FREDERICK W. DANNER, ENS, USN
Frederick Danner '74
Frederick William Danner was admitted to the Naval Academy from Wedowee, Alabama on June 23, 1869 at age 17 years 7 months.
Loss
Frederick was lost on November 24, 1877 when USS Huron (1875) went aground and then wrecked in heavy weather off Nags Head, North Carolina. Ninety-seven other officers and men were also lost.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Frederick parents were John and Mary, and his sister was Mary Louisa. His father was an attorney and chief clerk of the U.S. Revenue Collector’s Office in 1870 Montgomery, Alabama. During the Civil War, he took a position in Jefferson Davis’ government and moved to Richmond. Later, the family moved back to Alabama, and he became a State Senator and Supreme Court Reporter. He died of pneumonia in December 1872. Frederick’s mother, Mary Ann (Kitchens), daughter of General and Louise Kitchens, received a naval pension of $15/month starting November 1877 until her death in 1905. She lived with her married daughter’s (Mary Louisa was Mrs. D. P. West) family in Ashland, Alabama. His sister named her son Freddie.
In the pension record, Frederick’s mother submitted a letter to show he supported her. The letter was from Frederick’s friend from the Academy’s Class of 1873. Dec. 26, 1877. My dear Mrs. Danner: The news of the loss of the Huron has just come to us out here. No words can tell you my sympathy with you in your great loss, nor shall I try. I pray God to help and comfort you and Fred’s sister. I donot know if Fred has told you of me, but for many years now we have been closer and dearer to each other than brothers, and intended never to be separated another cruise, but always to go together. I tell you all this for I have a great favor to ask, and I donot know how to ask it. I know that you will not take offense, for his sake, and I trust for his sake too you willnot let false pride stand between you and me. While we were together in the Franklin Fred used to send money home, and once you may remember I brought some to New York for him. What I ask is only that you will let me stand in a son’s stead, in my more than brother’s place, and if you need it help you from my store. Please donot hesitate, you wouldnot if you knew all Fred has been to me, and I have something outside of my pay. Trusting you willnot be offended at my requesting this favor and that you will kindly write to me, believe me, sincerely yours, Charles W. Deering, Ensign, USS Alert, Yokohama, Japan.
In September 1872, Frederick was found disobeying order of the executive officer of the Constellation. On the practice cruise of July 1873, he was found guilty of not carrying orders to relief.
He is buried in New York.
Obituary
From Army & Navy Journal on December 1, 1877:
Ensign Danner was appointed June 23, 1869, from Wedowee, Randolph county, Ala., and graduated in October, 1874. He was promoted to Ensign July 17, 1876. A classmate says of him: "Mr. Danner was a promising, intelligent, and energetic young officer, a thorough gentleman, always kind and courteous, a faithful friend and a model shipmate. He was unswerving in his adherence to the highest principles of honor, firm in the discharge of duty and zealous to sustain the good reputation of the honorable service to which he belonged. His sad death is to be deeply regretted, not only by his numerous friends, but by the whole country and those belonging to the naval service, over which his fate and that of the gallant officers and men who perished with him as cast a deep gloom."
(Note: the Naval Academy Register has a typo and lists him as being appointed from "Redowee".)
Career
From the Naval History and Heritage Command:
Midshipman, 23, June, 1869. Graduated 15 October, 1874. Ensign, 17 July, 1875. Lost on Huron, 24 November, 1877.
Related Articles
George Ryan '61, Sydney Simons '67, Lambert Palmer '68, James Wight '71, Walter French '71, and Edmund Loomis '75 were also lost when Huron was wrecked.
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 1875
January 1876
July 1877
Frederick is the only member of the Class of 1874 in 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.
