View source for George Henry Preble

{{Short description|American naval officer and writer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2013}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = George Henry Preble 
| image = George Henry Preble (cropped).jpg
| caption = Preble in 1879
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1816|2|25}} 
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1885|3|1|1816|2|25}}
| placeofburial_label =
| placeofburial = [[Eastern Cemetery]], [[Portland, Maine]], U.S.
| birth_place = [[Portland, Maine]], U.S.
| death_place = [[Brookline, Massachusetts]], U.S.
| placeofburial_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} -->
| nickname = 
| allegiance = {{flagu|United States|1865|size=23px}}
| branch = {{flag|United States Navy|1864|size=23px}}
| serviceyears = 1835–78 
| rank = [[File:USN Rear Admiral rank insignia.jpg|23px|border]] [[Rear admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]]
| unit = 
| commands = {{USS|Katahdin|1861|2}}<br/>{{USS|Oneida|1861|2}}<br/>{{USS|St. Louis|1828|2}}<br/>{{USS|State of Georgia|1851|2}}<br/>{{USS|Pensacola|1859|2}}<br/>South Pacific Station
| battles = [[Second Seminole War]]<br/>[[Mexican–American War]]<br/>[[American Civil War]]
| awards =  
| relations = [[Edward Preble]] (uncle)
| laterwork = Writer of historical and genealogical studies
| signature = George Henry Preble's signature (cropped).jpg
}}
[[File:Fort McHenry flag.jpg|thumb|Preble's 1873 photo of the [[Star Spangled Banner Flag|Ft. McHenry flag]] in the Boston Navy Yard]]
'''George Henry Preble''' (February 25, 1816 – March 1, 1885) was an American [[naval officer]] and writer, notable for his history of the [[flag of the United States]] and for taking the first photograph of the [[Fort McHenry]] flag that inspired the U.S. national anthem, "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]".

==Early life and education==
He was born in [[Portland, Maine]],<ref name=records/> into a seafaring family; his father was sea captain Enoch Preble,<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EWESAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA183 |chapter=Family History of Edward Preble |title=Naval Officers: Their Heredity and Development |first1=Charles Benedict |last1=Davenport |first2=Mary Theresa |last2=Scudder |date=1919 |pages=183–184 |publisher=The Plimpton Press on behalf of the Carnegie Institution of Washington |location=Norwood, Massachusetts |access-date=November 28, 2023}}</ref> whose brother was the noted Commodore [[Edward Preble]]. George entered the [[United States Navy|Navy]] as a [[midshipman]] on December 10, 1835, serving on the [[frigate]] {{USS|United States|1797|2}} until 1838.

==Career==
He was in the [[Second Seminole War|Florida war]] in 1841, and was on the [[sloop-of-war|sloop]] {{USS|St. Louis|1828|2}} for its circumnavigation of the world in 1843–1845, taking ashore the first American force to land in China. In the [[Mexican–American War]], he participated in the capture of [[Alvarado, Veracruz|Alvarado]], [[Veracruz, Veracruz|Veracruz]], and [[Tuxpan]]. He became [[Master (naval)|master]] on July 15, 1847, and lieutenant on February 5, 1848. While serving on the [[frigate]] {{USS|St. Lawrence|1848|2}}, he went with [[Matthew C. Perry]] to Japan in 1853, during which Preble surveyed various harbors in the Far East.

After a period as [[United States Lighthouse Board|lighthouse inspector]] and at [[Charlestown Navy Yard]], he served on {{USS|Narragansett|1859|2}}, 1859–1861, then took command of the steam-gunboat {{USS|Katahdin|1861|2}}, serving with [[David Farragut]] on the [[Mississippi River]], was promoted to [[commander]] on July 16, 1862, and given command of the steam-sloop {{USS|Oneida|1861|2}} blockading [[Mobile Bay]].

