Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright (1821–1863)

Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright II (July 27, 1821 – January 1, 1863) was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War, who was killed in action during the Battle of Galveston.[1][2]

Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright II
Born	(1821-07-27)July 27, 1821 New York City
Died	January 1, 1863(1863-01-01) (aged 41) Near Galveston, Texas
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1837-1863
Rank	Lieutenant
Commands held	Harriet Lane
Battles/wars	American Civil War
Spouse(s)	Maria Byrd Page ​ ( m. 1844; his death 1863)
Relations	Jonathan M. Wainwright I (father) Richard Wainwright (cousin) Jonathan M. Wainwright III (son) Robert P. P. Wainwright (son) Jonathan M. Wainwright IV (grandson)

Early life

Wainwright was born on July 27, 1821 in New York City to Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright I (1792–1854)[3] and Amelia Maria Phelps.[1][2] His father, an Episcopal bishop, served as the 5th Bishop of New York, from 1852 to 1854,[4] who was instrumental in the founding of New York University.[5]

His paternal grandparents were Peter Wainwright and Elizabeth Mayhew. He was a cousin of naval officer Richard Wainwright.[6]

Career

He entered the United States Navy on June 30, 1837, at age 16, as a midshipman. He attended the Philadelphia Naval Asylum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1842 to 1843, and became a passed midshipman on June 29, 1843.[1]

He was appointed acting-master, November 10, 1849, and commissioned lieutenant, September 17, 1850. He was on special duty in Washington, DC in 1861.[1]

He commanded the Harriet Lane, Admiral David Dixon Porter's flagship in Farragut's fleet, in the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, and took part in operations below Vicksburg.

He was killed in action when his ship was attacked and captured by Confederate forces under the command of General John Bankhead Magruder during the Battle of Galveston on January 1, 1863.[1][7][8] He was reportedly personally killed by Confederate naval commander Leon Smith, and a valuable signal book was taken from his corpse.[9][10][11]

Personal life

On February 8, 1844, he married Maria Byrd Page in Virginia.[12] She was the daughter of Robert Powell Page (1794–1849), himself a grandson of the Governor of Virginia John Page, and Mary Francis, the daughter of Thomas Willing Francis of Philadelphia. After her mother's death, her father remarried to Susan Grymes, daughter of Archie Randolph.[13] Together, they had four children:[13][14]

• Elizabeth "Lizzie" Wainwright (d. 1883), who married John Page Burwell in 1875.[13]
• Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright III (d. 1870),[14] a Lt. in the U.S. Navy who was killed by pirates on the Pacific coast.[13]
• Robert Powell Page Wainwright, a Lt. of Cavalry[7] who married Josepha Sewell.[14]
• Maria Wainwright (b. 1855), who married Henry Slaughter in 1873. She later married Louis James and attained some reputation as an actress going by the name "Fannie Louise Buckingham."[13]

Legacy

His grandson, Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV (1883–1953), was a general during World War II.

Honors

Three ships have been named USS Wainwright for Jonathan and some of his relatives.[15][16][17]

References

Notes

1. "Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright". Officers of the Army and the Navy (regular) who Served in the Civil War. 1892.
2. Rossiter Johnson; John Howard Brown (1904). "Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright". The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans. Biographical Society. p. 301.
3. "Death of Bishop Wainwright". The New York Times. 22 September 1854. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
4. "Diocese of New York list of bishops". Archived from the original on 2007-12-15. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
5. Norton, John Nicholas (1858). Life of Bishop Wainwright. New York : General Protestant Episcopal Sunday school union and church book society.
6. "Wainwright family papers". archives.nypl.org. The New York Public Library. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
7. "Appointments by the President". New York Times. June 21, 1863.
8. "Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright". The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. 1893. p. 359.
9. Day, James M. (1965) "Leon Smith: Confederate Mariner," East Texas Historical Journal: Vol. 3: Iss. 1, Article 7.
10. Cotham, Edward Terrel (1998). Battle on the Bay: The Civil War Struggle for Galveston. University of Texas Press. p. 48. ISBN 9780292712058. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
11. "GOSSIP FROM RICHMOND". The New York Times. 23 February 1863. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
12. Keith, Charles Penrose (1883). The Provincial Councillors of Pennsylvania: Who Held Office Between 1733-1776 and Those Earlier Councillors who Were Some Time Chief Magistrates of the Province, and Their Descendants. Genealogical Publishing Com. p. 123. ISBN 9780806315294. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
13. Page, Richard Channing Moore (1893). Genealogy of the Page Family in Virginia: Also, a Condensed Account of the Nelson, Walker, Pendleton, and Randolph Families, with References to the Bland, Burwell, Byrd, Carter, Cary, Duke, Gilmer, Harrison, Rives, Thornton, Welford, Washington, and Other Distinguished Families in Virginia. Publishers' Print. Company. p. 147. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
14. Browning, Charles Henry (1891). Americans of Royal Descent: A Collection of Genealogies of American Families Whose Lineage is Traced to the Legitimate Issue of Kings. Porter & Costes. p. 185. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
15. "Wainwright I". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command.
16. "Wainwright II". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command.
17. "Wainwright III". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command.

Sources

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
• Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1889). "Wainwright, Jonathan Mayhew" . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.