William F. Keeler Letter, 1863 February.

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William F. Keeler Letter, 1863 February.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/754107592

This collection consists of a single letter written by William F. Keeler on February 13, 1863 to David Ellis informing the latter that he had been appointed the Paymaster's Steward on USS Florida. This letter is significant in that it contains the names and/or signatures of four former crewmen and officers of the US Steam Battery Monitor: John P. Bankhead, David R. Ellis, Samuel Dana Greene, and William F. Keeler. Greene noted on the letter the date that Ellis reported for duty and signed off; Bankhead simply wrote "Approved" and signed. Bankhead, who was captain of Monitor when it sank on December 31, 1862, was given command of Florida sometime in the winter of 1862/63 while that vessel was in New York for repairs. Bankhead requested that Greene and Keeler be assigned as his executive officer and paymaster, respectively, aboard the Florida, positions which both had held on Monitor. Keeler, in turn, requested that Ellis be assigned his steward, the same position that Ellis also had held on Monitor. This letter, then, documents a reunion of Monitor-men and indicates a special bond that existed among the officers and crew of the famous ironclad.

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The Mariners' Museum Library

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SNAC Resource ID: 8129062

The Mariners' Museum Library

Related Entities

There are 7 Entities related to this resource.

United States. Navy

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w68m0zj8 (corporateBody)

Built and launched at New York Navy Yard; commissioned Nov. 12, 1944; scraped in 1993. Served in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. From the description of USS Bon Homme Richard (CV/CVA-31) photograph collection 1944-1971. (The Mariners' Museum Library). WorldCat record id: 41657866 The federal government decided in 1941 to send Supply Corps personnel to Harvard Business School for training in the business of equipping the Navy. This was effected by a transfer...

Florida (Steamer : 1861)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6741p8m (corporateBody)

Bankhead, John Payne, 1821-1867.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6gt6m3h (person)

Keeler, William Frederick, 1821-1886

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6s76f75 (person)

William F. Keeler, the author of the letter, was born on June 9, 1821, the oldest child of Roswell Keeler and Mary Plant of Utica, NY. At the outbreak of war in 1861, Keeler was a senior partner of the La Salle Iron Works in La Salle, Illinois. Soon after the opening of the war, Keeler made application to his local congressman for a volunteer appointment. His request was granted on December 18, 1861 when he was made "Acting Assistant Paymaster and Clerk" and he reported for duty on ...

Monitor (Ironclad)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65471q7 (corporateBody)

Greene, Samuel Dana, 1839-1884

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6cn7zm3 (person)

Samuel Dana Greene served as USS Monitor's only executive officer, assuming command after Captain Worden was wounded in the engagement at Hampton Roads with CSS Merrimac on March 9, 1862. Between 1866 and 1884, he served in various capacities at the U.S. Naval Academy. From 1868 to1871, he saw service with the Pacific Squadron aboard USS Saranac under the command of Admiral Turner to Chile; commanded the USS Juniata of the European Station in 1875-1876 and the training ship USS Monongahela off t...

Ellis, David Roberts, 1840-1908.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6hm67v2 (person)