FRANK R. HEATH, LT, USN

Frank Heath '77

Date of birth: May 8, 1857

Age: 32

Naval Academy Register

Frank Rives Heath was admitted to the Naval Academy with an At Large appointment on September 23, 1873 at age 16 years 4 months.

Loss

Frank died of pneumonia on June 12, 1889 in San Francisco.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Frank attended the University School of Richmond in 1873. In July, he won distinctions in Second French, Fourth Arithmetic, and Second Algebra. His brother Hartwell won distinctions in Second Greek, Analytical Geometry, and Trigonometry. Hartwell later served in the Navy on the Franklin.
In September 1877, Frank sailed with other Navy men on the steamship Canada for Havre.
In May 1880, he was staying at the Tremont hotel in Chicago with J. H. Shannon.
Frank was transferred from the Washington Navy Yard to the Pensacola. In October, he was appointed aid midshipman by Rear Admiral T. H. Stevens (Class of 1868,) commander of the Pacific station at Mare Island. In December, Frank stayed at the Baldwin’s Hotel and the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco with many other Naval men.
In May and June 1887, Frank had rheumatism on the USS Alliance and was hospitalized on the west coast of Madagascar. The rheumatism affected both knees and feet. On November 8, he was sent to the USS Trenton.
In October 1888, Frank was detached from the Minnesota and ordered to the Mohican. In December, he again was registered at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco.
Frank’s brother Roscoe, Jr., named his son Francis Rives Heath (1893-1953). After his father’s death, he was raised by his aunt Mary Mason Heath. During WWI, he was a corporal in Battery B 144 FA, Kaalawai, Honolulu. He named his son the same, Francis III (7/13/1917-6/30/2006), and he named his son Francis IV (1948-2020.) The latter became a well-known swimmer, surfer, and carpenter who worked on the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum in Honolulu.
Frank’s maternal grandfather John Young Mason was appointed Secretary of the Navy by President Tyler in 1844. In 1845, he was appointed Attorney General by President Polk and later served as Minister to France under President Buchanan.
His father Roscoe was an attorney in Petersburg, Virginia; in 1857 Roscoe served in the House of Delegates. His sword and Frank's were given to the Virginia Historical Society by Frank's sister Mary Mason Heath. From President's Annual Report of the Virginia Historical Society 1943.
In 1878 and 1879, Frank served on the Trenton. With the mission of protecting U.S. citizens and other foreign nationals, she visited Greece, Italy, Portugal, France, England, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark. Ironically, the Trenton saved those off the Vandalia in 1889.
Beginning on May 10, 1881, Frank was assigned to the Pensacola. He passed his ensign exam in December 1881. From 1881 to 1884, Rear Admiral Franklin Hanford commanded the Pensacola which circumnavigated the globe taking observations for determination of the variations of the compass.
For the next two years, Frank was assigned to the newly created Office of Naval Intelligence. Its mission was to study and update the slowly antiquating naval equipment. ONI representatives visited various countries to collect information. In 1887 Frank was a Lieutenant (jg) and steel inspector of new cruisers on the Pacific Coast. Lastly, he was aboard the Minnesota, the Mohican, and only three months on the Vandalia which sank during the March 1889 hurricane at Apia, Samoa.
From a letter by Lieutenant J. W. Carlin dated May 22, 1889: Frank and others were the watch officers who “discharged their duties in the most commendable manner, and are entitled to the greatest praise.” The crew was returned to Mare Island on the English ship, the S.S. Rockton. Frank had contracted dysentery while in Apia. He was assigned next to the Iroquois under the protest of the Vandalia’s commanding officer who stated the men were still too sick to return to active duty. Frank contracted compound pneumonia and died on June 12.
The Hawaiian Gazette of July 2, 1889, reported that Frank “was an officer of most genial and kindly instincts, and his loss will be mourned deeply in the service, where he had a host of warm and attached friends.” However, the newspaper was appalled at the treatment of the Vandalia survivors. The men had lost all their belongings when the ship sunk. The paymaster had died, and the records were gone. Many men were due back wages, and they were to each receive a $60 bag for new clothes and other needed supplies. However, the Navy insisted that they fill in forms and get them signed by their executive officer. Some of the men hopped other ships, some deserted, and some complained that Lt. Carlin said he wouldn’t sign any of the forms until he received his $60 bag and back wages.