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Rear Admiral Lewis Ashfield Kimberly (April 22, 1830 – January 28, 1902) was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War and the years following.<ref name="DANFS">Template:Cite DANFS</ref>
BiographyEdit
Early life and careerEdit
Kimberly was born in Troy, New York, and was appointed a midshipman on 8 December 1846.<ref name="DANFS"/> He served aboard the sloop Template:USS in the Africa Squadron in 1847–50,<ref name="uspers">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> then in the Pacific aboard the frigate Template:USS during 1850–52,<ref name="uspers"/> receiving promotion to passed midshipman on June 8, 1852.<ref name="callahan">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He then returned to African waters, serving in the sloops Template:USS and Template:USS in 1853–56,<ref name="uspers"/> and was promoted to master and lieutenant on September 15 and 16, 1855.<ref name="callahan"/> Kimberly spent some time stationed at the Boston Navy Yard, and then served aboard the sloop Template:USS in the East India Squadron<ref name="uspers"/> between July 1857 and April 1860,<ref>Template:Cite DANFS</ref> before joining the newly commissioned steam sloop Template:USS<ref name="uspers"/> which sailed for the Mediterranean in October 1860, finally returning to the United States in July 1861 after the outbreak of the Civil War.<ref>Template:Cite DANFS</ref>
Between 1856 and 1860, he kept a notebook of doodles, sketches, and watercolors. Themes included geometric designs, architectural drawings, caricatures, cipher codes, and sketches of his colleagues. In 2008, the USS Constitution Museum acquired it.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Civil War serviceEdit
In 1861–62<ref name="uspers"/> Kimberly served aboard the frigate Template:USS in the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, taking part in the Mississippi River operations at Port Hudson, Grand Gulf, and Vicksburg,<ref name="DANFS"/> and receiving promotion to lieutenant commander on July 16, 1862.<ref name="callahan"/> In 1863–64<ref name="uspers"/> he served as the executive officer of the steam sloop Template:USS, seeing action at the Battle of Mobile Bay, after which he was warmly commended for his gallant and efficient service.<ref name="DANFS"/> After the war, he joined the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.<ref name="DANFS"/>
Post-war commandsEdit
From May 1865<ref name="colorado">Template:Cite DANFS</ref> Kimberly served aboard the steam frigate Template:USS, the flagship of the European Squadron,<ref name="uspers"/> receiving promotion to commander on July 25, 1866,<ref name="callahan"/> and returning the United States in September 1867.<ref name="colorado"/> He commanded the receiving ship at New York in 1867–70, then the screw sloop Template:USS on the Asiatic Station in 1870–72,<ref name="uspers"/> taking part in the Korean expedition in May–July 1871, serving as the commander of the landing forces.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He then commanded the monitor Template:USS along the east coast in 1873–74.<ref name="uspers"/>
Kimberly was promoted to captain on October 3, 1874,<ref name="callahan"/> and commanded the sloop Template:USS on the South Atlantic Station in 1875–76, and the screw sloop Template:USS in the Pacific in 1877–78.<ref name="uspers"/> During the early 1880s Kimberly served at the New York Navy Yard, and was the President of the Examining and Retiring Board in 1883–85,<ref name="uspers"/> gaining promotion to commodore on September 27, 1884.<ref name="callahan"/> He was appointed Commandant of the Boston Navy Yard in 1885,<ref name="uspers"/> and attained the rank of rear admiral on January 26, 1887.<ref name="callahan"/> He was then appointed the Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Squadron.<ref name="uspers"/> In March 1889, during the Samoan crisis, his flagship Template:USS was struck by a violent cyclone while at harbor at Apia. Guiding his men with the words, "If we go down, let us do so with our flag flying," Kimberly skillfully beached his flagship, losing only one man in the raging storm that wrecked Trenton.<ref name="DANFS"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Following his return to the United States in January 1890, Kimberly was appointed President of the Board of Inspection and Survey; holding the post until his retirement<ref name="DANFS"/> on April 2, 1892.<ref name="callahan"/>
Rear Admiral Kimberly died on January 28, 1902, in West Newton, Massachusetts.<ref name="DANFS"/>
NamesakesEdit
Two U.S. Navy destroyers have been named USS Kimberly his honor; Template:USS (1918–1939) and Template:USS (1943–1967).<ref name="uspers"/>
ReferencesEdit
- Notes
- Bibliography
- File:PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.{{#if:http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/k4/kimberly-i.htm%7C{{#if:%7C+The entries can be found [{{#if:1|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/k4/kimberly-i.htm}} here] and [{{#if:1|{{{2}}}}} here].| The entry can be found [{{#if:1|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/k4/kimberly-i.htm}} here].}}}}
- Template:NHC
External linksEdit
- 1863 albumen print portrait of Lewis Kimberley, taken by Julius Brill, at the University of Michigan Museum of Art