Joseph Coghlan

For the Irish politician, see Joseph Coghlan (politician).

Rear Admiral Joseph Bullock Coghlan (9 December 1844 – 5 December 1908) was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War and the Spanish–American War.

Joseph Bullock Coghlan
Coghlan commanding the USS Raleigh, circa 1898
Born	(1844-12-09)9 December 1844 Frankfort, Kentucky
Died	5 December 1908(1908-12-05) (aged 63) New Rochelle, New York
Place of burial	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States of America
Service / branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1863–1907
Rank	Rear Admiral
Commands	New York Navy Yard Raleigh Department of Alaska Adams
Battles / wars	American Civil War Spanish–American War

Biography

Born at Frankfort, Kentucky, to Cornelius and Lavinia Coghlan,^[1] and raised in Illinois,^[2] Coghlan graduated from the Naval Academy in 1863. He served in the sloop-of-war Sacramento during the Civil War. As commander of the screw sloop Adams, Coghlan was military commander of the Department of Alaska from 15 September 1883 to 13 September 1884. During the Spanish–American War he led the expedition which captured the batteries at Cavite (2 May 1898) and at Isla Grande, Subic Bay (7 July) and commanded the protected cruiser Raleigh during the Battle of Manila Bay on 1 May 1898.

Coghlan was promoted to rear admiral on 11 April 1902.^[3] He commanded American forces at Colón, Panama during the separation of Panama from Colombia in 1903.^[4] Coghlan served as commandant of the New York Navy Yard from 1 October 1904 to 30 May 1907.^[2]

He was a Companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and the Military Order of Foreign Wars.

After retirement, Coghlan served as president of the Debenture Corporation on Wall Street in New York City.^[2] On 31 October 1908, he served as Grand Marshal of a parade of 90,000 businessmen in support of Republican candidates William Howard Taft and James S. Sherman.^[5] Less than two months later, Coghlan died in the Sutton Manor district of New Rochelle, New York, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.^[2][3][6][7]

Namesakes

Two ships have been named USS Coghlan in his honor.

References

1. COGHLAN, Joseph Bullock, in Who's Who in America (1901-1902 edition), via archive.org
2. "Admiral Coghlan, Naval Hero, Dead" (PDF). The New York Times. 6 December 1908. p. 6. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
3. "Admiral Coghlan Dies". The Washington Post. 6 December 1908. p. 2. ProQuest 144812990. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
4. "The Panama Question". The Argus (Australia). 9 November 1903. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
5. "90,000 Men to March in Support of Taft". The New York Times. 31 October 1908. p. 2. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
6. "Many View Coghlan's Body" (PDF). The New York Times. 7 December 1908. p. 6. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
7. "Coghlan's Body on the Way". The Washington Post. 9 December 1908. p. 1. ProQuest 144806304. Retrieved 19 June 2023.

External links

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.