Edward L. Beach, Sr.

Infobox Military Person
Captain Edward L. Beach, Jr. (1916)
name= Edward Latimer Beach, Sr.
lived= birth date|1867|6|30 – death date and age|1943|12|20|1867|6|30
placeofbirth= Toledo, Ohio
placeofdeath= Oakland, California


caption= Beach in 1916
allegiance= flagicon|USAUnited States of America
branch= United States Navy
serviceyears= 1888-1921
rank= Captain
commands=USS "Vestal" (AS-4) USS "Washington" (ACR-11) USS "Tennessee" (ACR-10) Naval Torpedo Station USS "New York" (BB-34) Mare Island Navy Yard
unit=
battles= Spanish American War *Battle of Manila Bay Philippine-American War World War I
laterwork= Author, professor, city clerk and assessor

Edward Latimer Beach, Sr., (June 30, 1867 - December 20 1943) was a career American naval officer and later author. He served in three of the United States' wars, ranging from the Spanish American War up through World War I. He was the father of the future Captain Edward L. Beach, Jr. who commanded the nuclear-powered submarine USS "Triton" during her 1960 submerged circumnavigation and wrote the 1955 best-selling novel "Run Silent, Run Deep".

Biography

Edward Latimer Beach, Sr. was born in Toledo, Ohio on June 30, 1867, the son of Joseph Lane Beach and Laura Colton (Osborn) Beach. His father was a lieutenant in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

Beach was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy from the State of Minnesota in 1884, and graduated in June 1888 as a Passed Midshipman.

Naval career

Passed Midshipman Beach reported for duty on board the wooden steam sloop of war "Richmond". After completing sea duty and further training, he was commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy on 1 July 1890 and then assigned to engineering duties aboard the cruiser "Philadelphia" (C-4). His subsequent seagoing assignments included the armored cruiser "New York" (ACR-2) and the training ship "Essex", plus engineering-related shore duty.

Spanish-American War and Philippine-American War

Beach participated in the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War, where he served on board the cruiser "Baltimore" (C-3)

He subsequently participated in the ensuing war with the Philippines. During that time he was in command of a squad of men that intercepted a Filipino boat carrying the wife of Filipino leader Emilio Aguinaldo. Upon realizing whom the captive was, Beach released Senora Aguinaldo in a gesture of Victorian gentlemanly manners. Several months later, Beach was in command of another squad of Blue Jackets searching ashore for the enemy when he was separated from his men and captured by Filipinos. When Emilio Aguinaldo learned the name of the captured naval officer he ordered Beach released, but not before the two met. They remained lifelong friends, corresponding on a regular basis.

Promotions

In 1899, as the Navy combined its Line and Engineer Officer ranking systems, Beach became a Lieutenant. He was subsequently promoted to Lieutenant Commander in 1905, Commander in 1910, and Captain in 1914.

Commander Beach served on the monitor "Nevada" (BM-8), the armored cruiser "Montana" (ACR-13) as well as at the Boston Navy Yard as its engineering officer.

United States Naval Academy

In tours between duties at sea, Commander Beach taught English at the Naval Academy in the early 1900s, spending his spare time writing novels for young adults.

United States Naval Institute

Commander Beach was the secretary-treasurer of the Naval Institute and published the first "Bluejacket's Manual". He also produced the first general index of "Proceedings" of the United States Naval Institute, said index covering that journal's entries from 1874 to 1901.

=Vera Cruz Occupation=

In 1904, now a Commander, Beach’s first command was the collier "Vestal" (AS-4) which assigned to support American forces ashore during the occupation of Vera Cruz, Mexico.

Haiti

By 1914, Captain Beach was in command of the armored cruiser "Washington" (ACR-11), participating in peacekeeping missions in Haiti. While his ship was in Haiti, it served as flagship for Rear Admiral William H. Caperton, USN, who utilized Beach as his go-between in negotiating a treaty with Haiti on behalf of the United States in 1915. [ cite web |url= http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/haiti_beach.htm |title= Admiral Caperton in Haiti|accessdate=2007-08-12 |publisher= Naval Historical Foundation]

USS "Tennessee"

When "Washington" was due for a Navy Yard refit, Beach command was shifted to the armored cruiser "Tennessee" (ACR-10). While commanding "Tennessee", Beach took United States Secretary of the Treasury William G. McAdoo and a party of dignitaries on a tour of several South American nations. Upon returning to the United States, "Tennessee"' was re-named the "Memphis" so that the State name could be given to a new battleship under construction.

