ColorizedPast
Corporal
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2016
- Location
- Hangzhou, China (Wisconsin, USA)
Captain Henry A. Walke (USN)
Henry A. Walke was born on 24 December 1809 in Princess Anne County, Virginia. He was appointed a midshipman on 1 February 1827, reporting for duty at the Gosport Navy Yard, Virginia. He cruised the Caribbean in sloop Natchez in the campaign against pirates in that area. He voyaged to the Mediterranean Sea on the Ontario between August 1829 and November 1831. Walke received his warrant as a passed midshipman on 12 July 1833, and transferred to duty ashore at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 7 March 1834. Between January 1836 and June 1839, he cruised the Pacific Squadron in the 74-gun ship of the line North Carolina, primarily along the western coast of South America protecting American commerce during a period of unrest caused by strained relations between the United States and Mexico and the war between Peru and Chile.
He was promoted to lieutenant and was assigned to the sloop of war Boston. He cruised along the Brazillian coast in May 1844 with the brig Bainbridge. He served on the Vesuvius during the Mexican-American War, blockading Laguna and supporting landings at Tuxpan and Tabasco. Between 1849 and 1851, he cruised to the Mediterranean Sea aboard the Cumberland. He served at the Naval Observatory from 1851 to 1854.
In January 1861, Walke was in command of Supply at Pensacola, Florida. On 12 January, Captain James Armstrong surrendered the navy yard to Confederate forces from Alabama and Florida. After providing temporary support for the defenders of Fort Pickens who refused to follow Armstrong's example, Walke took off some of the loyal sailors and navy yard employees and got underway for New York on the 16th. After arriving at New York, he and his ship loaded supplies and reinforcements for Fort Pickens, returning on 7 April.
He was ordered west in the autumn of 1861 for special duty in St. Louis, Missouri. He was assigned to commanded the river gunboat Tyler in the Army's Western Flotilla. He bombarded Confederate shore batteries at Hickman and Columbus in western Kentucky and traded a few shots with the Confederate gunboat CSS Jackson. Early in November, his ship supported Ulysses S. Grant's move on the Southern camp at Belmont, Missouri, escorting troop transports, bombarding shore batteries and, finally, covering the withdrawal of Grant's forces from the Battle of Belmont.
In mid-January 1862, Commander Walke assumed command of the ironclad warship Carondelet. In February 1862, Walke led Carondelet during the captures of Forts Henry and Donelson which guard the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. In April, he led her in the passing of heavily fortified Island Number Ten and in the attack on and spiking of shore batteries below New Madrid, Missouri, during the Battle of Island Number Ten. From April through June, his ship participated in operations against Plum Point Bend, Fort Pillow, and Memphis.
On 15 July, Walke almost met his match when the ironclad ram CSS Askansas made its move down the falling Yazoo River toward Vicksburg. Carondelet supported by Queen of the West and Tyler engaged the Southern ironclad. During the brisk opening exchange, Carondelet suffered heavy damage and was forced out of action in a disabled, though floating, condition. Queen of the West retreated and the Southern warship made it safely to Vicksburg.
On 4 August 1862, Walke was promoted to captain and assumed command of the ironclad ram Lafayette then under conversion from a river steamer at St. Louis. He commanded her during the dash past Vicksburg on 6 April 1863 and during the duel with shore batteries at Grand Gulf on 29 April. It briefly blockaded the mouth of the Red River in early June.
On 24 July, Captain Walke was ordered back to the East Coast to prepare the sidewheeler Fort Jackson for service. He put her in commission on 18 August 1863 at New York. On 22 September, he was transferred to the screw sloop Sacramento, which he commanded through the final two years of the Civil War, cruising the South American coast in search of Confederate commerce raiders. On 17 August 1865, he was detached from Sacramento and returned home to await orders.
On 31 July 1866, Walke was promoted to commodore. From 1 May 1868 until 30 April 1870, he commanded the naval station at Mound City, Illinois. While waiting for orders to his next assignment, Walke was promoted to rear admiral on 20 July 1870. He was placed on the retired list on 26 April 1871. However, his service to the Navy did not end as he reported for special duty under the senior admiral of the Navy, Admiral David Dixon Porter, until 1 October, when he was appointed to the United States Lighthouse Board.
He retired on 1 April 1873. He died on 8 March 1896 in Brooklyn, New York.
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