Robley Evans
| Robley Dunglison Evans | |
|---|---|
Robley Dunglison Evans
|
|
| Nickname(s) | "Fighting Bob" Evans |
| Born |
18 August 1846 Floyd County, Virginia |
| Died | 3 January 1912 (aged 65) Washington, D.C. |
| Allegiance | United States of America Union |
| Service/branch |
United States Navy Union Navy |
| Years of service | 1864 – circa 1908 |
| Rank |
 Rear Admiral
|
| Unit | commanded the United States Navy's "Great White Fleet" on its world-wide cruise of 1907–1908 |
| Battles/wars |
American Civil War Second Battle of Fort Fisher Spanish–American War Battle of Santiago de Cuba |
Robley Dunglison Evans (18 August 1846 – 3 January 1912), born in Floyd County, Virginia, served in the United States Navy from the American Civil War to the Spanish–American War, attaining the rank of rear admiral. In 1907–1908, he commanded the Great White Fleet on its worldwide cruise from the Atlantic Ocean through the Straits of Magellan to the Pacific Ocean.
In 1859, Utah Territory delegate William Henry Hooper offered Evans the territory's nomination to the United States Naval Academy. After establishing residency in Utah, he entered the academy in 1860. Evans was ordered to active duty in September 1863 and graduated from the academy in the class of 1864.
In the attacks on Fort Fisher, North Carolina, during the Second Battle of Fort Fisher, he exhibited great gallantry under fire on 15 January 1865. He led his landing party of United States Marines through heavy fire to charge the Confederate defenses. Evans continued to fight even after his fourth wound, drawing his pistol and threatening to kill any man who attempted to amputate his leg in surgery when he was evacuated.
Evans held numerous important sea commands during the 1890s. In 1891 and 1892, commanding Yorktown on the Pacific Squadron, he won great acclaim for his firm and skillful handling of a tense situation with Chile, becoming known as "Fighting Bob" Evans. Though he evidently took pride in his nickname, his reputation for profanity also led to his being chastised by Leonard Woolsey Bacon, pastor of the Congregational Church in Litchfield, Connecticut, in a letter to The New York Times.
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Wikipedia