Robley Dunglison Evans
Rear Admiral Robley Dunglison Evans (18 August, 1846 – 3 January, 1912) served in the United States Navy. His pugnacious qualities earned him the nickname "Fighting Bob".
Life & Career
Robley Evans was born 18 August, 1846 in Floyd County, Virginia. He entered the U.S. Navy on 20 September, 1860.[1] Despite Virginia's secession in 1861, Evans remained loyal to the Union, and as a member of the Naval Academy class of 1864, he was ordered to active duty in September 1863.
In the attacks on Fort Fisher, North Carolina, Evans exhibited great gallantry under fire on 15 January 1865, when already wounded, he led his landing party through heavy fire to charge the Confederate defenses.
In 1891 and 1892, commanding the gunboat Yorktown on the Pacific Station, he won great acclaim for his firm and skillful handling of a tense situation with Chile. As a Captain, Evans was rebuked in The New York Times by the Rev. Dr. Leonard W. Bacon, in part due to his reputation for profanity.[2]
During the Spanish-American War, Evans commanded the battleship Iowa in the Battle of Santiago.
Evans was appointed as Commander-in-Chief, Asiatic Fleet on 8 April, 1902.[3] Subsequently, he commanded the Great White Fleet in its passage in 1907 and 1908 from the Atlantic through the Straits of Magellan to the Pacific, where he was relieved of command because of ill health.
Evans died in Washington, D.C., on 3 January, 1912. Two destroyers were named Evans in his honor.
See Also
Bibliography
- Evans, Rear Admiral Robley D. (1901). A Sailor's Log: Recollections of Forty Years of Naval Life. New York and London: D. Appleton and Company.
Service Records
| Naval Appointments | ||
| Preceded by French E. Chadwick |
Captain of U.S.S. Yorktown before 8 Oct, 1891 |
Succeeded by Charles S. Sperry |
| Preceded by John W. Philip |
Captain of U.S.S. New York 23 Aug, 1894[4] |
Succeeded by French E. Chadwick |
| Preceded by New Command |
Captain of U.S.S. Indiana 23 Aug, 1894[5] |
Succeeded by Henry C. Taylor |
| Preceded by William T. Sampson |
Captain of U.S.S. Iowa 30 Mar, 1898[6] – 24 Sep, 1898[7] |
Succeeded by Silas W. Terry |
| Preceded by Frederick Rodgers as CinC, Asiatic Squadron |
Commander-in-Chief, Asiatic Fleet 29 Oct, 1902 |
Succeeded by Philip H. Cooper |
| Preceded by Robley D. Evans Commanding North Atlantic Fleet |
Commanding Atlantic Fleet Mar, 1905[8] – May, 1908[9] |
Succeeded by Charles S. Sperry |
| Preceded by Albert S. Barker |
Commanding North Atlantic Fleet Mar, 1905 – 1 Jan, 1906 |
Succeeded by Robley D. Evans Commanding Atlantic Fleet |
Footnotes
