Thomas Oliver Selfridge Jr. (February 6, 1836 – February 4, 1924), son of Rear Admiral Thomas O. Selfridge, 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 ...

Early life

Born in

Charlestown, Massachusetts Charlestown is the oldest Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Also called Mishawum by the Massachusett, it is located on a peninsula north of the Charles River, across from downtown Bost ...

, Selfridge graduated from 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 ...

in 1854. He was the first officer to receive a diploma from the Academy.

Civil War

At the beginning of 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 ...

, he helped with efforts to destroy the untenable

Norfolk Navy Yard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a United States Navy, U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest ...

; and he then escaped from that burning and beleaguered base in the USS ''Cumberland'', helping to save 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 ...

for the Union Navy. He participated in the capture of the Hatteras forts and was on board ''Cumberland'' on 8 March 1862 when she was sunk 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 ...

ironclad, CSS ''Virginia''. He then briefly commanded USS ''Monitor'', after Lieutenant John L. Worden was wounded; and then commanded the USS ''Alligator'', an experimental submarine, in testing operations based 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 ...

. In August, he joined the

Mississippi Squadron The Mississippi River Squadron was the Union brown-water naval squadron that operated on the western rivers during the American Civil War. It was initially created as a part of the Union Army, although it was commanded by naval officers, and ...

, and subsequently commanded the USS ''Cairo'' and the USS ''Conestoga'' when those ships were sunk in action. Late in the war, he returned to the Atlantic where he commanded the USS ''Huron'' in the attacks 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 ...

; and he participated in the ensuing bombardment of

Fort Anderson Fort Anderson can refer to: *Fort Anderson (Kentucky); A Union fort used in the American Civil War and site of the Battle of Paducah, Kentucky *Fort Anderson (North Carolina); A Confederate fort used in the American Civil War *Fort Anderson Located ...

and the capture of

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

Postwar

His postwar service included command of USS ''Nipsic'', USS ''Enterprise'', and USS ''Omaha'' – the last two on the

Asiatic Station The Asiatic Squadron was a squadron (naval), squadron of United States Navy warships stationed in East Asia during the latter half of the 19th century. It was created in 1868 when the East India Squadron was disbanded. Vessels of the squadron w ...

. In 1870, while in command of the first of these ships, he led an expedition to

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

, surveying the landscape for a route that could be used for a canal. He also conducted subsequent expeditions to this area later in 1870 and again 1873. Although the route he proposed was not actually used for the Panama Canal, his work did show that Darién Gap, Darien was not a good choice, thus narrowing down the construction possibilities. He was promoted to Captain (naval), captain in 1881. While in command of the ''Omaha'' in 1887, Selfridge conducted target practice off the coast of the Japanese island of Ikeshima which resulted in the deaths of four Japanese and the wounding of seven others. This created an international incident, but Selfridge was acquitted at a court martial in 1888. In 1885, Captain Selfridge, of the U. S. man-of-war ''Omaha'', delegated a lieutenant to present his compliments to Captain De Saune, the French commander of the ''Isère'', laden with the Statue of Liberty, and suggest that Gravesend, Brooklyn, Gravesend Bay would be a safer anchorage than the Sandy Hook, New Jersey, Sandy Hook Horseshoe. He was promoted to Commodore (United States), commodore in 1894 and then had duty as Commander in Chief of the European Squadron from 1895 to 1898. While commanding the European Squadron his flagship was the cruiser USS San Francisco (C-5), USS ''San Francisco''. He was promoted to rear admiral in 1896, which made him and his father the first father and son to be admirals in the United States Navy. His nephew, Thomas Etholen Selfridge, a US Army Field Artillery officer and one of the first pilots in the nascent Army Air Service, became the first person to die in the crash of a powered airplane in 1908. Rear Admiral Selfridge retired on February 6, 1898. He died from heart disease in Washington, D.C., on February 4, 1924. Effects from his estate were put up for auction by C.G. Sloan & Co. of Washington, D.C., in 1926. Like his father, he was a Veteran Companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and an Honorary Hereditary Companion of the Military Order of Foreign Wars. He was also a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor.

Namesake ships

USS Selfridge (DD-320), USS ''Selfridge'' (DD-320) was named for the elder Rear Admiral Selfridge, while USS Selfridge (DD-357), USS ''Selfridge'' (DD-357) was named for both officers.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Selfridge, Thomas O. Jr. 1836 births 1924 deaths People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War United States Naval Academy alumni Union Navy officers United States Navy admirals