Edward Walter Eberle
Encyclopedia
Edward Walter Eberle was an admiral
in the United States Navy
, who served as Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy
and third Chief of Naval Operations
.
, Eberle was raised at Fort Smith, Arkansas
. He entered the Naval Academy on September 28, 1881 and graduated on June 5, 1885.
s-of-war Mohican
and Shenandoah
and in steamer Ranger -- then required before commissioning, Eberle was promoted to ensign on July 1, 1887. Brief duty in Washington, D.C.
, in the late summer and early autumn preceded his reporting to Albatross
on November 22, 1887 to begin three years of duty in that Fishing Commission steamer.
Following leave from November 22, 1890 to January 28, 1891, he received instruction in new developments in naval ordnance at the Washington Navy Yard
while awaiting orders for sea duty. Here, he demonstrated an interest in and an aptitude for naval gunnery which ever after was central to his career.
On March 20, he reported to and, in the veteran screw sloop-of-war, steamed across the Atlantic and Indian Ocean
s to the Far East
. A year and a half later, while still in the Far East, he was transferred to the sailing sloop-of-war Marion
to close out this tour of duty in Asiatic waters. He returned to the United States
in the summer of 1894 and reported for duty at the Naval Academy on August 20.
In the waning days of this service at Annapolis
, Eberle's commission as lieutenant, junior grade, arrived on June 12, 1896, only to be followed a week later by orders sending him across the continent to San Francisco where Oregon (Battleship No. 3)
was being completed.
was first placed in commission; and he was placed in charge of her forward gun turret. Oregon was still operating along the Pacific
coast in the spring of 1898 when Congress
declared war
on Spain
; and she promptly won great renown by her race south from Puget Sound
to Cape Horn
and then north to the Caribbean
to join American forces blockading Cuba
.
Eberle distinguished himself during the Battle of Santiago de Cuba
by the outstanding performance of his turret in its duel with Spanish cruiser
Cristobal Colon and, later, in its bombardment of Spanish troop concentrations at Caimanera
.
From this time on, Eberle reportedly enjoyed the favor of powerful officers in the Navy. His promotion to lieutenant came on March 3, 1899, some three months before he was detached from Oregon and transferred to in which he served as flag lieutenant of the Asiatic Squadron. Late in the summer, Eberle returned to Annapolis to become aide to the superintendent of the Naval Academy. Besides carrying out the duties of that position, he busied himself in studying ordnance and in writing manuals for the use of guns and torpedoes and for the operation of wireless communication by warships.
A year in Indiana (Battleship No. 1)
on training duty ended in September 1902 when Eberle became aide to the commandant of the New York Navy Yard. Six months later, he was named Rear Admiral Albert S. Barker
's flag lieutenant; and, during this two-year tour with the Commander in Chief of the Atlantic Fleet
, he won his commission as a lieutenant commander.
Eberle received a number of choice assignments: instructor at the Naval War College
, executive officer of Louisiana
, commandant of the San Francisco Naval Training Station with collateral duty as commanding officer of Pensacola. During the latter tour, he was promoted to commander on December 15, 1908.
and, later, of the Naval Gun Factory at Washington, D.C., preceded Eberle's appointment as Superintendent of the Naval Academy on September 1, 1915. After overseeing the Academy during the period of World War I
when the need for officers brought the problems of acceleration, he left Annapolis on January 30, 1919 to command the battleship divisions of the Atlantic Fleet.
On June 30, 1921, Eberle took command of the Pacific Fleet. Some two years later, on July 17, 1923, he became Chief of Naval Operations and held the office until relieved by Admiral Charles F. Hughes
on November 14, 1927. During the years he held this post, he reportedly fought to minimize the adverse effect upon the Navy of arms limitations negotiations and from Congressional thrift, hurried the completion of aircraft carrier
s Lexington
and Saratoga
, and upheld the Navy's right to maintain its own air arm.
After relinquishing the duties of Chief of Naval Operations, Eberle served on the General Board
until he retired.
and , were named in his honor.
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, who served as Superintendent of 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...
and third Chief of Naval Operations
Chief of Naval Operations
The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...
.
