USS Vogelgesang (DD-862)

Carl Theodore Vogelgesang , born on 11 January 1869 at North Branch, Calif., was appointed a naval cadet (the name at that time applied to young men studying at the Naval Academy) on 6 September 1886. On 6 June 1890, he graduated from the Academy and began active duty on board Alliance as a passed naval cadet. At the completion of his requisite two years of sea duty before final graduation, he was commissioned an ensign on 14 July 1892 to date from 1 July 1892. Successive tours of duty on board Adams and Mohican occupied his time until 1895 when he was ordered to Washington, D.C., for duty in the Bureau of Navigation. Detached from that post on 29 August 1896, Ens. Vogelgesang reported to the gunboat Bancroft on 3 September. That ship remained his home through the Spanish-American War . Vogelgesang served in her during convoy escort missions and on blockade duty off Havana and near the Isle of Pines. Tours of duty in Celtic and at the New York Navy Yard in conjunction with the fitting out of Kentucky (Battleship No. 6) and Wisconsin (Battleship No. 9) followed. On 6 June 1904, he returned to the Bureau of Navigation for a two-year tour of duty as navigator on board Louisiana (Battleship No. 19), during which he attained the rank of lieutenant commander on 1 July 1905. A fifteen-month assignment from June 1906 to September 1907 was followed by his first command, Mayflower.

That tour of duty ended in March 1908 when he transferred to Wisconsin as navigator. In May 1909, Lt. Comdr. Vogelgesang reported for duty ashore once more, this time to study at the Naval War College at Newport, R.I. On 2 May 1911, near the end of his assignment at the war college, Vogelgesang was promoted to full commander. On 2 May 1912, he transferred to Wyoming (Battleship No. 32) to fit her out. When she was commissioned, he assumed duty as her executive officer. In late January 1914, Cpmdr. Vogelgesang was ordered to Des Moines (Cruiser No. 15) which he commanded until 23 October. On 21 November 1914, he reported for duty at the Naval War College and remained there until the beginning of 1917, when he became Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet. Just after assuming the duties of that office, he received his promotion to captain, to date from 29 August 1916. In January 1918, Capt. Vogelgesang relinquished his position as Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief Asiastic Fleet, and reported to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as senior officer of the American naval commission.

On 9 January 1919, Capt. Vogelgesang took charge of the fitting out of Idaho (Battleship No. 42) at Camden, N.J., and assumed command of her when that battleship was placed in commission on 24 March 1919. He commanded Idaho until June 1920 when he became the Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet. A year later, Capt. Vogelgesang became Commandant, 3d Naval District, at New York. That tour of duty lasted until November 1922 when he received orders to organize and lead the United States Naval Mission to Brazil. For the next two years, he and his staff joined their Brazilian counterparts in reorganizing the Brazilian Navy. During his two years in Brazil, he helped to strengthen the warm and enduring friendship between that nation and the United States. Early in that assignment, he was promoted to rear admiral, to date from 16 October 1922. Rear Admiral Vogelgesang completed his mission in South America in January 1925 and returned to the United States on 7 February. On 3 April, he broke his flag in New York (BB-34) and became Commander, Battleship Division 2 of the Scouting Fleet. In June 1926, he was detached from command of Battleship Division 2 and took command of the Light Cruiser Division, Scouting Fleet. That tour of duty was abbreviated when Rear Admiral Vogelgesang entered the Naval Hospital, Washington, D.C., for treatment of a kidney ailment. He died there on 16 February 1927.

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From the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, compiled by the Naval History and Heritage Command (Vogelgesang (DD-862)). A work of the United States Government, in the public domain.