George C. Remey

George Collier Remey was born at Burlington, Iowa on August 10, 1841, to Eliza Smith (née Howland) and William Butler Remey.[1][2] His father was captain of a steamboat in Burlington.[3] He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1859.[1][2]

Initially assigned to the sloop USS Hartford on the Asiatic Station, he returned to the United States with the outbreak of the Civil War and served in the gunboat Marblehead during the Peninsular Campaign, March–July 1862; and, afterward, in the blockade of Charleston. In April 1863, he assumed duties as Executive Officer in the screw sloop Canandaigua and during attacks on Fort Wagner briefly commanded Marblehead. From August 23 to September 7, he commanded a battery of naval guns on Morris Island, and on the night of September 7–8, led the second division of a boat attack on Fort Sumter. The division made shore, but was smashed by gunfire. Remey and the surviving members of his party were forced to surrender. Following 13 months of imprisonment at Columbia, S.C., Remey was exchanged and returned to duty, serving in the sidewheel steamship De Soto until the end of the war.

In 1866, he saw service off the west coast of South America. In 1870–71, he participated in the Tehuantepec Survey Expedition. After commanding the screw sloop Enterprise and service in the Mediterranean, he was appointed captain in 1885. Four years later he assumed command of the protected cruiser Charleston, flagship of the Pacific Squadron.

Commandant of the Portsmouth Navy Yard at the outbreak of the Spanish–American War, he was ordered to take charge of the Naval Base Key West, whence he directed the supply and repair of all naval forces in Cuban waters and organized supply lines to Army forces in Cuba. After peace returned, Rear Admiral Remey resumed duties at the Portsmouth Navy Yard. In April 1900, he assumed command of the Asiatic Station and for the next two years guided the ships of that station through the diplomatic and military chaos that was China.

Remey then returned to the United States and served for a year as Chairman of the Lighthouse Board before retiring on August 10, 1903.

Remey married Mary Josephine Mason, daughter of Iowa Chief Justice Charles Mason, on July 8, 1873.[2][4] Their son was Mason Remey.[5] He had two brothers, William Butler Remey, who served as Judge Advocate General of the Navy and Edward Wallace Remey, who also served in the navy.[4]

Rear Admiral Remey died at Washington, D.C., on February 10, 1928.[6]

In 1943, the destroyer USS Remey (DD-688) was named in his honor.

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  Remey is second from left in the front row in this photograph of 13 retired U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps flag officers taken c. 1923.
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  Remey is seated second from left in this photo of retired flag officers taken at his 85th birthday party on August 10, 1926.

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

• Media related to George C. Remey at Wikimedia Commons