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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
Online Library of Selected Images:
-- PEOPLE -- UNITED STATES --
Brigadier General Edward F. Beale, U.S. Volunteers, (1822-1893).
Formerly Lieutenant, USN
Edward Fitzgerald Beale was born in Washington, D.C., on 4
February 1822. He entered U.S. Navy service in December 1836 and
received the rank of Passed Midshipman in July 1842. When war
began with Mexico in 1846, Beale was serving in the frigate Congress in the
eastern Pacific. After landing at San Diego, California, he distinguished
himself in service ashore, taking part in battle with Mexican
forces, carrying messages through enemy-held territory and crossing
the continent to keep the Government informed of events in the
far west. Promoted to Lieutenant in 1850, Beale resigned from
the Navy in March 1852.
He then became Superintendent of Indian Affairs in California
and Nevada. During a conflict with Native Americans in California,
Beale was appointed a Brigadier General and held that rank during
the Civil War. During much of the 1850s and 1860s he was active
in survey work in the western states, later becoming a rancher
in California. He was U.S. Ambassador to Austria-Hungary in 1876-1877,
then returned to his ranch. Edward F. Beale died in Washington,
D.C., on 22 April 1893.
The Navy has named two destroyers in honor of Edward F. Beale:
USS Beale (Destroyer
# 40, later DD-40), 1912-1934; and USS Beale
(DD-471, later DDE-471), 1942-1969.
This page features all the views we have concerning Edward
F. Beale.
Click on the small photograph to prompt
a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: NH 56838
Passed Midshipman Edward Fitzgerald Beale, USN
Who destinguished himself carrying dispatches in California in
December 1846, during the Mexican War.
Engraved portrait published in John C. Fremont: "Memoirs
of My Life", Volume I, page 580.
Note Midshipman Beale's Mexican style jacket, wide-brimmed hat
and the brace of pistols worn on his belt.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 108KB; 540 x 765 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 56839
Edward Fitzgerald Beale,
Brigadier General, U.S. Volunteers, and former Lieutenant, U.S.
Navy
Engraved portrait published in Bonsel: "Edward Fitzgerald
Beale".
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 123KB; 520 x 765 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 56840
Lieutenant Edward Fitzgerald Beale, U.S. Navy
Sword, scabbard and epaulettes presented to Lieutenant Beale
by his fellow officers, circa 1847, and inscribed: "Presented
by the Officers of the United States Navy on the station at San
Diego, California, to Lieutenant Edward F. Beale, of the United
States Navy, for his gallant conduct in the charge upon the Mexican
forces at San Pasqual and San Bernadino, and his carrying intelligence
to San Diego of the position of General Kearny through the enemy's
lines at great personal risk on the 6th and 7th of December 1846."
Photographed by PH1 B.L. Mason, USN, 3 September 1964.
Courtesy of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Decatur
House Collection.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the
Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 81KB; 740 x 615 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 56841
Lieutenant Edward Fitzgerald Beale, U.S. Navy
Sea chest which belonged to Lieutenant Beale, who served in the
Navy from 1836 to 1852.
Photographed by PH1 B.L. Mason, USN, 3 September 1964.
Courtesy of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Decatur
House Collection.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the
Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 89KB; 740 x 610 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 64595
Benicia Arsenal, California
Camel barns at the Benicia Arsenal, photographed in September
1967 by Aero Photographers of Sausalito, California.
In the 1850s the U.S. Government brought dromedaries to the West
for experimentation in logistics. Lieutenant Edward F. Beale,
USN, used them in survey work. In November 1863 thirty-four of
the animals were moved from southern California to the Naval
Arsenal at Benicia, where they were sold at auction on 26 February
1864.
This photograph shows the buildings in which they were kept.
Whether the buildings have been bricked over, or restored, is
unknown.
Courtesy of Benicia Industrial Park, Benicia, California.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 162KB; 740 x 610 pixels |
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Page made 2 September 2006