When the Confederate cruiser {{Ship|CSS|Florida|cruiser|6}} eluded him, Preble was dismissed from the Navy, but was reinstated<ref>{{Cite web
 |url= http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=69865
 |title=Abraham Lincoln: Message to the Senate Nominating George Henry Preble to be a Commander in the Navy
 |work=presidency.ucsb.edu
 |access-date=October 22, 2010
}}</ref> after the captain of ''Florida'' testified that superior speed alone had saved him.

Additionally, each of the officers on ''Oneida'' testified that Preble had done no wrong.<ref>{{Cite book
 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=yxk2AQAAIAAJ&q=USS+Stranger&pg=PA451
 |title=United States Congressional serial set, Issue 3332, PP 432–68.
 |year=1895
 |access-date=June 24, 2011
}}</ref> According to their accounts, ''Florida'' appeared at around 5:00 pm on September 4, 1862, bearing the ensign of a ship of the [[English Navy]]. Preble was in command of ''Oneida'' and {{USS|Winona||2}}. Because the other ships were in for repairs, the usual complement of six ships had been reduced to two. ''Winona'' had been dispatched to chase another blockade runner and was returning from that chase when ''Florida'' began her run. One of ''Oneida''{{'}}s iron boilers had been shut down for repairs, leaving only one in operation. (One of the officers stated that the Navy's choice to use cheaper iron rather than steel was the actual cause of the problem.) 
When ''Florida'' began her run, Preble moved to place''Oneida'' in front of ''Florida''. At 6:00 pm, he ordered shots fired across her bow. Believing that the ship was English, two warning shots were fired over her bow and a third shot into her forefoot (The part of a ship at which the prow joins the keel) instead of the customary single warning shot. All three shots were fired within three minutes of her being in range of ''Oneida''{{'}}s guns. When ''Florida'' did not stop, Preble ordered the fourth shot be sent into the enemy ship. This shot missed, at which time ''Florida'' lowered her false ensign, and made directly for [[Fort Morgan (Alabama)|Fort Morgan]]. It was not until this point that Preble could be sure that the ship was a Confederate vessel. With one boiler out of commission, ''Oneida'' was unable to keep pace with ''Florida'', which escaped into the bay. However, ''Oneida'' kept up fire on the ship for 29 minutes until it was safely under the protection of Fort Morgan. In addition to the speed issue, the reports state that there were some visibility issues that contributed to poor marksmanship of ''Oneida''{{'}}s gun crew.

After being reinstated, Preble commanded the sailing sloop {{USS|St. Louis|1828|2}}, only to have ''Florida'' escape him once again, off [[Madeira]].

===Writing career===
Preble was also known as a writer on naval and historical topics and as a collector of naval documents. His extensive personal library of books and documents related to the sea is located in The George Henry Preble Collection<ref>{{Cite web
 |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/library/special/preble_g_coll.htm 
 |title=George Henry Preble Collection 
 |work=history.navy.mil 
 |access-date=October 22, 2010 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206005949/http://www.history.navy.mil/library/special/preble_g_coll.htm 
 |archive-date=December 6, 2010 
 |df=mdy 
}}</ref> at the Navy Department Library. He was also active in various learned and genealogical societies of the time. In 1868, he published a genealogical history of the Preble family in North America, which included his biography and portrait, as well as that of his famous uncle, Edward<ref>{{Cite web
 |url=http://preblefamily.org/books/Commodore.pdf
 |title=Excerpt, pp. 162–180, ''A Genealogical Sketch of the First Three Generations of Prebles in America''
 |work=preblefamily.org
 |access-date=October 22, 2010
}}</ref> The book also set forth a defense of his actions that led to his dismissal from the Navy, as well as the efforts of himself and others that led to his exoneration and reinstatement. In 1872, he published his ''Our Flag: Origin and Progress of the Flag of the United States of America'', which is still cited as a source. He also took care of the original "[[Star Spangled Banner Flag|Star-Spangled Banner]]" which had flown over Fort McHenry and had the flag sewn to a piece of sailcloth in order to preserve it.

