Gustavus Fox
Encyclopedia
Gustavus Vasa Fox was an officer of the United States Navy
, who served during the Mexican-American War, and as Assistant Secretary of the Navy
during the Civil War
.
, and studied at Phillips Academy
, Andover, Massachusetts
(1835). On 12 January 1838, Fox was appointed midshipman
. During the Mexican-American War, he served in the brig
in the squadron of Commodore Matthew Perry, and took part in the capture of Tabasco
, Mexico
, on 14–16 January 1847. He later commanded several mail steamer
s. He resigned from the Navy on 30 July 1856, and engaged in the manufacture of woolen materials.
At the start of the American Civil War
he volunteered for service. President Abraham Lincoln
gave him a temporary appointment in the Navy and sent him in the steamer Baltic to the relief of Fort Sumter
. Fox could not relieve the fort before Confederate
bombardment forced its surrender, but afterwards he brought away the garrison.
On 1 August 1861, Lincoln appointed him Assistant Secretary of the Navy
, an office which he held until the close of the Civil War. In 1866, he was sent on a special mission to Russia
; he conveyed the congratulations of the President to Tsar
Alexander II
upon his escape from assassination. His voyage was made in the monitor , which was the first vessel of this class to cross the Atlantic. They were accompanied by .
In 1882 he published a paper suggesting that Samana Cay
in the Bahamas was Guanahani
, or San Salvador, the first island Christopher Columbus
reached in his discovery of the Americas. Little attention was paid to his paper until 1986, when the National Geographic Society
also concluded that Samana Cay was San Salvador.
He died at Lowell, Massachusetts
, aged 62.
Three ships of the US Navy have been named in his memory.
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 during the Mexican-American War, and as Assistant Secretary of the Navy
Assistant Secretary of the Navy
Assistant Secretary of the Navy is the title given to certain civilian senior officials in the United States Department of the Navy....
during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Biography
He was born at Saugus, MassachusettsSaugus, Massachusetts
Saugus is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. The population was 26,628 at the 2010 census.-History:Saugus was first settled in 1629. Saugus is an Indian name believed to mean "great" or "extended"...
, and studied at Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
, Andover, Massachusetts
Andover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was incorporated in 1646 and as of the 2010 census, the population was 33,201...
(1835). On 12 January 1838, Fox was appointed 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...
. During the Mexican-American War, he served in the brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
in the squadron of Commodore Matthew Perry, and took part in the capture of Tabasco
Second Battle of Tabasco
The Second Battle of Tabasco, also known as the Battle of Villahermosa, was a battle fought in June 1847 during the Mexican-American War as part of the U.S. blockade of Mexican Gulf ports.-Background:...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, on 14–16 January 1847. He later commanded several mail steamer
Mail steamer
Mail steamers were steamships which carried the mail across waterways, such as across an ocean or between islands, primarily during the 19th Century and early 20th Century, when the cost of sending a letter was declining to the point an ordinary person could afford the cost of sending a letter...
s. He resigned from the Navy on 30 July 1856, and engaged in the manufacture of woolen materials.
At the start of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
he volunteered for service. President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
gave him a temporary appointment in the Navy and sent him in the steamer Baltic to the relief of Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...
. Fox could not relieve the fort before Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
bombardment forced its surrender, but afterwards he brought away the garrison.
On 1 August 1861, Lincoln appointed him Assistant Secretary of the Navy
Assistant Secretary of the Navy
Assistant Secretary of the Navy is the title given to certain civilian senior officials in the United States Department of the Navy....
, an office which he held until the close of the Civil War. In 1866, he was sent on a special mission to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
; he conveyed the congratulations of the President to Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Alexander II
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
upon his escape from assassination. His voyage was made in the monitor , which was the first vessel of this class to cross the Atlantic. They were accompanied by .
In 1882 he published a paper suggesting that Samana Cay
Samana Cay
Samana Cay is the largest now uninhabited island in the Bahamas, believed by some researchers to have been the location of Columbus's first landfall in the Americas, on October 12, 1492....
in the Bahamas was Guanahani
Guanahani
Guanahani was the name the natives gave to the island that Christopher Columbus called San Salvador when he arrived at the Americas. Columbus reached the island on 12 October 1492, the first island he sighted and visited in the Americas...
, or San Salvador, the first island Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
reached in his discovery of the Americas. Little attention was paid to his paper until 1986, when the National Geographic Society
National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...
also concluded that Samana Cay was San Salvador.
He died at Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
, aged 62.
Three ships of the US Navy have been named in his memory.
Publications
- Fox, Gustavus V. (1882), An Attempt to Solve the Problem of the First Landing Place of Columbus in the New World. Report of the Superintendent of the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (Appendix No. 18, June 1880), Washington: Government Printing Office.