Chauncey Thomas Jr.
As a lieutenant commander in 1899
Born(1850-04-27)April 27, 1850
Barryville, New York
DiedMay 9, 1919(1919-05-09) (aged 69)
Pacific Grove, California
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Navy
Years of service1871–1912
RankRear Admiral
Commands heldMonadnock
Albatross
Bennington
Maryland
2nd Squadron, Pacific Fleet
U.S. Pacific Fleet
Battles/warsPhilippine–American War
RelationsChauncey Thomas (father)

Chauncey Thomas Jr. (April 27, 1850 – May 9, 1919) was a rear admiral of the United States Navy. The son of Chauncey Thomas, a farmer and entrepreneur, who built four bridges across the Delaware River at Shohola Glen, Pennsylvania, Thomas Jr., graduated from the United States Naval Academy third in the class of 1871. He was the Commander of the United States Pacific Fleet when he retired in 1912. He died at the age of 69 at his home in Pacific Grove, California.[1][2]

The Albatross expedition

Chauncey Thomas, as captain, commanded the US Fish Commission steamer, Albatross during a scientific expedition in the Hawaiian Islands and southern Pacific in 1902. Orders issued at the onset of the expedition made it unclear where ultimate authority in the expedition lay, with the ship's captain, or the scientist-in-charge, Charles Henry Gilbert (1859–1929). Before leaving port, Thomas requested clarification, which he received, confirming the norm: that the ship's captain always had ultimate authority regarding the safety of the crew and the ship. The expedition proceeded, but was marred by a barrage of complaints that pitted the scientific crew against the ship's crew, and was characterized by lengthy letters.[3]

Career

Born in Barryville, New York and raised in Pennsylvania, Thomas served aboard multiple ships as a junior officer. He also had shore assignments in both the Nautical Almanac Office and the Hydrographic Office at the Navy Department in Washington, D.C. Thomas did not see action during the Spanish–American War, instead patrolling Alaskan waters aboard the gunboat Wheeling.[4][5] He did participate in several engagements during the Philippine–American War while serving as executive officer aboard the gunboat Yorktown.[5][6]

Thomas held a variety of commands in the United States Navy. He was promoted to lieutenant commander in March 1899 and given command of the monitor Monadnock. Thomas was promoted to commander in September 1901 and given command of the Albatross.[5] For 27 months, he was commanding officer of the gunboat Bennington, which cruised in the eastern Pacific along the coasts of North and South America Alaskan ports in the summer of 1903 and the coast of Central America the following fall and winter.[7] Thomas was promoted to captain in July 1906.[5] From 1907 to 1908, he commanded the armored cruiser Maryland.[8]

Rear Admiral

Thomas was promoted to rear admiral in March 1910.[6] As commander of the Second Squadron of the Pacific Fleet, he relieved Rear Admiral Edward B. Barry as Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet in January 1911 upon orders of the Naval Department. Admiral Barry was forced to resign after an alleged affair with a cabin boy.[9][10]

Family and residence

On September 12, 1876, Thomas married Carrie Ella Flagg.[5]

In 1895, Chauncey Thomas purchased the property known as Hitching Post Hill, an early 19th-century horse farm in Prince George's County, Maryland.[11]

Namesake

Camp Thomas, formed in 1910 as a base for the 4th Marine Regiment, was named for him. The Regiment was deployed there against the possibility of the disorder in Mexico spreading to Southern California. Camp Thomas disbanded in June, 1911.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Rear Admiral Thomas Dies; Saw Much Service". Santa Cruz Evening News. 13 May 1919. p. 7. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  2. ↑ "Rear Admiral Chauncey Thomas (obituary)" (PDF). The New York Times. 16 May 1919. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
  3. ↑ Dunn, J. Richard (1996). "Charles Henry Gilbert, naturalist-in-charge, and Chauncey Thomas, Jr., commanding: conflict aboard the U.S. Fish Commission Steamer Albatross in 1902". Marine Fisheries Review. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
  4. ↑ Hamersly, Lewis Randolph (1898). "Chauncey Thomas". The Records of Living Officers of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. New York, New York: L. R. Hamersly & Company. pp. 168–169. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Marquis, Albert Nelson (1910). "Thomas, Chauncey". Who's Who in America. Vol. VI. Chicago, Illinois: A. N. Marquis & Company. p. 1903. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  6. 1 2 Colby, Frank Moore (1920). "Thomas, Chauncey". The New International Year Book. New York, New York: Dodd, Mead and Company. p. 672. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  7. ↑ Mann, Raymond. "Bennington". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command.
  8. ↑ "USS Maryland - Frederick (Armored Cruiser No. 8/CA 8)". NavSource Naval History. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  9. ↑ "Edward Buttevant Barry, Rear Admiral, United States Navy". ArlingtonCemetery.net. 18 December 2022. An unofficial website.
  10. ↑ Westfall, Matthew (6 September 2012). Devil's Causeway: The True Story of America's First Prisoners of War in the Philippines, and the Heroic Expedition Sent to Their Rescue. Guilford, Connecticut: Lyons Press. p. 386. ISBN 978-0-7627-8029-7. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  11. ↑ "Library of Congress" (PDF). Historic American Buildings Survey. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
  12. ↑ "Historic California Posts: A Brief History of the U.S. Marine Corps in San Diego". militarymuseum.org. Archived from the original on 24 April 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2010.


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