USS Sproston (DD-577)

John G. Sproston was born in Maryland and appointed to the Naval Academy in 1846. He served on the Pacific Station during the war with Mexico. During the Civil War, he served as commanding officer of Powhatan and as executive officer of Senneca. On 1 November 1861, during the battle for Port Royal, S.C., Sproston personally fired many of the 11-inch guns on board Senneca as the crew was new and untrained. Lt. Sproston was killed on 8 June 1862 while on a boat expedition to destroy a Confederate privateer in the St. John's River, Fla.

The second Sproston (DD-577) was laid down on 1 April 1942 by the Consolidated Steel Co., Orange, Tex.; launched on 31 August 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Aline G. Darst; and commissioned on 19 May 1943, Comdr. Fred R. Stickney in command.

Following shakedown off Cuba, Sproston transited the Panama Canal on 4 November 1943. After a brief stop at San Francisco, she sailed for Pearl Harbor on 15 November and, 11 days later, headed for the Aleutian Islands. She entered Kuluk Bay, Adak, on December 1st and was assigned to Destroyer Squadron (Des Ron) 49, a unit of Task Force (TF) 94.

Continue to the full service history →About 1,734 words

From the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, compiled by the Naval History and Heritage Command (Sproston II (DD-577)). A work of the United States Government, in the public domain.