Benjamin F. Sands
Encyclopedia
Rear Admiral
Benjamin F. Sands (February 11, 1811 – June 30, 1883) was an officer in the United States Navy
during the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War
.
in the United States Navy
on April 1, 1828. By 1834, he had served on the Brazil Station and in the West Indies and Mediterranean squadrons. From 1834 to 1841, he was engaged in coastal survey work and during the mid-40's was attached to the Bureau (Depot) of Charts and Instruments at the Naval Observatory
.
During hostilities between the United States and Mexico
, he was attached to the Home Squadron
and served off Tabasco
and Tuxpan
on the brig USS Washington
. In the 1850s, he commanded the steamer Walker in the Gulf of Mexico
on coast survey duty and invented a deep sea sounding apparatus and other hydrographic
instruments. In 1861, Sands served on west coast survey duty as commander of the Active. Commissioned captain in 1862, he joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron as commander of Dacotah
in 1863.
In February of that year, Sands participated in the engagement at Fort Caswell. He remained off the Carolinas for another two years, commanding the steamer Fort Jackson
during the attacks on Fort Fisher
. In February 1865, he was transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron and assigned to duty off the Texas
coast. Through the end of the American Civil War
, he commanded a division off that coast; and, on June 2, 1865, took formal possession of Galveston, Texas
for the Union.
After the war, Sands, appointed Commodore in July 1866, served at the Boston Navy Yard
until returning to Washington, D.C.
as Superintendent of the Naval Observatory. Commissioned Rear Admiral on April 27, 1871, he remained at the Observatory until he retired in 1874.
. Their son, James H. Sands
, also achieved the rank of Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy and served as Superintendent of the Naval Academy, while another son, George Henry Sands (1855–1920), was a colonel in the US Army and served in Cuba during the Spanish American War. Two other sons, William F. and Francis P. B., also served in the Navy. A daughter, Marion, married Rear Admiral Samuel Rhoads Franklin. Sands' eldest brother, Lewis Hook Sands (b.1805), was a colonel in the US Army and served as an Indian agent in the Midwest. A nephew, James Hook Sands, was a captain in the Indiana Cavalry during the Civil War who later served in the regular army during the Indian Wars
. A grandson, Alfred Lawrence Pearson Sands (1882–1960), the son of George Henry, was a colonel in the Army while another grandson, William Franklin Sands
(1874–1946), was a U.S. diplomat who served in Korea, Japan, Central America and Russia.
Admiral Sands' uncle, Maj. Richard Martin Sands (1791–1836), died during the Seminole War, and his cousin, Robert Martin Sands (1825–1903), was a lieutenant colonel in the 3rd Alabama Reg., Army of Northern Virginia
, CSA.
for him and his son, James H. Sands
:
Rear admiral (United States)
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...
Benjamin F. Sands (February 11, 1811 – June 30, 1883) was an officer in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
U.S. Navy career
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Sands was appointed MidshipmanMidshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
on April 1, 1828. By 1834, he had served on the Brazil Station and in the West Indies and Mediterranean squadrons. From 1834 to 1841, he was engaged in coastal survey work and during the mid-40's was attached to the Bureau (Depot) of Charts and Instruments at the Naval Observatory
United States Naval Observatory
The United States Naval Observatory is one of the oldest scientific agencies in the United States, with a primary mission to produce Positioning, Navigation, and Timing for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Department of Defense...
.
During hostilities between the United States and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, he was attached to the Home Squadron
Home Squadron
The Home Squadron was part of the United States Navy in the mid-19th century. Organized as early as 1838, ships were assigned to protect coastal commerce, aid ships in distress, suppress piracy and the slave trade, make coastal surveys, and train ships to relieve others on distant stations...
and served off Tabasco
Tabasco
Tabasco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa....
and Tuxpan
Tuxpan
Tuxpan is both a municipality and city located in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The population of the city was 78,523 and of the municipality was 134,394 inhabitants, according to the INEGI census of 2005, residing in a total area of 1,051.89 km²...
on the brig USS Washington
USS Washington (1837)
The sixth USS Washington was a revenue cutter in the United States Navy. She discovered Amistad after the slaves onboard had seized control of that schooner in an 1839 mutiny. The sixth USS Washington was a revenue cutter in the United States Navy. She discovered Amistad after the slaves onboard...
