Charles F. Wedderburn
Encyclopedia
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
on October 2, 1892, but grew up in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Appointed a midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
at the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
on July 7, 1911, he graduated and received his commission on June 5, 1915. Ensign
Ensign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
Wedderburn served in the cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
Brooklyn
USS Brooklyn (CA-3)
The second USS Brooklyn was a United States Navy armored cruiser.She was launched on 2 October 1895 by William Cramp and Sons Ship and Engine Building Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; sponsored by Miss Ida May Schieren; and commissioned on 1 December 1896, Captain Francis Augustus Cook in...
(CA-3) from graduation to the end of 1915. In December 1915, he transferred to the destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
Chauncey
USS Chauncey (DD-3)
The first USS Chauncey was a Bainbridge-class destroyer in the United States Navy named for Commodore Isaac Chauncey.-Construction:...
(DD-3) assigned to the Asiatic Fleet and based at Cavite in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. He was promoted to lieutenant (j.g.) on July 1, 1917; and, a month later, his ship departed Cavite with orders to the coast of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Based at St. Nazaire, his ship escorted convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
s in the eastern Atlantic. While on such a mission about 110 miles west of Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, Chauncey was involved in a fatal collision with the British merchantman, SS Rose, on the night of November 18–19. The destroyer sank at approximately 3:17 a.m. on the 19th taking Wedderburn and 20 of his comrades to their deaths.
USS Wedderburn
USS Wedderburn (DD-684)
USS Wedderburn , a Fletcher-class destroyer, was a ship of the United States Navy named for lieutenant Charles F. Wedderburn, a destroyerman who was killed during World War I....
(DD-684), (1943–1969), was named in his honor.