CHARLES W. CHIPP, LT, USN
Charles Chipp '68
Charles Winans Chipp was admitted to the Naval Academy from New York on July 23, 1863 at age 14 years 11 months.
"Vignette engraving, with a facsimile of his signature, copied from The Voyage of the Jeannette ..., Volume I, page 16, edited by Emma DeLong, published in 1884. Lieutenant Chipp was second-in-command of USS Jeannette during her Arctic expedition, 1879-1881. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph."
Loss
Charles was lost on or after September 12, 1881 when the boat he was aboard disappeared in a storm. He was a part of the U.S. Arctic Expedition.
Other Information
From Wikipedia:
Born in Kingston, New York, he was educated at the United States Naval Academy in Newport, Rhode Island and Annapolis, Maryland. After graduating in 1868, he served in the steam frigate USS Franklin, flagship of the European Squadron. In 1871, he participated in the United States expedition to Korea. In 1873 he served in USS Juniata when that ship was ordered to the coast of Greenland to search for the Arctic steamer Polaris. Also serving aboard Juniata was Lieutenant George DeLong '65, who would later be Chipp's commanding officer. After service in several other ships, Chipp was ordered to San Francisco to serve as Executive Officer of USS Jeannette, with DeLong commanding. Jeannette was fitting out for her mission, which would be to attempt to sail to the North Pole via the Bering Strait.
On July 8, 1879, USS Jeannette stood out to sea through the Golden Gate on her voyage of exploration. At that time, DeLong wrote to his wife:
Chipp is, as he always was and always will be, calm and earnest. He has always something to do, and is always doing it in that quiet, steady and sure manner of his. He smiles rarely and says very little, but I know where he is and how reliable and true he is in every respect.
Jeannette reached St. Lawrence Bay, Siberia, August 27, 1879, then headed north into the Chukchi Sea. She became trapped in the pack ice near Wrangel Island and in June 1881 was crushed and sank. After the ship's crew trudged across the rugged ice to open water, they set out in three small boats toward the Siberian mainland. The boats were commanded by DeLong, Chipp and Chief Engineer George W. Melville. On September 12, 1881, the three boats were separated in a storm. Lieutenant Chipp's boat, with Chipp and seven other men aboard, was never seen again and no trace of it was ever found.
From records of the US Naval Academy Graduates’ Association:
CHARLES WINANS CHIPP, Graduate No. 813.
1863, July 24, appointed a Midshipman at the Naval Academy, and graduated June 2, 1868. 1868, September 3, ordered to the Contoocook. November 17, detached and ordered to the Franklin; transferred to the Guard, and detached from that vessel October 15, 1869, and placed on waiting orders. 1869, November 1, commissioned as Ensign, to rank from April 19, 1869. December 1, ordered to the Alaska. 1870, July 12, promoted to Master, to rank from date; was transferred to the Benicia, and detached from that vessel September 7, 1872, and placed on waiting orders. 1872, December 2, promoted to Lieutenant, to rank from date. 1873, February 5, ordered to the Juniata. 1876, February 14, detached and placed on waiting orders. June 1, ordered to duty at the Torpedo Station, September 9, detached and ordered to the Asiatic Station; served on the Ashuelot. 1879, March 17, detached and ordered to the Navy Yard, Mare Island, California. April 18, ordered to the Arctic steamer Jeannette.
He was lost in the Arctic regions, decided by the Department to have been lost on the 1st of January, 1883.
Charles Winans Chipp was born in Kingston, Ulster County, New York, was appointed to the Naval Academy in 1863, and graduated with the class of 68. It was during his second cruise on the Asiatic Station that he received his orders to join the ill-fated Jeannette. Most of his service in the Navy was “sea duty.” He was a thorough-going, practical seaman, of a resolute character and an ingenious turn of mind—the very man to cope with emergencies and to conquer difficulties. He was the executive of the Jeannette and DeLong’s right-hand man, Chief Engineer Melville, in his testimony before the court of inquiry, says: "The general opinion on board the ship of Mr. Chipp was that he was the best seaman on the ship, and his conduct was considered that of a thorough good officer in all respects." Chipp had charge of the second cutter during the retreat through the ice. She was seen for the last time on the evening of September 12, 1881, at which time the boats were separated in a gale; since then nothing has been heard of the second cutter or her crew. R. Wainwright
From "Dangers of Naval Life" by Arthur H. Dutton, former Lieutenant, U.S. Navy, in the January-June 1909 issue of "The Overland Monthly":
Arctic exploration has claimed its victims in the navy as well as in civil life and the army. The deaths of Lieutenant Commander G.W. De Long and Lieutenant C.W. Chipp during the ill-fated Jeannette expedition of 1881, caused a profound sensation throughout the world, their tragic ends in the bleak Lena Delta region of Northern Siberia appealing strongly and deeply to the popular imagination.
Charles has a memory marker in New York.
Career
From the Naval History and Heritage Command:
Acting Midshipman, 23 July, 1863. Graduated 2 June, 1868. Ensign, 19 April, 1869. Master, 12 July, 1870. Lieutenant, 2 December, 1872. Lost in the Arctic Regions January, 1883.
From researcher Kathy Franz:
In September 1868, Charles was assigned to the steamer Contoocook. In June 1876, he was ordered to torpedo instruction in Newport, Rhode Island.
Namesakes
From Wikipedia:
The Chipp River in northern Alaska was named in honor of Lieutenant Charles W. Chipp. Chipp Peak on Kupreanof Island, in the Alexander Archipelago in southeastern Alaska, is also named for him.
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 1869
July 1870
January 1871
January 1872
January 1873
January 1874
January 1875
January 1876
July 1877
July 1878
January 1879
January 1883
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