Qualifications and Character of Some Union Naval Officers.

Two Union Navy commanders sent a list of certain subordinate officers to Admiral Samuel P. Lee, in August 1865, giving details of the qualifications and character of these officers as they had been able to judge them. The remarks, as shown in the reports included on page 320 of Volume 27 of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion are straightforward and pull no punches.

The first report sent in by Commander A. Bryson, follows:

Name of Vessel.	Name of Commanding Officer.	Rank.	Remarks.
Moose	Washington C. Coulson	Acting master	Intelligent and energetic.
Fairplay	George J. Groves	Acting master	Very intelligent and a hard worker.
Reindeer	Simon H. Strunk	Acting ensign	A hard worker.
Volunteer	Joseph Watson	Acting master	A very intelligent and hard working officer.
Siren	James Fitzpatrick	Acting master	A hard worker, but little education.
Argosy	John C. Morong	Acting master	An intelligent, energetic, and reliable officer.
Exchange	James C. Gipson	Acting volunteer lieutenant	No force, not intelligent, and not overfond of work. [Resident of Rochester, Wisconsin.]
Huntress	James M. Flynt	Acting ensign	Well meaning; no force.
Brilliant	John H. Rice	Acting master	Very slow, lazy, and I think not very reliable.
Ibex	Nicholas B. Willets	Acting master	Hard worker, intelligent, and reliable. [Resident of Brooklyn, New York - ORN 1, 27, 330. Died on March 23, 1868.]
Silver Lake	Michael Hickey	Acting master	A very hard working, reliable, and intelligent officer.
Forest Rose	Abraham N. Gould	Acting volunteer lieutenant	A very reliable and intelligent officer.
Samson	Henry E. Bartlett	Acting master	No force, though reliable.

Then follows the report sent in by Lieutenant Commander John J. Cornwell:

Rank.	Name.	Remarks.
Acting volunteer lieutenant commander	William R. Hoel	A good officer and gentlemanly man.
Acting volunteer lieutenant	John W. Atkinson	No education, no manners, and no morals.
Acting volunteer lieutenant	John R. Neeld	Not well educated, but a valuable officer. [Served aboard the USS Lafayette; resident of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania - ORN 1, 27, 317.]
Acting volunteer lieutenant	John Pearce	Not well educated, but is a resolute and trusty man.
Acting volunteer lieutenant	John Swaney	A gentlemanly officer, and had his vessel in good order and discipline [Resident of Magnolia, Illinois.].
Acting volunteer lieutenant	William R. Wells	A very honest and patriotic old gentleman.
Acting master	Edward Alford	Had his vessel in good order, but otherwise rather weak.
Acting master	Ezra C. Beaman	Not reliable, but quite intelligent.
Acting master	Henry E. Bartlett	A man with good intentions, but weak.
Acting master	Henry D. Coffinberry	A trusty officer. [Served aboard USS Fairy. resident of Cleveland, Ohio - ORN 1, 27, 334.]
Acting master	Thomas M. Farrell	A good officer and gentlemanly man. [Resident of Harlem, New York - ORN 1, 27, 343.]
Acting master	James Fitzpatrick	A zealous and good officer.
Acting master	Henry T. Keene	Zealous, but rather weak; no education.
Acting master	Milton B. Muncy	Tolerably educated, gentlemanly, resolute, and zealous officer. [Resident of Fort Madison, Iowa. - ORN 1, 27, 317.]
Acting master	Thomas McElroy	A good officer.
Acting master	Patrick Donnelly	No education, but has capacity for commanding.
Acting master	John H. Rice	Not reliable or truthful.
Acting master	Frederick G. Sampson	A good officer.
Acting master	Daniel P. Slattery	Apparently a good officer.

Additional information in brackets has also been extracted from the same volume of the Official Records as indicated.

Copyright, Terry Foenander.

November, 2000