The Wreck of the "Memphis"

On August 29, 1916, while anchored in the harbor of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, "Memphis" was swamped by a series of tidal waves that killed 43 crewmembers, injured over 200, and totally wrecked the ship.

A court-martial found Beach guilty of "not having enough steam available to get under way on short notice", with the tidal waves at the time being considered a byproduct of weather and therefore predictable.

In light of the circumstances, however, Beach's punishment was being moved back 20 places on the seniority list, a sentence that was further reduced to 5 places by Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels when evidence proved that the tidal waves were generated by an underwater earthquake, and not by a hurricane.

A detailed account of the events surrounding the loss of the "Memphis" can be found in "The Wreck of the Memphis" by Edward L. Beach, Jr. (1966).

World War I

When the United States entered World War I (1914-1918), Beach was assigned to command the Navy Torpedo Station at Newport, Rhode Island.

In November 1918 he was named as commanding officer of battleship "New York" (BB-34), which was the flagship of the American battleship squadron attached to the British Home Fleet. As commanding officer of the "New York", he welcomed King George V of Britain aboard and was present for the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet at the end of the war.

Post-War

Beach's last command was the Mare Island Navy Yard on San Francisco Bay, where he oversaw the construction of the battleship "California" (BB-44). Captain Beach retired from the U.S Navy in September 1921 after a 37 year career.

Literary career

During his lifetime, Beach published thirteen novels, all written for young adults. Twelve of the novels constitute volumes in four-book series, all written in the tradition of the Horatio Alger stories -- hard work and honesty will lead to success.

Beach's novels, which were highly popular when they were first printed in the years of 1907 to 1922, were instrumental in planting the seeds for naval careers in the minds of many of the men who served as naval officers during World War II.

His autobiography, "From Annapolis to Scapa Flow: the Autobiography of Edward L. Beach, Sr." was published in 2003, having been edited by his son, Edward L. Beach, Jr., who was also a career naval officer and author.

Family

In 1895, Beach married Lucie Adelaide Quin of New York, but they had no children. She died in 1915 from breast cancer.

In 1917, Beach married Alice Fouché, a Dominican of French ancestry and a relative of Joseph Fouché, a close associate of the French Revolution leader Maximilien Robespierre. Beach and his second wife had three children: Edward L. Beach, Jr., John Blair Beach, and Alice Beach.

Retirement

Beach joined the faculty of Stanford University as a professor of military and naval history. He also served as the City Clerk and Assessor for the City of Palo Alto, California.

Captain Edward L. Beach, Sr., died at Oakland, California, on December 20, 1943, and is interred at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California.

Beach Hall

Beach Hall, the headquarters of the United States Naval Institute is named in honor of Captain Edward L. Beach, Sr. and his son, Captain Edward L. Beach, Jr. The building is located on the campus on the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Notes

References

* Edward L. Beach Sr. and Edward L. Beach Jr. "From Annapolis to Scapa Flow: The Autobiography of Edward L. Beach Sr." (Annapolis Maryland: Naval Institute Pres, 2002) ISBN: 1557502986

* Edward L. Beach, Jr. "Salt and Steel: Reflections of a Submariner" (Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1999) ISBN: 1557500541

* Edward L. Beach, Jr. "The Wreck of the Memphis". (New York, New York: Holt, Rinear, and Wiston, 1966) Naval Institute Press Classics of Naval Literature 1998 re-print ISBN: 1557500703

External links

* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-b/ed-beach.htm Captain Edward L. Beach, USN, (1867-1943)] , "Dictionary of American Fighting Ships", Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy.
* [http://www.navyleague.org/seapower/pen_and_the_sword.htm “Pen and Sword”] by Gordon I. Peterson. "Seapower" magazine