Adolphus Washington Greely

Chief Signal Officer, U.S. Army Adolphus Washington Greely
Adolphus Greely in 1887
Born	(1844-03-27)March 27, 1844 Newburyport, Massachusetts
Died	October 20, 1935(1935-10-20) (aged 91) Washington, D.C.
Place of burial	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1861 – 1908
Rank	Major General
Commands held	Chief Signal Officer
Awards	Medal of Honor Charles P. Daly Medal (1922)
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Adolphus Washington Greely (March 27, 1844 – October 20, 1935), was an American Polar explorer, a United States Army officer and a recipient of the Medal of Honor.

Greely was born on 27 March 1844, in Newburyport, Massachusetts.

He began his long and distinguished military career shortly after the outbreak of the American Civil War. On 26 July 1861 he enlisted in the 19th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment at the age of 17, after having been rejected twice before. Over the next two years he worked his way up the enlisted ranks to 1st sergeant.

On 18 March 1863 he was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the 81st United States Colored Infantry. He was promoted to 1st lieutenant on 26 April 1864 and to captain on 4 April 1865. After the war he received a brevet (honorary promotion) to major to rank from 13 March 1865 for "faithful and meritorious service during the war". He was mustered out of the Volunteer Army on 22 March 1867.

He was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the 36th Infantry Regiment of the Regular Army on 7 March 1867 and was reassigned to the 5th Cavalry Regiment on 14 July 1869 after the 36th Infantry was disbanded. He was promoted to 1st lieutenant on 27 May 1873.

In 1881, First Lieutenant Greely was given command of the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition on the ship Proteus. Promoted by Henry W. Howgate, its purpose was to establish one of a chain of meteorological-observation stations as part of the First International Polar Year. The expedition also was commissioned by the US government to collect astronomical and polar magnetic data, which was carried out by the astronomer Edward Israel, who was part of Greely's crew. Another goal of the expedition was to search for any clues of the USS Jeannette, lost in the Arctic two years earlier.