JAMES H. SAWYERS, MIDN, USN
James Sawyers '70
James Henry Sawyers was admitted to the Naval Academy from Kentucky on September 24, 1866 at age 17 years 5 months.
Prior to the publication of the Lucky Bag in 1894, most portraits of officers and midshipmen of the Naval Academy were captured in yearly photo albums. The album for 1869 is available in the collections of the Naval Academy's Digital Collections.
Special thank you to historian Kathy Franz for identifying this resource and then extracting several dozen photographs for this site.
Prior to the publication of the Lucky Bag in 1894, most portraits of officers and midshipmen of the Naval Academy were captured in yearly photo albums. The album for 1869 is available in the collections of the Naval Academy's Digital Collections.
Special thank you to historian Kathy Franz for identifying this resource and then extracting several dozen photographs for this site.
Loss
James died on October 24, 1870 while at sea aboard USS Kansas of "remittent fever."
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
James graduated June 6 and was in the 1870 census on July 15 with his parents, Thomas & Amanda, and sisters Lucy and Glorrina in Somerset District, Kentucky. He was 21 then, which puts his birthyear as 1849 (month would be April according to his webpage). He was born in Tennessee, but by Glorrina's birth 4 years later, they moved to Kentucky. Sadly, he died in October of that year.
He is buried in Florida.
Career
From the Naval History and Heritage Command:
Acting Midshipman, 24 September, 1866. Graduated June, 1870. Died 24 October, 1870.
Memorial Hall Error
Illness is not a criteria for inclusion in Memorial Hall.
James is one of 5 members of the Class of 1870 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
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