==Later life and death==
After the war, Preble commanded the steamer {{USS|State of Georgia|1851|2}}, and rescued 600 passengers from the wrecked steamer ''Golden Rule''. He was at the [[Boston Navy Yard]] from 1865 to 1868, where he was promoted to [[Captain (naval)|captain]] on March 16, 1867, then commanded the [[screw steamer]] {{USS|Pensacola|1859|2}} until 1870. He became [[Commodore (United States)|commodore]] on November 2, 1871, commanding the [[Philadelphia Navy Yard]] from 1873 to 1875. Preble became [[Rear admiral (United States)|rear admiral]] on September 30, 1876, commanding the South Pacific Station from 1877 to 1878. He retired from active duty on February 25, 1878.<ref name=records>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EPFBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA48 |chapter=Rear-Admiral George Henry Preble |title=The Records of Living Officers of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps: Compiled from Official Sources |first=Lewis Randolph |last=Hamersly |date=1878 |pages=48–51 |publisher=J. B. Lippincott & Co. |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |access-date=November 28, 2023}}</ref>

He was a member of the [[Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States]].

In 1873 Preble was elected a member of the [[American Antiquarian Society]]<ref>[http://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlistp American Antiquarian Society Members Directory]</ref>

Preble died while living at the home of his son in [[Brookline, Massachusetts]] near Boston, on March 1, 1885.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1885/03/02/102955997.pdf |title=Rear-Admiral Preble Dead |date=March 2, 1885 |page=2 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=November 28, 2023}}</ref>   He is buried near his famous uncle in the Eastern Cemetery in Portland, Maine.

==Dates of rank==
*Midshipman - 10 October 1835
*Passed Midshipman - 22 June 1841
*Master - 15 July 1847
*Lieutenant - 5 February 1848
*Commander - 16 July 1862
*Captain - 29 January 1867
*Commodore - 2 November 1871
*Rear Admiral - 30 September 1876
*Retired List - 25 February 1878

==Publications==
* ''Chase of the Rebel Steamer of War "Oreto"'' (Cambridge, 1862)
*  [http://preblefamily.org/books/Preble.pdf ''A genealogical Sketch of the First Three Generations of Prebles in America''] (Boston, 1868)
* ''First Cruise of the United States Frigate "Essex"'' (Salem, 1870)
* ''Our Flag: Origin and Progress of the Flag of the United States of America '' (Albany, 1872)
* ''History of Steam Navigation'' (Philadelphia, 1883)
* [https://archive.org/details/historyflagunit00prebgoog/page/n353 <!-- pg=298 quote=thompson. --> ''History of the Flag of the United States of America''] (1880)

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{NHC|article=The George Henry Preble Collection|url=http://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/research-guides/george-henry-preble-collection-finding-aid.html}}
'''Attribution'''
* {{Appletons'}}

==External links==
{{Commonscat|George Henry Preble}}
* [http://www.mainememory.net/bin/Detail?ln=12110 Photograph of Rear Admiral George Henry Preble from the Maine Memory Network]
* [https://www.usna.edu/Library/sca/man-findingaids/MS_381.EAD.xml George Henry Preble Papers, 1858–1869 MS 381] held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy
* {{Gutenberg author | id=38135| name=George Henry Preble}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=George Henry Preble}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Preble, George H.}}
[[Category:1816 births]]
[[Category:1885 deaths]]
[[Category:Tylden family]]
[[Category:American military personnel of the Seminole Wars]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of the Mexican–American War]]
[[Category:People of Maine in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Union Navy officers]]
[[Category:American naval historians]]
[[Category:Writers from Portland, Maine]]
[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:United States Navy admirals]]
[[Category:Vexillologists]]
[[Category:Burials at Eastern Cemetery]]