SAMUEL N. MOORE, CAPT, USN

Samuel Moore '13

Date of birth: September 7, 1891

Date of death: August 9, 1942

Age: 50

Lucky Bag

From the 1913 Lucky Bag:

Samuel Nobre Moore

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

"Sammy"

YOU are quite likely to meet Sammy about 1:00 P.M. on a Saturday near the corner of Maryland Avenue and King George Street, awaiting the arrival of the Washington car. For the National Capital is the town he really calls home, and his affectionate memories are re-enforced by frequent visits from his family and friends—particularly feminine friends. On evenings when the band plays in the gymnasium and dancing is permitted, Moore is sure to wander over that way with an escort of fair ones, and a full hop card. He never lacks for a partner himself, and often helps out luckless classmates who hail from more distant cities.

Nobre took his Christmas Leave a year too early, and as he is the last man who would be suspected of such an adventure, he escaped the notice of the Vigilance Committee. When he attained eminence as head of a table, it became notorious that he was the last man in the mess hall to fold his napkin. His capacity for sleep is also worthy of note. Moore is a true-blue class- mate, and a man as congenial and pleasant as it will ever be your good fortune to meet.

Pink N, Buzzard

Samuel Nobre Moore

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

"Sammy"

YOU are quite likely to meet Sammy about 1:00 P.M. on a Saturday near the corner of Maryland Avenue and King George Street, awaiting the arrival of the Washington car. For the National Capital is the town he really calls home, and his affectionate memories are re-enforced by frequent visits from his family and friends—particularly feminine friends. On evenings when the band plays in the gymnasium and dancing is permitted, Moore is sure to wander over that way with an escort of fair ones, and a full hop card. He never lacks for a partner himself, and often helps out luckless classmates who hail from more distant cities.

Nobre took his Christmas Leave a year too early, and as he is the last man who would be suspected of such an adventure, he escaped the notice of the Vigilance Committee. When he attained eminence as head of a table, it became notorious that he was the last man in the mess hall to fold his napkin. His capacity for sleep is also worthy of note. Moore is a true-blue class- mate, and a man as congenial and pleasant as it will ever be your good fortune to meet.

Pink N, Buzzard

Loss

Samuel was lost when USS Quincy (CA 39) was sunk early in the morning of August 9, 1942 by Japanese surface forces at the Battle of Savo Island.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Samuel attended Eastern High School in Washington, D. C. and Swavely Prep School in Manassas, Virginia. At Eastern High School, he was second lieutenant of the cadet company in October 1908.
His first marriage was to Marie Julia Rench on May 26, 1919. They divorced, and he married Camilla C. (nee Chipman) Ganteaume on September, 20, 1924, in Hampton, New Hampshire. Camilla was also divorced.
Samuel’s stepdaughter was Camilla Yvonne Ganteaume. She married Commander Charles D. Griffin (’27,) and their children were Linda and Charles Donald Griffin, Jr.
During the hurricane of January 1, 1926, in Tutuila, Samoa, Samuel was lieutenant commander at the naval station. In December 1942, Samuel’s wife Camilla received $734 for the loss of his personal property in that hurricane.
Samuel was buried in Arlington National Cemetery on March 12, 1948.
His father William was a bookbinder, mother Margaret, and sisters Edith and Margaret.

His wife, Camilla, was listed as next of kin.

Career

From Naval History and Heritage Command:

Samuel Nobre Moore was born in Washington, D.C., on 7 September 1891. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy from 1909 until 1913 and served mainly in destroyers up to the United States' entry into World War I in 1917. For the next few years, Lieutenant Moore was assigned to the battleships Michigan and Minnesota. During the first half of the 1920 he served in the destroyers Jacob Jones and Flusser, at the U.S. Naval Academy, and with the First Naval District. Lieutenant Commander Moore was stationed at Tutuila, Samoa, in 1925-27, then was assigned to the submarine tender Canopus. From 1928 into 1932, he was Commanding Officer of the destroyers MacLeish, Hazelwood and Lamberton, and then served in the light cruiser Omaha.
After promotion to the rank of Commander in 1934 Moore was stationed at the U.S. Naval Academy, attended the Senior Course at the Naval War College, and commanded Destroyer Division 21. In the latter position, he organized the Neutrality Patrol for the New England area following the outbreak of World War II in September 1939. He served in Washington, D.C., with the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations from early 1940 and achieved the rank of Captain later in that year. In May 1942, he took command of the heavy cruiser Quincy. On 9 August 1942, during the night Battle of Savo Island, Captain Samuel N. Moore was killed in action on the bridge of his ship.

Photographs

From the 1913 Lucky Bag
"A Navy wedding at League Island. Lieutenant Samuel N. Moore, of Washington, and Mrs. Moore, nee Marie Julia Rench, of 5737 Hunter avenue, Philadelphia, leaving the battleship Michigan after the marriage ceremony had been performed on shipboard, by Chaplain D. Horton, yesterday afternoon. The wedding was originally scheduled for June 15, but was advanced to yesterday, when Lieutenant Moore received orders assigning him to another ship." From the Evening Public Ledger, May 27, 1919.

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.

January 1914

Ensign, Cleveland

January 1915

Ensign, USS Hopkins

Others at this command:

LTjg Joseph Murphy '09

January 1916

Ensign, USS Nicholson

Others at this command:

Lieutenant Commander, 1st Naval District

November 1924

Lieutenant Commander, 1st Naval District

January 1925

Lieutenant Commander, 1st Naval District

March 1925

Lieutenant Commander, 1st Naval District

Others at this command:

LT Noel Davis '14

May 1925

Lieutenant Commander, 1st Naval District

Others at this command:

LT Noel Davis '14