Robley Dunglison Evans

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Rear Admiral Robley Dunglison Evans (18 August, 1846 – 3 January, 1912) served in the United States Navy. His pugnacious qualities earned him the nickname "Fighting Bob".

Life & Career

This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships

Robley Evans was born 18 August, 1846 in Floyd County, Virginia. He entered the U.S. Navy on 20 September, 1860.[1] Despite Virginia's secession in 1861, Evans remained loyal to the Union, and as a member of the Naval Academy class of 1864, he was ordered to active duty in September 1863.

In the attacks on Fort Fisher, North Carolina, Evans exhibited great gallantry under fire on 15 January 1865, when already wounded, he led his landing party through heavy fire to charge the Confederate defenses.

In 1891 and 1892, commanding the gunboat Yorktown on the Pacific Station, he won great acclaim for his firm and skillful handling of a tense situation with Chile. As a Captain, Evans was rebuked in The New York Times by the Rev. Dr. Leonard W. Bacon, in part due to his reputation for profanity.[2]

During the Spanish-American War, Evans commanded the battleship Iowa in the Battle of Santiago.

Evans was appointed as Commander-in-Chief, Asiatic Fleet on 8 April, 1902.[3] Subsequently, he commanded the Great White Fleet in its passage in 1907 and 1908 from the Atlantic through the Straits of Magellan to the Pacific, where he was relieved of command because of ill health.

Evans died in Washington, D.C., on 3 January, 1912. Two destroyers were named Evans in his honor.

See Also

Bibliography

  • Evans, Rear Admiral Robley D. (1901). A Sailor's Log: Recollections of Forty Years of Naval Life. New York and London: D. Appleton and Company.

Service Records

Naval Appointments
Preceded by
French E. Chadwick
Captain of U.S.S. Yorktown
before 8 Oct, 1891
Succeeded by
Charles S. Sperry
Preceded by
John W. Philip
Captain of U.S.S. New York
23 Aug, 1894[4]
Succeeded by
French E. Chadwick
Preceded by
New Command
Captain of U.S.S. Indiana
23 Aug, 1894[5]
Succeeded by
Henry C. Taylor
Preceded by
William T. Sampson
Captain of U.S.S. Iowa
30 Mar, 1898[6] – 24 Sep, 1898[7]
Succeeded by
Silas W. Terry
Preceded by
Frederick Rodgers as CinC, Asiatic Squadron
Commander-in-Chief, Asiatic Fleet
29 Oct, 1902
Succeeded by
Philip H. Cooper
Preceded by
Robley D. Evans Commanding North Atlantic Fleet
Commanding Atlantic Fleet
Mar, 1905[8] – May, 1908[9]
Succeeded by
Charles S. Sperry
Preceded by
Albert S. Barker
Commanding North Atlantic Fleet
Mar, 1905 – 1 Jan, 1906
Succeeded by
Robley D. Evans Commanding Atlantic Fleet

Footnotes

  1. Register of Officers, 1903. pp. 6-7.
  2. The New York Times. Thursday, 11 August, 1898. p. 2
  3. Register of Officers, 1903. p. 6.
  4. Register of Officers, 1895. p. 6.
  5. Register of Officers, 1896. p. 6.
  6. List and Station, July 1898. p. 5.
  7. NavSource.org
  8. Wikipedia.
  9. Wikipedia.