(U.S. Naval Historical Center)
James H. Ward (Class of 1823) is one of the Norwich alumni featured in our new Civil War exhibition. Ward's full dress hat and cotton vest are part of the Sullivan Museum's collection, and are currently on display in this exhibit.
Full Dress Chapeau de Bras belonging to James H. Ward (Sullivan Museum and History Center)
Ward was born September 25th, 1806, in Hartford, CT. He attended the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy, forerunner of Norwich University, along with his two brothers. Upon completing his studies, Ward was appointed a midshipman in the U.S. Navy. He served in the Mediterranean Sea and off the coast of Africa. He quickly became an authority on naval gunnery and tactics.
Ward was considered one of the best educated and most promising officers in the U.S. Navy. When the U.S. Naval Academy was founded in Annapolis, MD, in 1845, Ward became one of its first faculty members. James Ward soon became Commandant of Midshipman at Annapolis and established the naval library there. Ward wrote several textbooks which were used by Annapolis Midshipmen for years. (Ward Hall at the U.S. Naval Academy is named for him.)
In 1861, Gideon Welles asked James Ward to develop a plan to recapture Fort Sumter. However, Ward’s plan was overruled by Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott. Ward then set about developing a Potomac River Flotilla to defend Washington D.C. and disrupt the flow of weapons and insurgents between Maryland and Virginia. The Potomac Flotilla was composed of an assortment of improvised vessels. Ward’s own flagship, Thomas Freeborn, was purchased by the government and then retrofit with a novel gun-carriage that Ward designed for river operations.
In June 1861, Ward learned that Confederates were constructing an artillery position on Mathias Point on the Virginia side of the Potomac. On June 27, Ward planned to land a Union force at Mathias Point to drive away the Rebels. His gunboats shelled the position, but Ward was shot by the Confederates and died. James H. Ward was the first Union Navy officer killed in the Civil War, and both the engagement at Mathias Point and his death were heavily covered in the press.
Engagement at Mathias Point, U.S.S. Thomas Freeborn is on the left. Sketch by Alfred Waud, 1861 (Library of Congress)
Cotton Vest Belonging to James H. Ward (Sullivan Museum and History Center)
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