William Kennison

William W. Kennison
Born	(1825-02-28)February 28, 1825 [1] Massachusetts, United States
Died	January 4, 1893(1893-01-04) (aged 67) [1]
Buried	Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts[1]
Allegiance	United States of America
Service / branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1861–1868
Rank	Lieutenant
Commands	USS Samuel Rotan
Battles / wars	American Civil War

William W. Kennison (1825–1893)[1] was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.

Biography

Born in Massachusetts, Kennison was appointed Acting Master's Mate on 28 August 1861.[2] On 26 March 1862[3] he was promoted to Volunteer Lieutenant in recognition of his gallant conduct in the action between the CSS Virginia and the USS Cumberland during the Battle of Hampton Roads on 8 March 1862, [2] in which Kennison was in charge of the forward 10-inch (250 mm) pivot gun.[4] He was subsequently appointed commander of the schooner Samuel Rotan in the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron in 1863,[5] capturing the schooner Champion off the Piankatank River, Virginia, on 2 July, and a large yawl off Horn Harbor, Virginia, with cargo including salt, on 10 October.[6] He later served aboard the steam gunboat South Carolina, involved in operations off Charleston and Savannah in 1865.[7] Following the war, he was honorably discharged on 4 May 1866, but was reappointed Acting Master on 20 August 1866. His final muster out date was 16 November 1868.[2]

Namesake

The destroyer USS Kennison (DD-138) (1918–1945) was named for him.[2]

References

Notes

1. William W. Kennison at findagrave.com
2. "USS Kennison". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
3. "US Navy Officers: 1775–1900 (K)". Naval Historical Center. 2006. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
4. Selfridge Jr., Thomas O. (1893). "The Merrimac and the Cumberland". The Cosmopolitan. XV. The Cosmopolitan Press: 176–184. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
5. Porter (1886), p. 431
6. Civil War Naval Chronology 1861–1865. Washington D.C.: Naval History Division, Navy Department. 1966.
7. Porter (1886), p. 772

Bibliography

• Porter, David D. (1886). The Naval History of the Civil War. New York: Sherman.
•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.