Edmund Orville Matthews
Rear Admiral Edmund Orville Matthews (2 October, 1836 – 29 January, 1911) served in the United States Navy.
Life & Career
Matthews was born in Maryland but was appointed to the Naval Academy from Missouri, graduating with the Class of 1855. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 27 June, 1860 and to the rank of Lieutenant Commander on 16 July, 1862.[1][2] During the Civil War he served at the Naval Academy and later commanded side-wheel gunboat Sonoma, before being appointed Flag Lieutenant to the Commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.[3][4][5]
Following the war, Matthews returned to the Naval Academy, including service as head of the Department of Gunnery from 1867 to 1869.[6] He then served as Head of the Torpedo Corps from 1869 to 1873. During this time, Matthews was promoted to the rank of Commander on 22 April, 1870 and helped build and test the Navy's first torpedo.[7][8][9] He then commanded the side-wheel gunboat Ashuelot in Asiatic waters from 1874 to 1877.[10]
Matthews was promoted to the rank of Captain on 14 September, 1881, shortly after being appointed to command the side-wheel frigate Powhatan. In April, 1883 he moved on to command the receiving ship New Hampshire for just over a year.[11][12] In late 1885 he assumed command of the screw sloop Brooklyn for two years. Matthews returned to shore duty in December 1887 when he became Captain of the Yard at the Boston Navy Yard. This was followed by his last ship command, the receiving ship Wabash, from May 1890 to July 1891.
In March, 1894, Matthews was appointed Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, being promoted to the rank of Commodore on 21 July, 1894. His final promotion, to the rank of Rear Admiral, came on 19 June, 1897. Relieved of as Bureau Chief in March, 1898, Matthews was placed on the Retired List due to age on 24 October, 1898. In retirement, he resided in Massachusetts, where he died in early 1911.[13][14][15][16][17]
See Also
Bibliography
Service Records
| Naval Appointments | ||
| Preceded by Robert F. Bradford |
Captain of U.S.S. Ashuelot 16 Jan, 1874 – Apr, 1877[18] |
Succeeded by Horace E. Mullan |
| Preceded by ? |
Captain of U.S.S. Powhatan Aug, 1881[19] – Feb, 1883[20] |
Succeeded by Lester A. Beardslee |
| Preceded by ? |
Captain of U.S.S. New Hampshire Apr, 1883 – Jul, 1884[21] |
Succeeded by Arthur R. Yates |
| Preceded by Aaron W. Weaver |
Captain of U.S.S. Brooklyn 19 Oct, 1885[22] – Sep, 1887[23] |
Succeeded by Byron Wilson |
| Preceded by ? |
Captain, Navy Yard, Boston 1 Dec, 1887 – May, 1890[24] |
Succeeded by William Whitehead |
| Preceded by Charles C. Carpenter |
Captain of U.S.S. Wabash 31 May, 1890[25] – Jul, 1891 |
Succeeded by James O'Kane |
| Preceded by Christopher R. P. Rodgers |
Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks 16 Mar, 1894[26] – Mar, 1898[27] |
Succeeded by ? |
Footnotes
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1899. pp. 70-71.
- ↑ Hamersly. Living Officers 1898. p. 3.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1864. p. 109.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1865. p. 249.
- ↑ Hamersly. Living Officers 1898. p. 3.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1869. p. 78.
- ↑ Register of Officers, July 1869. p. 12.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1873. p. 94.
- ↑ USS Constitution Website
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1878. pp. 14-15.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1882. pp. 14-15.
- ↑ Hamersly. Living Officers 1898. p. 4.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1895. pp. 4-5.
- ↑ List and Station, July 1897. p. 4.
- ↑ List and Station, July 1898. p. 4.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1899. pp. 70-71, 112.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1912. p. 213.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1878. pp. 14-15.
- ↑ Records of Living Officers (6th ed). p. 4.
- ↑ Records of Living Officers (6th ed). p. 4.
- ↑ Hamersly. Living Officers 1898. p. 4.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1887. p. 6.
- ↑ Hamersly. Living Officers 1898. p. 4.
- ↑ Hamersly. Living Officers 1898. p. 4.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1891. p. 6.
- ↑ Register of Officers, 1895. pp. 3-4.
- ↑ List and Station, July 1898. p. 4.
