DAVID D. WEMPLE, LT, USN

David Wemple '63

Date of birth: June 21, 1843

Age: 21

Naval Academy Register

David Duane Wemple was admitted to the Naval Academy from Wisconsin on September 24, 1858 at age 15 years 3 months.

Loss

David was killed on December 24, 1864 when the 100 pound Parrott Rifle he was standing behind burst at the breech, wounding him severely. He was aboard USS Juniata (1862); the gun was being fired against Fort Fisher, North Carolina.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

David was born in Fonda, New York. In 1860 the family lived in Emerald Grove, Wisconsin, where his father Peter was a farmer. David's mother Eliza died in 1858, and his father married Mrs. Chloe (Wood) Holden.
David and his brothers Adam Zeily and John Hamilton all fought in the Civil War. His father's second wife Chloe also had her three sons in the war John, Rufus, and James Holden.
In 1862 David wrote a letter to Zeily from the Frigate Potomac, off the coast of Ship Island.
David's estate went through probate as he left about 16 acres in the Town of Troy, Walworth County, Wisconsin.
David was originally buried in North Carolina with a grave marker that accompanied his remains to Wisconsin when he was returned there.
At David's funeral at Emerald Grove, Wisconsin, on March 9, 1865, Major Charles S. Shattuck of Company K, 6th Vermont Regiment gave the discourse. It was printed in a 16-page pamphlet which is housed at the Library of Congress #96183040. In the beginning of the discourse, Shattuck told of David's last letter to his parents, and he ended his discourse as follows.

Notwithstanding the sad losses of the Church in the war, she undoubtedly gains from it, after all, more sons than she loses. And many a precious soul is not only found in the mine of the army or navy, but cut and polished there as a diamond of the first water.
So it has truly proved to be with the young hero whose war-smitten remains we have now placed in the grave beside those of his brother, gone the same glorious way before him. It is indeed just two years to-day, since the other went this shining way. “They were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not long divided.” [reference to 2 Samuel 1:23 about Saul and Jonathan.]
Having been from his boyhood, of an amiable, gentle and correct turn, his serious impressions were deepened and confirmed, when he entered upon active service in the navy and became exposed to its perils of soul and body; till he seems to have met with a gracious saving change, soon after his final visit home, about a year and a half since; else, at that time, a previous change was made manifest. For so it appears from his letters, journal and Bible alike, in their Christian utterances, written or marked. He was not pleased with the naval service, though receiving very rapid promotion, and having the fairest prospects for the future. This dislike was chiefly felt in view of the general wickedness of the officers and sailors around him. So that he was only kept in the service, by his love for this dear old flag, and what it represents.
But his Bible was a constant comfort and pleasure to him; as its well worn and marked pages show us most touchingly. Here it is, more precious than any saintly relic church or shrine ever held. With reverence might we press it to our hearts and to our lips. He could not have had it more than three or four short years, for it was printed in 1860, the other side of the Atlantic. Yet he seems to have read it through; and some of the more practical and profitable portions repeatedly. For as you see, the book opens almost of itself to certain places; and these have passages emphasized by dashes and underscorings. But what are the passages thus indicated as his favorite ones? Here are marked the wise precepts of Proverbs, especially to the young; and here, the flaming messages of Isaiah concerning the sin, punishment and salvation of nations; and here, the words of confession and prayer, in the 51st Psalm, the most penitential one of all; and lastly here, as the befitting climax in the manifestation of his heart, the expression of St. Paul in the 1st Epistle to Timothy, breathing the sentiments of spiritual and experimental religion. There are many pencilings on the margin giving the time and place, when the adjacent portion were read by him. And we thus learn the significant and affecting fact, that the day before his death for the country, he read of the Saviour's death for himself and us all. For we find under St. John's account of the crucifixion, the date “Dec. 23d, '64.” Next day, Gen. Butler's unfortunate attack on Ft. Fisher, when by the bursting of one of the large Parrott guns on board the Juanita, the manly form of Lieut. Wemple was laid low in death.
The next day was the anniversary of our Savior's advent. And did not he indeed have “a happy Christmas,” in that peaceful, blessed world, “Where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest” – where “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.” O! think, dear bereaved ones, of this heavenly world, and of him as there waiting for you to join him. So be comforted and seek to have it indeed thus; that you may each stand in your lot finally and forever with him, and likewise with all the good and true of the universe of God.

From Find A Grave:

David was a son of Peter Douw Wemple and Eliza (Davis) Wemple. The Wemple's had four sons serve in the Civil War.
The following is a portion of a letter David wrote to his parents on December 14, 1864:

Dear Father and Mother, We are on our way to Wilmington where we will most likely have a fight and perhaps a bad one. Of course all of us must stand our chances in the fight, of being killed or wounded, and consequently I will. Should the fortunes of war deprive me of this life I would simply say that I will go willingly for the dear, dear old flag that protects me. I should prefer living to see this rebellion put down and our dear country once more enjoying peace and quiet, but if it is necessary I am willing to go now, and beg you all to give me up willingly for our country and mourn not my loss, but rather rejoice that I died in a glorious cause - Our Country! Let not my loss decrease your patriotism but let it increase it and willingly sacrifice all for our country and flag.

From The Manchester Weekly Times and Examiner on January 14, 1865, written by David D. Porter:

…without being molested by the enemy, I regret to have to report some severe casualties by the bursting of 100-pounder Parrott cannon, One burst on board the Ticonderoga, killing six of the crew, and wounding seven others; another burst on board the Yantic, killing one officer and two men; another on the Juanita, killing two officers, and wounding and killing ten others; another on the Mackinaw, killing one officer and wounding five other men; another on the Quaker City, wounding two or three men; and another on the Susquehanna, killing and wounding seven men. I think the bursting of the guns (six in all) much disconcerted the crews of the vessels where the accidents happened, and gave one and all a great distrust of the Parrott 100-pounder; and as subsequent events proved, they were unfit for service, and calculated to kill more of our men than those of the enemy.

Three of his brothers served during the war; one of them was killed in action in March 1863.

He is listed on the killed in action panel in the front of Memorial Hall, and is buried in Wisconsin.

Career

From the Naval History and Heritage Command:

Acting Midshipman, 24 September, 1858. Ensign, 25 November, 1862. Lieutenant, 22 February, 1864. Killed 24 December, 1864.

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

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.