Early years
Born at Denton, TexasDenton, Texas
The city of Denton is the county seat of Denton County, Texas in the United States. Its population was 119,454 according to the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the eleventh largest city in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex...
, Eberle was raised at Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...
. He entered the Naval Academy on September 28, 1881 and graduated on June 5, 1885.
U.S. Navy service
Following the two years of sea service—spent in screw sloopSloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
s-of-war Mohican
USS Mohican (1883)
The second USS Mohican was a steam sloop of war in the United States Navy. She was named for the Mohican tribe.-Construction:Mohican was laid down by Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 4 September 1872, funded with the repair money allocated for the first ; launched 27 December 1883; sponsored by...
and Shenandoah
USS Shenandoah (1862)
The first USS Shenandoah was a wooden screw sloop of the United States Navy.Shenandoah was built by the Philadelphia Navy Yard and launched on 8 December 1862. She was sponsored by Miss Selina Pascoe; and was commissioned on 20 June 1863, Captain Daniel B...
and in steamer Ranger -- then required before commissioning, Eberle was promoted to ensign on July 1, 1887. Brief duty 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....
, in the late summer and early autumn preceded his reporting to Albatross
USS Albatross (1882)
The second USS Albatross, often seen as USFC Albatross in scientific literature citations, was an iron-hulled, twin-screw steamer in the United States Navy and reputedly the first vessel ever built especially for marine research....
on November 22, 1887 to begin three years of duty in that Fishing Commission steamer.
Following leave from November 22, 1890 to January 28, 1891, he received instruction in new developments in naval ordnance at the Washington Navy Yard
Washington Navy Yard
The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...
while awaiting orders for sea duty. Here, he demonstrated an interest in and an aptitude for naval gunnery which ever after was central to his career.
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
s to the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
. A year and a half later, while still in the Far East, he was transferred to the sailing sloop-of-war Marion
USS Marion (1839)
USS Marion was a sloop-of-war of the third rate in the Union Navy during the American Civil War.Marion was launched at the Boston Navy Yard on 24 April 1839. On 10 November 1839, she departed Boston on her first cruise, to Brazil. Sunk when heaved down in the harbor at Rio de Janeiro early in 1842,...
to close out this tour of duty in Asiatic waters. He returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the summer of 1894 and reported for duty at the Naval Academy on August 20.
In the waning days of this service at Annapolis
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
, Eberle's commission as lieutenant, junior grade, arrived on June 12, 1896, only to be followed a week later by orders sending him across the continent to San Francisco where Oregon (Battleship No. 3)
USS Oregon (BB-3)
USS Oregon was a pre-Dreadnought of the United States Navy. Her construction was authorized on 30 June 1890, and the contract to build her was awarded to Union Iron Works of San Francisco, California on 19 November 1890. Her keel was laid exactly one year later...
was being completed.
Spanish-American War
Eberle reported for duty on July 10, five days before the new battleshipBattleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
was first placed in commission; and he was placed in charge of her forward gun turret. Oregon was still operating along the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
coast in the spring of 1898 when Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
declared war
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
on Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
; and she promptly won great renown by her race south from Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
to Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
and then north to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
to join American forces blockading Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
Eberle distinguished himself during the Battle of Santiago de Cuba
Battle of Santiago de Cuba
The Battle of Santiago de Cuba, fought between Spain and the United States on 3 July 1898, was the largest naval engagement of the Spanish-American War and resulted in the destruction of the Spanish Navy's Caribbean Squadron.-Spanish Fleet:...
by the outstanding performance of his turret in its duel with Spanish 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...
Cristobal Colon and, later, in its bombardment of Spanish troop concentrations at Caimanera
Caimanera
Caimanera is a municipality and city in Guantánamo Province on the south eastern coast of Cuba. It is a fishing village and port built on the West shore of the sheltered Guantanamo Bay, just North of the US naval base and South of the provincial capital, Guantánamo...
.
From this time on, Eberle reportedly enjoyed the favor of powerful officers in the Navy. His promotion to lieutenant came on March 3, 1899, some three months before he was detached from Oregon and transferred to in which he served as flag lieutenant of the Asiatic Squadron. Late in the summer, Eberle returned to Annapolis to become aide to the superintendent of the Naval Academy. Besides carrying out the duties of that position, he busied himself in studying ordnance and in writing manuals for the use of guns and torpedoes and for the operation of wireless communication by warships.
