ALBERT ALLMAND, LT, USN
Albert Allmand '47
Loss
From Find A Grave:
Lt. Albert Allmand was the son of Col. Albert Allmand (1793-1831) and Margaret Walke O'Grady (1799-1872). His siblings were John O'Grady Allmand (b. 1831), William H. Allmand (b. 1820), and Elizabeth Taylor (Allmand) Blow (b. 1823), wife of Judge George Blow, Jr.
Melancholy death. – A most distressing incident occurred on board the U.S. frigate Cumberland, now laying at the Navy Yard, Charlestown, yesterday. All hands had been piped to attend divine service, the were comfortably seated on the port side of the quarter deck, the officers in full uniform on the starboard side, and the after seats occupied by many gentlemen and lady visitors who desired to hear services on board a man of war. The Rev. Mr. Newell, after reading the interesting formulas of the Episcopal church, delivered an appropriate sermon, much to the edification of all assembled. After the service, as is usual on board of men of war, the crew were piped to muster, and while this was proceeding, Lieut. Albert Allmand, seemingly in the very vigor of health, while in pleasant conversation with some of his brother officers, suddenly fell upon the deck, striking his head with great violence, in a fit of apoplexy. He was immediately carried below, under the best medical attendance, but in less than an hour after, entirely unconscious, his spirit fled to other and happier regions.
Lieut. Allmand was a native of Virginia, resident of Norfolk, about thirty years of age, and had been in the service since 1841. For nearly thirteen of his fifteen years, he had been constantly at sea, and was esteemed by his messmates as an officer of unusual scientific attainments, as a generous and chivalric gentleman, and of such amiable and social qualities as ever endeared him to his messmates. He leaves a widowed mother whose hopes are saddened by a loss so irretrievable. He number of his mess is lost, and his messmates feel keenly the blank.
Obsequies at the Navy Yard. The rites of sepulcher were yesterday afternoon performed over the remains of Lieut. Albert Allmand, late of the U.S. sloop-of-war Cumberland, who died on board that vessel on Sunday, in a fit of apoplexy. Soon after death, the body was conveyed to the chapel of the Navy Yard, where it has since remained, under a guard. Yesterday the coffin was shrouded with the national ensign, and on the top were deposited the hat, epaulettes and sword of the deceased, indicative of his rank. A quarter past three the little chapel was filled by the officers of the several vessels of war now lying at this station and of the yard, and the messmates and friends of the deceased. The burial service, in the Episcopal form, was read by the Rev. Chester Newhall, Chaplain of the Cumberland, after which the corpse was removed to the hearse, and a procession formed in the following order: A company of Marines, under command of Lieut. Kintzing of the Cumberland; the hearse, flanked by the following officers, in full dress, acting as pall bearers: Lieut. Crosson of the Cumberland, Lieut. Kimberly of the Receiving Ship Ohio, Lieut. Harrison of the Ohio, Lieut. McDonoug of the Navy Yard, Purser Bleaker of the Ohio, and Surgeon Wheeler of the same ship. Next came the brother-in-law of the deceased, in company with the Chaplain and two other officers. A detachment of fifty sailors from the crew of the Cumberland followed the bier, a sturdy tar supporting an ensign at half mast. Officers attached to the Cumberland, Ohio, and Merrimac, and connected with this station, some friends of the deceased, and citizens generally, brought up the rear. The cortege moved at the tap of muffled drums from the Yard up Main Street to the Neck, where they were deposited, the marines and sailors returning to the Navy Yard. Operations in the workshops, and on the ships in the Yard were suspended during the ceremonies, and more than the customary honors were accorded to the deceased, who was esteemed as an officer of "unusual scientific attainments, as a generous and chivalric gentleman, and of such amiable and social qualities as ever endeared him to his messmates."
He was born in, and appointed to the Naval Academy from, Virginia.
Biography
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Albert entered the Navy on September 10, 1841. In 1842 he served on the Decatur and on the Delaware in 1844. He spent three years at sea on the Cyane from 1845 to 1848. In 1850 he was on the steamer Taney, and in 1850 he took classmate Thomas Brodhead’s place on the Dale. From 1852 through 1854, he was on the sloop Saratoga. He lived in Richmond, Virginia, in 1855, and then was on the Relief in 1856 and the Cumberland in 1857.
Career
From the Naval History and Heritage Command:
Midshipman, 10 September, 1841. Passed Midshipman, 10 August, 1847. Master, 14 September, 1855. Lieutenant, 15 September, 1855. Died 31 May, 1857.
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