George F. Emmons

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George Foster Emmons born 23 August 1811 in Clarendon, Vt., began his distinguished career as a midshipman 1 April 1828. As a lieutenant in Peacock he participated in the Wilkes Exploring Expedition of 1838–42, which discovered the Antarctic Continent, and throughout the south seas. He was assigned command of the expedition's overland party conducting surveys and exploration from Puget Sound south to San Francisco. He served with great honor in the Mexican and Civil Wars. As commander of the Ossipee in 1867–68, he carried to Alaska the commissioners who took formal possession for the United States. He became commodore in 1868, chief of the Hydrographic Office in 1870, and rear admiral in 1872. As a Rear Admiral, he commanded the Philadelphia Navy Yard until his retirement in 1873. Rear Admiral Emmons died in Princeton, N.J., 23 July 1884.

In 1941, the destroyer USS Emmons (DD-457) was named in his honor.

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This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.