A year in Indiana (Battleship No. 1)
USS Indiana (BB-1)
USS Indiana was the lead ship of her class and the first battleship in the United States Navy comparable to foreign battleships of the time. Authorized in 1890 and commissioned five years later, she was a small battleship, though with heavy armor and ordnance. The ship also pioneered the use of an...
on training duty ended in September 1902 when Eberle became aide to the commandant of the New York Navy Yard. Six months later, he was named Rear Admiral Albert S. Barker
Albert S. Barker
Albert Smith Barker was an admiral in the United States Navy who served during the American Civil War and the Spanish-American War.-Biography:...
's flag lieutenant; and, during this two-year tour with the Commander in Chief of the Atlantic Fleet
U.S. Atlantic Fleet
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
, he won his commission as a lieutenant commander.
Naval War College
The Naval War College is an education and research institution of the United States Navy that specializes in developing ideas for naval warfare and passing them along to officers of the Navy. The college is located on the grounds of Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island...
, executive officer of Louisiana
USS Louisiana (BB-19)
USS Louisiana was a of the United States Navy. She was the third ship to carry her name.Louisiana was laid down on 7 February 1903 by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company of Newport News, Virginia; launched on 27 August 1904; sponsored by Miss Juanita LaLande and commissioned on 2...
, commandant of the San Francisco Naval Training Station with collateral duty as commanding officer of Pensacola. During the latter tour, he was promoted to commander on December 15, 1908.
World War I
He earned a captain's commission which arrived on July 1, 1912. He attended the short course at the Naval War College in 1913; and command of WashingtonUSS Washington (ACR-11)
The seventh USS Washington , also referred to as "Armored Cruiser No. 11", and later renamed Seattle and renumbered CA-11 and IX-39, was a United States Navy Tennessee-class armored cruiser...
and, later, of the Naval Gun Factory at Washington, D.C., preceded Eberle's appointment as Superintendent of the Naval Academy on September 1, 1915. After overseeing the Academy during the period of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
when the need for officers brought the problems of acceleration, he left Annapolis on January 30, 1919 to command the battleship divisions of the Atlantic Fleet.
On June 30, 1921, Eberle took command of the Pacific Fleet. Some two years later, on July 17, 1923, he became Chief of Naval Operations and held the office until relieved by Admiral Charles F. Hughes
Charles Hughes
Charles Hughes may refer to:* Charles J. Hughes, Jr. , U.S. Senator from Colorado* Charles Evans Hughes , Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Secretary of State, governor of New York...
on November 14, 1927. During the years he held this post, he reportedly fought to minimize the adverse effect upon the Navy of arms limitations negotiations and from Congressional thrift, hurried the completion of aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s Lexington
USS Lexington (CV-2)
USS Lexington , nicknamed the "Gray Lady" or "Lady Lex," was an early aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. She was the lead ship of the , though her sister ship was commissioned a month earlier...
and Saratoga
USS Saratoga (CV-3)
USS Saratoga was the second aircraft carrier of the United States Navy and the fifth ship to bear her name. She was commissioned one month earlier than her sister and class leader, , which is the third actually commissioned after and Saratoga...
, and upheld the Navy's right to maintain its own air arm.
After relinquishing the duties of Chief of Naval Operations, Eberle served on the General Board
General Board of the United States Navy
The General Board of the United States Navy was an advisory body of the United States Navy, effectively a naval general staff. The General Board was established by general order 544, issued on March 13, 1900 by John Davis Long. The order was officially recognized by Congress in 1916...
until he retired.
Retirement
Eberle retired from the U.S. Navy on August 9, 1928 and died in Washington, D.C. on July 6, 1929.Namesakes
The ships, USS Admiral E. W. Eberle (AP-123)USS Admiral E. W. Eberle (AP-123)
USS Admiral E. W. Eberle was laid down on 15 February 1943 under a Maritime Commission contract by the Bethlehem Steel Corp., Alameda, Calif.; launched on 14 June 1944; sponsored by Mrs...
and , were named in his honor.