PHILIP V. LANSDALE, LT, USN
Philip Lansdale '77
Philip Van Horn Lansdale was admitted to the Naval Academy from Washington, D.C. on June 6, 1873 at age 15 years 3 months.
Photo courtesy of the Naval Academy's Nimitz Library, via researcher Kathy Franz.
Photo courtesy of the Naval Academy's Nimitz Library, via researcher Kathy Franz.
Loss
Philip was killed in action on April 1, 1899 during the Second Samoan Civil War.
Other Information
From Wikipedia:
Philip Van Horn Lansdale, born in Washington, D.C., graduated as Passed Midshipman from the Naval Academy 18 June 1879. Commissioned ensign 1 June 1881, he served on Asiatic, North Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Pacific Stations. Promoted to Lieutenant 15 May 1893, he became executive officer of Philadelphia [Cruiser No. 4] upon her recommissioning at San Francisco 9 July 1898.
After visiting Honolulu for ceremonies which transferred the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Islands to the United States, Philadelphia, flagship of Rear Admiral Albert Kautz, Commander, Pacific Station, arrived Apia, Samoa, 6 March 1899. An unstable political climate, created by rival Samoan factions and German presence, erupted into open hostility during the month. A combined American and British naval force sought to keep the peace, but natives attacked American and British consulates late in March.
A British and American landing party set out from Apia in late March. On 1 April during a mission to drive off the forces under King Mataafa. With Lieutenant Lansdale in command, the landing party was ambushed and forced to retreat after a fierce fight near Vailele.
While protecting the evacuation of a mortally wounded machinegunner, Lieutenant Lansdale was seriously wounded, his right leg shattered by an enemy bullet. Aided by two enlisted men, Ensign John R. Monaghan carried him until he dropped from exhaustion. Despite Lansdale’s plea, “Monny, you leave me now, I cannot go any further,” Ensign Monaghan remained beside the fallen lieutenant. With only one rifle between them, they were soon overrun by pursuing Mataafan Samoan forces; both officers died on the spot. Seaman Norman Edsall and another sailor also were killed.
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Philip was appointed to the Naval Academy by President Grant on June 10, 1873.
In September 1877, Philip was ordered to the Plymouth.
In April 1883, Philip was ordered from the Washington to torpedo instruction.
In September 1888, he was stationed in Pittsburgh at Homestead. He was on the commission inspecting the armor-plate steel for the new cruisers. The Pittsburgh Press wrote on September 30 that he “is quite an expert tennis player, and devotes all his spare moments to the sport at the Pittsburg Tennis club in Oakland.” He and Lieutenant C. H. Warlow shared an apartment near the club.
Philip was ordered to the Philadelphia in July 1890. In January 1891, the ship went to Key West and then to Kingston, Jamaica, to take part in the opening of the industrial exhibition on January 27.
In September 1892, Philip had charge of the Fourth Company of the Philadelphia. He attended the opening dinner with officers from the Vesuvius and Dolphin and representatives from the Army and State militia. He played the banjo with surgeon Crandall on the zither.
At the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893, Philip had charge of the Caravels. These were reproductions of Christopher Columbus' ships – the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria.
For the next few years, Philip was at the Hydrographic office in Washington, D. C. In December 1895, Philip was listed with many other Washingtonians who had been riding a bicycle -- “the silent steed.”
In April 1896 in Washington, D. C., he was best man at Philip Williams' marriage to Corinna Harrison, daughter of the late Captain Harrison of the Navy. Philip Williams was a graduate of the Class of 1889.
In June 1896, Philip was ordered to the Massachusetts. Six months later, he was on the California team which won the $100 trophy at the inter-republic shooting match against the Hawaiian National Guard team in Honolulu. The 100 men on the California team included Paymaster W. J. Little of the warship Alert.
In May 1898, Philip was on the Alert in Nicaragua where he was engaged in surveying work for the Nicaragua Canal. He returned to Mare Island, and on June 8 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in San Rafael, he married Ethel Shipley Smith, daughter of Sidney Smith, a lawyer and prominent Son of the Revolution.
Per The Evening Times, April 12, 1899, in part: Philip "was a great social favorite at Newport and Bar Harbor, and on that account was dubbed “Lord Lansdale” by his fellow officers, who among themselves always referred to him by that name. He was known then as the only man in all the Home Squadron who always carried a silk hat to sea with him, to wear with his civilian clothes, when he went ashore at different ports.”
Philip's father, also named Philip, was a surgeon and medical director in the Navy. His brothers were William Moylan and Edward Vinal. Their sisters were Charlotte, Eliza, and Maria. Philip's grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War under Washington and was a charter member of the Cincinnati Society. His other grandfather was General William Maylan. Philip's uncle was Admiral Steven B. Luce.
Philip's brother Edward named his son Philip Moylan Lansdale. In August 1909, the latter named his son Philip Van Horn Lansdale.
He was survived by his wife and is buried in California.
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.
July 1877
July 1878
January 1880
January 1883
January 1884
February 1885
January 1886
February 1887
January 1888
January 1889
January 1890
January 1891
January 1892
January 1893
July 1894
January 1895
January 1896
January 1897
Namesake
USS Lansdale (Destroyer No. 101) and USS Lansdale (DD 426) were named for Philip; the ships were sponsored by his widow, Ethel. A third ship, USS Lansdale (DD 766), was launched but never completed. She, too, was sponsored by his widow.
Memorial
Philip's classmates erected a plaque to his honor in Memorial Hall.
Related Articles
John Monaghan '95 was also lost in this action.
Philip is one of 4 members of the Class of 1877 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.