. In the 1850s, he commanded the steamer Walker in the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
on coast survey duty and invented a deep sea sounding apparatus and other hydrographic
Hydrography
Hydrography is the measurement of the depths, the tides and currents of a body of water and establishment of the sea, river or lake bed topography and morphology. Normally and historically for the purpose of charting a body of water for the safe navigation of shipping...
instruments. In 1861, Sands served on west coast survey duty as commander of the Active. Commissioned captain in 1862, he joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron as commander of Dacotah
USS Dacotah (1859)
USS Dacotah — the only United States Navy ship to be so named — was a large steam sloop that served the United States Navy in the Atlantic Ocean as well as in Pacific Ocean...
in 1863.
In February of that year, Sands participated in the engagement at Fort Caswell. He remained off the Carolinas for another two years, commanding the steamer Fort Jackson
USS Fort Jackson (1862)
USS Fort Jackson was a wooden side wheel steamer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.Fort Jackson was in New York in 1862, formerly named Kentucky and Union, was purchased by Rear Admiral Hiram Paulding for the Navy from C. W. Vanderbilt on 20 July 1863 and placed in commission...
during the attacks on Fort Fisher
Fort Fisher
Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865....
. In February 1865, he was transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron and assigned to duty off the Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
coast. Through the end of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, he commanded a division off that coast; and, on June 2, 1865, took formal possession of Galveston, Texas
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
for the Union.
After the war, Sands, appointed Commodore in July 1866, served at the Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
until returning to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
as Superintendent of the Naval Observatory. Commissioned Rear Admiral on April 27, 1871, he remained at the Observatory until he retired in 1874.
Family
Rear Admiral Sands belonged to a prominent military family. His uncle, Lt. Col. James Harvey Hook (1791–1841), served in War of 1812 and was later Assistant Commissary General of the U.S. Army. In 1836, Sands married Henrietta French (1817–1893), the brother of General William H. FrenchWilliam H. French
William Henry French was a career United States Army officer and a Union Army General in the American Civil War. He rose to temporarily command a corps within the Army of the Potomac, but was relieved of active field duty following poor performance during the Mine Run Campaign in late 1863.-Early...
. Their son, James H. Sands
James H. Sands
Rear Admiral James Hoban Sands was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War and eventually became Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy.-Naval career:...
, also achieved the rank of Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy and served as Superintendent of the Naval Academy, while another son, George Henry Sands (1855–1920), was a colonel in the US Army and served in Cuba during the Spanish American War. Two other sons, William F. and Francis P. B., also served in the Navy. A daughter, Marion, married Rear Admiral Samuel Rhoads Franklin. Sands' eldest brother, Lewis Hook Sands (b.1805), was a colonel in the US Army and served as an Indian agent in the Midwest. A nephew, James Hook Sands, was a captain in the Indiana Cavalry during the Civil War who later served in the regular army during the Indian Wars
Indian Wars
American Indian Wars is the name used in the United States to describe a series of conflicts between American settlers or the federal government and the native peoples of North America before and after the American Revolutionary War. The wars resulted from the arrival of European colonizers who...
. A grandson, Alfred Lawrence Pearson Sands (1882–1960), the son of George Henry, was a colonel in the Army while another grandson, William Franklin Sands
William Franklin Sands
William Franklin Sands was a United States diplomat most known for his service in Korea on the eve of Japan's colonization of that country.-Biography:...
(1874–1946), was a U.S. diplomat who served in Korea, Japan, Central America and Russia.
Admiral Sands' uncle, Maj. Richard Martin Sands (1791–1836), died during the Seminole War, and his cousin, Robert Martin Sands (1825–1903), was a lieutenant colonel in the 3rd Alabama Reg., Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
, CSA.
Honored in ship naming
Two ships were named USS SandsUSS Sands
Two ships in the United States Navy have been named USS Sands for Benjamin F. Sands and his son, James H. Sands.* The first Sands was a Clemson-class destroyer, commissioned in 1920 and decommissioned in 1945....
for him and his son, James H. Sands
James H. Sands
Rear Admiral James Hoban Sands was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War and eventually became Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy.-Naval career:...
:
- Sands (DD-243/APD-13)USS Sands (DD-243)The first USS Sands was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was the first ship named for Benjamin F. Sands and his son, James H...
, a Clemson-classClemson class destroyerThe Clemson class was a series of 156 destroyers which served with the United States Navy from after World War I through World War II.The Clemson-class ships were commissioned by the United States Navy from 1919 to 1922, built by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, New York Shipbuilding...
destroyerDestroyerIn naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
, commissioned in 1920
- Sands (T-AGOR-6), an oceanographic research ship, placed in service in 1965