Ammen, Daniel, 1820-1898

United States naval officer and author.

From the description of Letters to S.S. McClure, 1891-1892. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 53478237

Ammen was born on May 16, 1819; was boyhood friend of Ulysses S. Grant; became a midshipman in 1836; undertook long voyages to China and Japan (1845-47), went on expedition up the Paraguay River (1853-54), sailed on Pacific cruise (1857-60); in Civil War, took part in the attack upon Port Royal in the gunboat Seneca and participated in the bombardment of Fort McAllister in the monitor Patapsco; was called from sea duty through President Grant's influence; in charge of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, and the Bureau of Navigation, 1868-78; was named Secretary of the Isthmian Canal Commission (1872-76), where he became an advocate of a Nicaraguan canal route; represented the US at the Interoceanic Canal Congress in Paris, 1879; designed the Ammen ram, a small coast-defense vessel, one of which, the Katahdin, was built and accepted for service; wrote several books, including The old navy and the new (1891); died at Ammendale, near Washington DC, on July 11, 1898.

From the description of Papers, 1836-1898. (University of California, Los Angeles). WorldCat record id: 39542209

Naval office and writer.

From the description of Autograph letter signed : Beltsville, Maryland, to F.B. Southwick, 1889 Feb. 25. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270131465

Ammen, a naval officer, served during the Civil War and visited Japan in 1845 with the first naval vessels to that country. He designed the ram katandin and invented a balsa life raft.

From the description of Naval order, January 20, 1873. (Naval War College). WorldCat record id: 741624453

American naval officer and writer.

From the description of Letter signed : "Navy Department," Washington, to Montgomery Fletcher, 1877 Nov. 17. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270132619

From the description of Autograph telegram signed : Raleigh, to Wm. H. Lyons at the Navy Yard in Charlotte, "13th" [no year]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270132519

Biography

Ammen was born on May 16, 1819; was boyhood friend of Ulysses S. Grant; became a midshipman in 1836; undertook long voyages to China and Japan (1845-47), went on expedition up the Paraguay River (1853-54), sailed on Pacific cruise (1857-60); in Civil War, took part in the attack upon Port Royal in the gunboat Seneca and participated in the bombardment of Fort McAllister in the monitor Patapsco; was called from sea duty through President Grant's influence; in charge of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, and the Bureau of Navigation, 1868-78; was named Secretary of the Isthmian Canal Commission (1872-76), where he became an advocate of a Nicaraguan canal route; represented the U.S. at the Interoceanic Canal Congress in Paris, 1879; designed the Ammen ram, a small coast-defense vessel, one of which, the Katahdin, was built and accepted for service; wrote several books, including The Old Navy and the New (1891); died at Ammendale, near Washington, D.C., on July 11, 1898.

From the guide to the Daniel Ammen Papers, 1836-1898, (University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.)