Edward Latimer Beach was born in Ohio on 30 June 1867. He was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy from the State of Minnesota in 1884, graduating in June 1888 as a Passed Midshipman. He served on board the steam sloop of war Richmond and received his commission as an Assistant Engineer in July 1890. During the next decade he had seagoing assignments on the cruisers Philadelphia and New York and the training ship Essex, plus engineering-related shore duty. In 1899, as the Navy combined its Line and Engineer Officer ranking systems, Beach became a Lieutenant.
During the first decade of the Twentieth Century, Beach was assigned to the monitor Nevada, the U.S. Naval Academy and the armored cruiser Montana. He was promoted to Lieutenant Commander in 1905 and Commander in 1910. While holding the latter rank, he was Engineer Officer at the Boston Navy Yard and Commanding Officer of the repair ship Vestal. He next commanded the armored cruiser Washington, attaining the rank of Captain in December 1914, and was closely involved with restoring order to strife-torn Haiti in 1915. Captain Beach took command of the armored cruiser Tennessee (soon renamed Memphis) in early 1916 and was her captain when she was wrecked by a tsunami on 29 August of that year.
Though convicted by court martial of "not having enough steam available to get under way on short notice", this charge was widely regarded as unwarranted and Captain Beach continued to receive important assignments. He was Commandant of the Naval Torpedo Station at Newport, Rhode Island, in 1917 and 1918, commanded the battleship New York during the final months of World War I, and ended his active career as Commandant of the Mare Island Navy Yard, California. Retired in September 1921, Captain Edward L. Beach died at Oakland, California, on 20 December 1943.
Note: The subject of this page should not be confused with his son, who shared his name and ultimate rank, and was a noted submarine officer as well as a prolific author of fictional and historical books about the Navy.
This page features all the views we have concerning Captain Edward L. Beach, USN, (1867-1943).
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the "Online Library's" digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: NH 99984-L Passed Assistant Engineer Edward L. Beach, USN Halftone reproduction of a photographic portrait, cropped from a group of vignette portraits of the officers of USS Baltimore (Cruiser # 3) at the time of the 1 May 1898 Battle of Manila Bay. See Photo # NH 99984 for the entire original image. Copied from the book "The Battle of Manila Bay ... An Epic Poem by Pay Director William W. Galt, U.S.N.", published in 1900. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 175KB; 675 x 675 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 53253-A Captain Edward L. Beach, USN, Commandant, Mare Island Navy Yard, California Photographed on board USS Intrepid, Receiving Ship at Mare Island, circa spring 1919. This view is cropped from Photo # NH 53253. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 47KB; 535 x 765 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 99984 USS Baltimore (Cruiser # 3) Fine-screen halftone reproduction of a pre-Spanish-American War photograph of the ship, with vignette portraits of her officers at the time of the 1 May 1898 Battle of Manila Bay. The officers' names and ranks are listed below the image. Copied from the book "The Battle of Manila Bay ... An Epic Poem by Pay Director William W. Galt, U.S.N.", published in 1900. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 134KB; 740 x 565 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 83791 Rear Admiral William B. Caperton, USN, Commander, Cruiser Squadron, Atlantic Fleet (seated, 2nd from right) With other officers and local civilians at "The Club" at Cap Haitien, Haiti, circa 1915. Others present include (seated, from left to right): Captain Edward L. Beach, USN, Commanding Officer, USS Washington; U.S. Consul Livingston; Lieutenant Reuben B. Coffey, USN; and Lieutenant John N. Ferguson, USN. Standing are (left to right): Two Club employees; Mr. Willard, Club Manager; Captain Giles Bishop, Jr., USMC; and Captain George van Orden, USMC. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation. Collection of Admiral William B. Caperton. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 94KB; 740 x 445 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 53306 Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels (left center) Is welcomed on board USS New York (Battleship # 34) by the ship's Commanding Officer, Captain Edward L. Beach, during a visit to the ship by the Navy Department's Consulting Board in 1918. Behind Secretary Daniels is the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral William S. Benson. Just behind Captain Beach is Vice Admiral DeWitt Coffman. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 91KB; 740 x 535 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 52991 Presentation of a ceremonial cup to the British Grand Fleet by the American (Sixth) Battleship Squadron, 11 October 1918 Those present are, from left to right: Captain Victor Blue, USN, of USS Texas; Vice Admiral Browning, Royal Navy; Vice Admiral de Robeck, Royal Navy; Commodore Brand, Royal Navy; Rear Admiral Hugh Rodman, USN; Two unidentified British Midshipmen; Admiral Sir David Beatty, Royal Navy; Captain Edward L. Beach, USN, of USS New York; Rear Admiral Thomas Washington, USN; Captain Chatfield, Royal Navy; Rear Admiral Brock, Royal Navy; and Admiral Madden, Royal Navy. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 66KB; 740 x 475 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 53253 Officers on board USS Intrepid at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, circa spring 1919 Those present are, from left to right: Four unidentified medical officers; Rear Admiral Albert Ross, Inspector of Training Camps and Stations; Commander John M. Poole, of the Mare Island Navy Yard; Rear Admiral Joseph L. Jayne, Commandant, 12th Naval District; Captain Edward L. Beach, Commandant, Mare Island Navy Yard; Captain Marcus L. Miller (Retired), Commanding Officer of USS Intrepid, Receiving Ship at Mare Island; and an unidentified Medical Corps Commander. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 96KB; 740 x 545 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 53364 Rear Admiral Joseph L. Jayne, USN, Commandant, 12th Naval District Salutes as he arrives at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 11 April 1919. Captain Marcus L. Miller, USN (Retired), Commanding Officer of the Navy Yard's Receiving Ship, USS Intrepid, is second from left. Captain John M. Ellicott, USN (Retired), Mare Island's Captain of the Yard, is in the right center foreground. Captain Edward L. Beach, USN, Commandant, Mare Island Navy Yard, is at right. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 71KB; 740 x 570 pixels |
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If you want higher resolution reproductions than the "Online Library's" digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 28 February 2005