American naval officer (1839?1910)
Nehemiah Mayo Dyer
(aka. N. Mayo Dyer; February 19, 1839 ? January 27, 1910) was a
rear admiral
in
United States Navy
, who served during the
American Civil War
and
Spanish?American War
. He was one of the few individuals to have served in both the
Battle of Mobile Bay
during the Civil War and the
Battle of Manila Bay
during the
Spanish?American War
.
Biography
[
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]
Nehemiah Mayo Dyer was born in
Provincetown, Massachusetts
, to Henry and Sally (Mayo) Dyer. He was educated in the public schools. He "followed the sea" from 1854 to 1859. He had mercantile employment from 1859 to 1861.
Civil War service
[
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With the outbreak of the
American Civil War
, he enlisted
13th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment
in July 1861. He transferred to the Volunteer Navy as an acting
master's mate
on April 4, 1862. He served at the
Boston Navy Yard
from 1862 to 1863; the
USS
Eugenie
from 1863 to 1864. He was promoted for gallant services to acting ensign on May 18, 1863.
He was assigned to the
USS
Metacomet
in 1864 as part of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron under Rear Admiral
David Farragut
.
On June 30, 1864, Mayo, in command of the
USS
Glasgow
, forced blockade-running steamer
Ivanhoe
to run aground near Fort Morgan at Mobile Bay. Because the steamer was protected by the fort's guns, Rear Admiral Farragut attempted at first to destroy her by long-range fire from the
Metacomet
and the
USS
Monongahela
. When this proved unsuccessful, Farragut authorized his flag lieutenant,
J. Crittenden Watson
, to lead a boat expedition to burn
Ivanhoe
. Under the cover of darkness and the ready guns on board USS
Metacomet
and the
USS
Kennebec
, Watson led four boats directly to the grounded steamer and fired her in two places shortly after midnight July 6.
[1]
Mayo was promoted to acting master for gallant service aboard USS
Metacomet
during the
Battle of Mobile Bay
, August 4?5, 1864.
After the war, he joined the Massachusetts Commandery of the
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States
and was assigned insignia number 8854.
Post?Civil War career
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In April 1866, he was ordered to report to the Bureau of Navigation in Washington and remained there on special duty until May 1868. On March 12, 1868, he was promoted to lieutenant, and on August 27, joined the
USS
Dacotah
at
Valparaiso, Chile
. He was promoted to lieutenant-commander on December 28, 1868, and from September 1869, to March 1870, commanded the
USS
Cyane
at
Sitka, Alaska
. He then joined the
USS
Pensacola
at
San Francisco
, and was soon transferred to the
USS
Ossipee
, with which he cruised to lower California and Mexico. He received a medal from the Massachusetts humane society for saving the life of a sailor by jumping overboard from the
Ossipee
during a gale in the Pacific Ocean.
In September 1870, he was ordered to the South Pacific station and was sent home on August 22, 1871. In October 1871, he was assigned to the
Charlestown Navy Yard
. He took command of the
dispatch boat
USS
Mayflower
at Norfolk, Virginia, on November 24, 1873, and on April 10, 1874, was transferred to the
USS
Pinta
. In February 1876, he was ordered as executive officer of the
USS
New Hampshire
, fitting out at Norfolk, to be the permanent flagship at
Port Royal
. A few months later he was assigned to equipment duty at the Charlestown Navy Yard, and in 1879 was transferred to the receiving ship
USS
Wabash
. In 1881 he joined the
USS
Tennessee
, in 1883 became lighthouse inspector, and in the same year was promoted to the rank of commander. He commanded the
USS
Marion
on the Asiatic station from 1887 to 1890.
He then served at the
Portsmouth Navy Yard
from 1890 to 1893 and was on special duty from 1893 to 1894. He returned to the Boston Navy Yard from 1895 to 1896 and served as light-house inspector for the 1st District at
Portland, Maine
, from 1896 to 1897.
[2]
He was promoted to the rank of captain on July 13, 1897, and assigned to command the
cruiser
USS
Philadelphia
in the Pacific squadron. He was at
Mare Island
, California on August 31, 1897, when he was ordered to the command of the cruiser USS
Baltimore
, with which ship he went to
Honolulu
and thence to
Hong Kong
, China where the
Baltimore
became part of the Asiatic Squadron under Commodore
George Dewey
.
He commanded the
Baltimore
at the
Battle of Manila Bay
on May 1, 1898. For eminent and conspicuous conduct in this battle he was advanced seven numbers in rank, which allowed him to be promoted sooner than he would have otherwise. For his service at Manila Bay, the Baltimore city council presented him an elaborate sword.
His final assignment was as second in command of the Boston Navy Yard, under Rear Admiral
William T. Sampson
, from February 1900. He reached the mandatory retirement age of 62 on February 19, 1901, and was retired in the rank of rear admiral in recognition of his service during the Civil War.
In retirement, he served as chairman of the board of commissioners of the Massachusetts Nautical Training School (forerunner of the
Massachusetts Maritime Academy
) from 1903 to 1904.
Rear Admiral Dyer died in
Melrose, Massachusetts
, on January 27, 1910. He is buried in the Wyoming Cemetery in Melrose, Massachusetts.
[3]
Admiral Dyer was one of the very few individuals who served with
Admiral Farragut
at the Battle of Mobile Bay and also with
Commodore Dewey
at the Battle of Manila Bay.
Awards
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Admiral Dyer received the Civil War Campaign Medal, Battle of Manila Bay Commemorative Medal (the "Dewey Medal") and the Spanish Campaign Medal.
Dates of rank
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- Mate - 4 April 1862
- Acting Master - 12 January 1864
- Acting Volunteer Lieutenant - 22 April 1865
- Lieutenant - 12 March 1868
- Lieutenant Commander - 18 December 1868
- Commander - 23 April 1883
- Captain - 13 July 1897
- Rear Admiral, Retired - 19 February 1901
[4]
Namesake
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The destroyer
USS
Dyer
(DD-84)
was named in his honor.
See also
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
Civil War Naval Chronology 1861-1865
. pp. I:1?41; II:1?117; III:1?170; IV:1?152; V:1?134. 1971: Naval History Division, Navy Department.
- ^
Johnson, Rossiter; Brown, John Howard, eds. (1906).
The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans
. Vol. III. Boston: American Biographical Society
. Retrieved
March 16,
2022
– via Internet Archive.
- ^
"Admiral N. M. Dyer Dead"
.
The Boston Globe
. Melrose. January 28, 1910. p. 9
. Retrieved
March 16,
2022
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
List of officers of the Navy of the United States and of the Marine Corps, from 1775 to 1900. Hammersley. 1901. pg. 176.
External links
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