BENJAMIN L. EDES, LCDR, USN
Benjamin Edes '65
Benjamin Long Edes was admitted to the Naval Academy from New York on September 23, 1861 at age 14 years 6 months.
Loss
From "Dangers of Naval Life" by Arthur H. Dutton, former Lieutenant, U.S. Navy, in the January-June 1909 issue of "The Overland Monthly":
Lieutenant-Commander Benjamin Long Edes and Lieutenant Lyman G. Spalding were killed at Newport, R.I., August 29, 1881, by the explosion of a torpedo, due to mismanagement of an electric switch.
Other Information
He was survived by his wife and two children. His wife was pregnant with their third child, but the child died in childbirth in December. Benjamin is buried in Washington, D.C.. He also has a a memory marker in Arlington National Cemetery.
Note: He is listed as "Benjamin Edes Long" in the Register of Alumni, as well as in 1861 Naval Academy Register. The US Naval Academy Graduates' Association notes "changed name in 1867 to B. Long Edes."
From researcher Kathy Franz:
When Benjamin was two years old, his father Robert, a well-known architect, died.
While in the Naval Academy, Benjamin changed his name from Benjamin Edes Long to Benjamin Long Edes. This was either a request in his grandfather General Benjamin Ede's will or was suggested by his uncle Samuel Edes. The purpose was to keep alive the name of their great-great-grandfather Benjamin Edes, revolutionary war patriot and editor of the Boston Gazette. This latter man's son Peter kept a diary while imprisoned by the British in 1775 Boston.
Career
From the Naval History and Heritage Command:
Midshipman, 23 September, 1861. Graduated September, 1865. Ensign, 1 December, 1866. Master, 12 March, 1868. Lieutenant, 26 March, 1869. Lieutenant Commander, 22 April, 1881. Killed 29 August, 1881.
The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.
The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.
The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.
Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.
January 1864
January 1866
July 1867
January 1869
July 1870
January 1872
January 1875
January 1876
July 1877
July 1878
January 1879
January 1880
January 1882
Related Articles
Lyman Spalding '66 was lost in this same incident.
Benjamin is one of 4 members of the Class of 1865 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
