born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, to Lt. George Mifflin Bache, USN, who was lost at sea in 1846, and Elizabeth Catherine Patterson.There is a monument in the Congressional Cemetery on Washington to the elder Lt. Bache and the 22 men under his command who were lost in that incident. He was the grandson of Richard Bache, Jr., who served in the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

navy and was an elected representative in the Texas legislature, and Sophia Burrell Dallas, daughter of Arabella Maria Smith and Alexander James Dallas, who served as the

U.S. Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...

Secretary under President

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

. He was also a great-grandson of

Sarah Franklin Bache Sarah Franklin Bache (September 11, 1743 – October 5, 1808), sometimes known as Sally Bache, was the daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Deborah Read. She was a leader in relief work during the American Revolutionary War and frequently served as ...

and

Richard Bache Richard Bache (September 12, 1737 – April 17, 1811) was a businessman, a marine insurance underwriter, and later served as Postmaster-General of the American Post Office. He also was the son-in-law of Benjamin Franklin. Early life Bache was ...

, and a great-great-grandson of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

, as well as a nephew of

George Mifflin Dallas George Mifflin Dallas (July 10, 1792 – December 31, 1864) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the 11th vice president of the United States from 1845 to 1849. He also served as the mayor of Philadelphia from 1828 to 1829, and ...

, the 11th

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...

, serving under

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy and ...

. His uncles included

Alexander Dallas Bache Alexander Dallas Bache (July 19, 1806 – February 17, 1867) was an American physicist, scientist, and surveyor who erected coastal fortifications and conducted a detailed survey to map the mideastern United States coastline. Originally an army ...

, Superintendent of the

United States Coast Survey United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

, and 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 ...

Education and career

His father was killed in 1846, swept overboard during a

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface wind moving at a speed between .

while in command of the

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

, but despite this Bache joined the

in August 1855, serving as

captain's clerk A captain's clerk was a naval rating, rating, now obsolete, in the Royal Navy and the United States Navy for a person employed by the Captain (nautical), captain to keep his Document, records, communication, correspondence, and Account (accountanc ...

aboard the

sloop-of-war During the 18th and 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship of the Royal Navy with a single gun deck that carried up to 18 guns. The rating system of the Royal Navy covered all vessels with 20 or more guns; thus, the term encompassed all u ...

until May 1857. He then briefly served aboard the U.S. Coast Survey

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

as acting-

master's mate Master's mate is an obsolete rating which was used by the British Royal Navy, Royal Navy, United States Navy and merchant services in both countries for a senior petty officer who assisted the sailing master, master. Master's mates evolved into th ...

under the command of Lieutenant Richard Wainwright, another uncle by marriage, before entering the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) 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 United States Secre ...

on November 19, 1857, with the rank of acting-midshipman. He graduated on June 1, 1861, just after the outbreak of the Civil War, with the rank of midshipman.

Civil War and later life

During the war, he first served aboard . Promoted to lieutenant on July 16, 1862, he served briefly in the

steam sloop Steam frigates (including screw frigates) and the smaller steam corvettes, steam sloops, steam gunboats and steam schooners, were steam-powered warships that were not meant to stand in the line of battle. The first such ships were paddle steame ...

before transferring to the squadron on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

late in 1862. On November 8, 1862, he received orders to assume command of the stern-wheel casemate

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 ...

. Bache commanded the gunboat during operations leading up to the fall of

Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 21,573 at the 2020 census. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vicksburg ...

, early in July 1863. During those operations, however, his ship was sunk on May 27, 1863, while dueling Confederate batteries defending the river approaches to the city. That summer, he took command of the sidewheel gunboat and led her in a number of engagements with Confederate forces. In 1864, he returned to the Atlantic blockade as

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 ...

of ''Powhatan''. While assigned to that ship, Bache participated in both the unsuccessful and successful assaults on

Fort Fisher Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865. The fort was located on one of Cape Fear Riv ...

, carried out in December 1864 and January 1865. In the latter attack, he was wounded but not severely. Promoted to lieutenant-commander on July 25, 1866, he served in until she was destroyed on a reef at the mouth of the

Godavari River The Godavari (, Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganges River, Ganga River and drains the third largest Drainage basin, basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. It ...

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, on June 19, 1867. Between 1869 and 1872, Bache was assigned to the steam sloop on the

European Station The European Squadron, also known as the European Station, was a part of the United States Navy in the late 19th century and the early 1900s. The squadron was originally named the Mediterranean Squadron and renamed following the American Civil W ...

. After that, he went ashore to ordnance duty at the

Washington Navy Yard The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is a ceremonial and administrative center for the United States Navy, located in the federal national capital city of Washington, D.C. (federal District of Columbia). It is the oldest shore establishment / base of ...

until his retirement on April 5, 1875, receiving promotion to commander the same day. Bache died on February 11, 1896, at Washington, D.C. The destroyer (1942–1968) was named in his honor.

References

External links

Commander George Mifflin Bache, USN, an inventory of his collection in the Navy Department LibraryGeorge Mifflin Bache Papers, 1821-1917, 1952, 1968 MS 212
an
George M. Bache Journal of the U.S.S. Plymouth, 1860, MS 10
held b
Special Collection & Archives

Nimitz Library
at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bache, George M. 1841 births 1896 deaths People of Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War Union Navy officers Franklin family United States Coast Survey personnel