Andrew Hull Foote | |
|---|---|
 Admiral Foote | |
| Born | (1806-09-12)September 12, 1806 New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | June 26, 1863(1863-06-26) (aged 56) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Place of burial | Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Navy (Union Navy) |
| Years of service | 1822–1863 |
| Rank |  Rear admiral |
| Commands | USS Perry USS Portsmouth Western Gunboat Flotilla |
| Battles / wars | Suppression of the Slave Trade |
| Awards | Thanks of Congress |
| Signature | .png) |
Andrew Hull Foote (September 12, 1806 – June 26, 1863) was an American naval officer who was noted for his service in theAmerican Civil War and also for his contributions to several naval reforms in the years prior to the war. When the war came, he was appointed to command of the Western Gunboat Flotilla, predecessor of theMississippi River Squadron. In that position, he led the gunboats in theBattle of Fort Henry. For his services with the Western Gunboat Flotilla, Foote was among the first naval officers to be promoted to the then-new rank ofrear admiral.[a]
Foote was born atNew Haven, Connecticut, the son ofSenatorSamuel A. Foot (or Foote) and Eudocia Hull.[1] As a child Foote was not known as a good student, but showed a keen interest in one day going to sea.[2] His father compromised and had him entered at theUnited States Military Academy atWest Point, New York.[3] Six months later in 1822, he left West Point and accepted an appointment as amidshipman in theUnited States Navy.[3]
Between 1822 and 1843, Foote saw service in theCaribbean, Pacific, andMediterranean, African Coast and at thePhiladelphia Navy Yard. He first began as a midshipman onUSS Grampus. In 1830, he was commissioned a lieutenant, and was stationed in the Mediterranean.[2] In 1837, Foote circumnavigated the globe inUSS John Adams. After serving on sea, Foote was put in charge of thePhiladelphia Naval Asylum. After serving on land he went back to sea, and organized a Temperance Society aboardUSS Cumberland.[2] This group developed into a movement that resulted in ending the policy of supplyinggrog to U.S. Naval personnel.[4]
From 1849 to 1851, Foote commandedUSS Perry, cruising the waters off the African coast. He was active in suppressing theslave trade there.[2] This experience persuaded him to support the cause ofabolition, and in 1854, he published a 390-page book,Africa and the American Flag. In this book, Admiral Foote described the geography of the African continent, the customs of many of the African people, the establishment of American colonies in Africa, the slave-trade and its evils and the need to protect American citizens and commerce abroad. He also became a frequent speaker on the Abolitionist circuit.[2]
Foote was promoted to Commander in 1856, and took command ofUSS Portsmouth in theEast India Squadron. With this command, Foote was assigned the mission of observing British operations againstCanton, China, during theSecond Opium War. This eventually resulted in his being attacked from Chinese shore batteries.[2] Foote led a landing party thatseized the barrier forts along thePearl River in reprisal for the attack.[5] This led to a short occupation by the U.S. Navy of Chinese territory.[2]
Foote returned to the Continental United States in 1858, and took command of theBrooklyn Navy Yard, inBrooklyn, New York, a post he held until the outbreak of the hostilities of the Civil War.[2]
As the Civil War began, Foote wrote a letter (see image) to his three youngest children on August 31, 1861. In it he expresses his love for them and the fact that he is going to war and may be killed. He closes with the phrase "God grant that you all may at last rest in heaven my dear children, is the prayer of your affectionate father." 1862 was a time of great personal loss for Foote. Seven months after this letter was written, his son William Leffingwell died March 14, 1862, at the age of 13. On October 14 of that year, his daughter Emily Frederica died at age 10. Six days later, his youngest daughter Maria Eudocia died at age 7. Foote and his wife Caroline Augusta Street Foote had lost three children in 7 months. When Foote died in 1863, he left behind two sons, Augustus Russell Street (age 16) and John Samuel, and one adult daughter, Josephine, from his first marriage to Caroline Flagg. Caroline Augusta Street died two months after Foote on August 27, 1863. Youngest son John Samuel, nicknamed "Admiral Byng" by Foote, was orphaned at age four.
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When theAmerican Civil War began in 1861, Foote was in command of theNew York Navy Yard. On June 29, 1861, Foote was promoted tocaptain. From 1861 to 1862, Foote commanded theMississippi River Squadron with distinction, organizing and leading the gunboat flotilla in many of the early battles of theWestern Theater of the American Civil War. Even though Foote was an officer in the United States Navy, the Western Flotilla was under the jurisdiction of the Union Army. In early February 1862, now holding the rank offlag officer (equivalent to the moderncommodore), he cooperated with GeneralUlysses S. Grant againstFort Henry on theTennessee River. Despite heavy damage to one of the gunboats, Foote was able to quickly subdue the fort. When the Confederate garrison commander, Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman, sent out a flag of truce asking the terms of surrender, Foote sent back a blunt reply, “No sir, your surrender will be unconditional!”[6]
Several days later Grant, with three divisions, and Foote with his fleet of ironclads, along with the assistance of CaptainSeth Ledyard Phelps and his fleet oftimberclad warships, moved againstFort Donelson on theCumberland River. Hoping for a repeat of the success at Fort Henry, General Grant urged Foote to attack the fort's river batteries. Fort Donelson's guns, however, were better-placed than Fort Henry's were. Three of Foote's gunboats were damaged including theflagship,USSSt. Louis. Foote himself received a wound in his foot.[7] For his service at Forts Henry and Donelson, Foote received theThanks of Congress. After repairing his flotilla, Foote joined with GeneralJohn Pope in a campaign againstIsland Number Ten on theMississippi River. In July 1862 Foote received a second Thanks of Congress, this time for the battles of Fort Henry, Fort Donelson and Island Number Ten.[8]
Later in 1862, Foote was promoted torear admiral.[2] In 1863, on his way to take command of theSouth Atlantic Blockading Squadron, he suddenly died, struck down byBright's disease. His untimely death in New York shocked the nation.[9] He was interred atGrove Street Cemetery inNew Haven.[10]
Three ships were namedUSSFoote for him. Civil WarFort Foote on the Potomac,[11] now a National Park, was named for him on September 17, 1863.[12]
Foote Street NE (and Foote Place) in Washington, DC is named for him, part of a series of streets named for Civil War generals.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
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