Charles Dwight Sigsbee

Charles Dwight Sigsbee
January 16, 1845(1845-01-16) – July 13, 1923 (aged 78)
Rear Admiral Charles D. Sigsbee
Place of birth	Albany, New York
Place of death	New York City, New York
Place of burial	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States of America Union
Service/branch	United States Navy Union
Years of service	1862-1907
Rank	Rear Admiral
Commands held	USS Maine USS Texas South Atlantic Squadron
Battles/wars	American Civil War *Battle of Mobile Bay *First Battle of Fort Fisher *Second Battle of Fort Fisher Formosan Expedition Spanish-American War *Sinking of the Maine *First Battle of San Juan *Second Battle of San Juan

Charles Dwight Sigsbee (January 16, 1845 - July 13, 1923) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy. He is best remembered as the captain of the USS Maine, which exploded in Havana harbor, Cuba, in 1898. The explosion set off the events that led up to the start of the Spanish American War.

Biography

Sigsbee was born in Albany, New York, and educated at The Albany Academy. He was appointed acting midshipman on 16 July 1862.

Sigsbee served aboard the Monongahela, Wyoming, and Shenandoah from 1863 to 1869, when he was assigned to duty at the Naval Academy. Earlier Sigsbee fought in numerous engagements during the Civil War, mostly against Confederate forts and batteries. In 1871, he was assigned to the Hydrographic Office. He was in command of various ships between 1873 and 1891, and served as a hydrographer in the Bureau of Navigation from 1893 to 1897. Sigsbee commanded the St. Paul in 1898 at the Second Battle of San Juan and Texas until 1900.

In February of that year he was appointed Chief Intelligence Officer of the Office of Naval Intelligence, succeeding Cmdr. Richardson Clover; he held this post until April 1903 when he was succeeded by Cmdr. Seaton Schroeder. He was promoted to Rear Admiral on 10 August 1903.

He assumed command of the South Atlantic Squadron in 1904, and the Second Division, North Atlantic Squadron in 1905.

Rear Admiral Sigsbee commanded the USS Brooklyn as his flagship on June 7, 1905, when she sailed for Cherbourg, France. There, the remains of the late John Paul Jones were taken aboard and brought back home for his internment at the United States Naval Academy.

Admiral Sigsbee retired from the Navy in 1907 and died in New York. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. His grandson, Charles Dwight Sigsbee III, First Lieutenant, United States Army, was buried next to him on June 20, 1956.

Namesake

• USS Sigsbee (DD-502) was named for him.
• Sigsbee Deep, the deepest part of the Gulf of Mexico was discovered by ships under his command and it was named in his honor.^[1]

Dates of Rank

• Midshipman - September 27, 1859
• Passed Midshipman - 1863
• Master - May 10, 1866

Ensign	Lieutenant Junior Grade	Lieutenant	Lieutenant Commander	Commander	Captain	Commodore	Rear Admiral
O-1	O-2	O-3	O-4	O-5	O-6	O-7	O-8
October 3, 1863	Never Held	April 21, 1867	March 12, 1868	May 11, 1882	March 21, 1897	Unknown	August 10, 1903

See also

American Civil War portal

United States Navy portal

References

This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

• "Sigsbee". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy. http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s12/sigsbee.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-05. 
• Hamersly, Lewis Randolph (1898). Charles D. Sigsbee (Sixth Edition ed.). http://books.google.com/books?vid=0waiEcVzn9_RgiLXel&id=REQUIE_aDoIC&printsec=titlepage#PRA4-PA70,M1. Retrieved 2007-04-09. 

External links

• "Charles Dwight Sigsbee, Rear Admiral, United States Navy". www.arlingtoncemetery.net. http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/cdsigsbe.htm.