Adolphus Greely

Adolphus Washington Greely was born on 27 March 1844 in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and graduated from the local high school in 1860. He enlisted in the 19th Massachusetts Infantry on 26 July 1861, rising from private to first sergeant. Wounds at Glendale and Antietam in 1862 were later recognized by the Purple Heart with one oak leaf cluster. He became an officer in the regiment later designated the 81st United States Colored Infantry, serving through the war and the postwar occupation of Louisiana. [1]

Greely joined the Regular Army in 1867 and developed expertise in telegraphy, meteorology and military communications. He married Henrietta Nesmith in June 1878. Three years later he led the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition to the Canadian Arctic. The expedition collected valuable scientific observations, but failed resupply attempts forced a desperate retreat. Seven men were alive when rescuers reached them in June 1884; one died soon afterward. Henrietta had pressed the government to renew its rescue efforts. [1, 2]

Appointed Chief Signal Officer with the rank of brigadier general in 1887, Greely oversaw the expansion of Army communications, including systems in Alaska and overseas. He became a major general in February 1906 and directed Army relief work following the San Francisco earthquake that April. He retired on 27 March 1908. His writing on exploration and weather continued to preserve the scientific record of his career. [1, 2]

His civilian honours included the Royal Geographical Society’s Founder’s Medal in 1886 and the American Geographical Society’s Charles P. Daly Medal, which that society dates to 1922. [2, 4]

On his ninety-first birthday, 27 March 1935, Secretary of War George Dern presented Greely with the Medal of Honor at his Georgetown home. Citation summary: the award recognized his lifetime of public service, from his enlistment in 1861 through promotion to major general and retirement. Greely died in Washington, D.C., on 20 October 1935 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. [3]

Sources [1] House Report 210, 1935, including the Adjutant General’s service statement: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/SERIALSET-09890_00_00-139-0210-0000/pdf/SERIALSET-09890_00_00-139-0210-0000.pdf [2] Army Heritage Center Foundation, Fire & Ice: https://www.armyheritage.org/soldier-stories/fire-ice-adolphus-w-greely/ [3] Congressional Medal of Honor Society: https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/adolphus-w-greely [4] American Geographical Society, medal and fellowship record: https://www.americangeo.org/honorary-fellows-1