Sparhawk, George, fl. 1878-1880

George Sparhawk, the author of the deck log of the USS Enterprise, served as a Cadet Midshipman during the assignment of the ship to the European Station from November 1, 1878, through May 10, 1880. He was appointed to this rank on September 24, 1874, attended the Naval Academy and graduated with the rank of Midshipman on June 4, 1880.

From the description of Journal of the U.S.S. Enterprise, 1878 November 1-1880 May 10. (University of Delaware Library). WorldCat record id: 428733359

George Sparhawk, the author of the deck log of the USS Enterprise, served as a Cadet Midshipman during the assignment of the ship to the European Station from November 1, 1878, through May 10, 1880. He was appointed to this rank on September 24, 1874, attended the Naval Academy and graduated with the rank of Midshipman on June 4, 1880. Sparhawk was assigned to the USS Portsmouth in Bar Harbor, Maine, on July 17, 1880. This was a training ship for boys, and Sparhawk served there with distinction.

The commander of the USS Enterprise during the years the log was written was Thomas O. Selfridge, who entered the naval service in 1851 as a Midshipman and retired in 1898. He was also one of the experts consulted by Ferdinand de Lesseps about the route through the Isthmus of Panama to create the Panama Canal. During his command on this vessel, Commander Selfridge spoke at the commission convened at Paris by de Lesseps for this purpose.

The USS Enterprise was a "bark-rigged screw sloop-of-war" and had a distinguished history of its own. In its life, the ship took its crew on a surveying trip up the Amazon and Madeira Rivers, cruised Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Bahamas with the Navy, traveled around the world in a hydrographic survey which expanded the knowledge of the oceans substantially, and finally served as a training ship for boys in Maryland and Massachusetts.

McCullough, David. The Path Between the Seas : the Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1977. "Officers of the Continental and U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, 1775-1900." Naval Historical Center. http://www.history.navy.mil/books/callahan/reg-usn-s.htm (accessed February 28, 2007). "Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships." Naval Historical Center. http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/e4/enterprise-v.htm (accessed February 28, 2007). Additional information derived from the collection.

From the guide to the Journal of the U.S.S., Enterprise, 1874-1882, 1878 November 1-1880 May 10, (University of Delaware Library - Special Collections)