BENJAMIN L. EDES, LCDR, USN

From USNA Virtual Memorial Hall
Benjamin Edes '65

Date of birth: April 1, 1847

Date of death: August 29, 1881

Age: 34

Naval Academy Register

Benjamin Long Edes was admitted to the Naval Academy from New York on September 23, 1861 at age 14 years 6 months.

Loss

From "Dangers of Naval Life" by Arthur H. Dutton, former Lieutenant, U.S. Navy, in the January-June 1909 issue of "The Overland Monthly":

Lieutenant-Commander Benjamin Long Edes and Lieutenant Lyman G. Spalding were killed at Newport, R.I., August 29, 1881, by the explosion of a torpedo, due to mismanagement of an electric switch.

Other Information

He was survived by his wife and two children. His wife was pregnant with their third child, but the child died in childbirth in December. Benjamin is buried in Washington, D.C.. He also has a a memory marker in Arlington National Cemetery.

Note: He is listed as "Benjamin Edes Long" in the Register of Alumni, as well as in 1861 Naval Academy Register. The US Naval Academy Graduates' Association notes "changed name in 1867 to B. Long Edes."

Career

From the Naval History and Heritage Command:

Midshipman, 23 September, 1861. Graduated September, 1865. Ensign, 1 December, 1866. Master, 12 March, 1868. Lieutenant, 26 March, 1869. Lieutenant Commander, 22 April, 1881. Killed 29 August, 1881.

Related Articles

Lyman Spalding '66 was lost in this same incident.

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.

The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.

The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.

January 1866
Midshipman, ("Benjamin E. Long"), Ticonderoga
July 1867
Ensign, ("Benjamin E. Long"), Shamrock
July 1868
Master, Canandaigua

Others at this command:
January 1869
Master, Receiving ship, Philadelphia
July 1870
Lieutenant, Wasp
January 1871
Lieutenant, Wasp

Others at this command:
January 1872
Lieutenant, ordered to return home
January 1873
Lieutenant, Yantic

Others at this command:
January 1874
Lieutenant, Yantic

Others at this command:
January 1875
Lieutenant, Ashurlot
January 1876
Lieutenant, Hydrographic Office
July 1877
Lieutenant, Receiving-ship Wyoming
July 1878
Lieutenant, Wyoming
January 1879
Lieutenant, Wyoming
January 1880
Lieutenant, Wyoming
July 1881
Lieutenant Commander, Torpedo instruction

Others at this command:
January 1882
Lieutenant Commander, "killed at Newport, R.I."


Class of 1865

Benjamin is one of 4 members of the Class of 1865 on Virtual Memorial Hall.

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