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Photo # NH 65444: LCdr. George W. DeLong, USN.

Online Library of Selected Images:
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Lieutenant Commander George W. DeLong, USN, (1844-1881)

George Washington DeLong was born in New York City on 22 August 1844. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1865 and was assigned to the steam sloop Canandaigua. Subsequently promoted to the ranks of Ensign, Master and Lieutenant, he was an officer in USS Juniata during her 1873 voyage to Greenland in search of the missing exploration ship Polaris. Lieutenant DeLong later served as Executive Officer of the training ship Saint Mary's. His experiences on the Juniata convinced Lieutenant DeLong of the value of Arctic exploration, and he joined New York newspaper publisher James Gordon Bennett in planning an attempt to reach the North Pole in a ship specially strengthened to drift in the Arctic icepack.

Bennett purchased the British steam bark Pandora in 1878, renamed her Jeannette and turned her over to the U.S. Navy under the terms of a Congressional authorization to operate the ship, with Bennett bearing the costs. DeLong, who was to command the planned expedition, brought Jeannette from Europe to San Francisco, California, where she was refitted for ice navigation. In July 1879 he sailed for the Bering Strait, accompanied a crew of Navy officers and enlisted men plus a few civilian specialists. Jeannette entered the ice in early September and remained in its grip until June 1881, when she was broken open by its force and sank.

Lieutenant Commander DeLong then led his men on a heroic journey, of nearly three months duration, across the rugged ice to open water north of Siberia. There they launched the three boats that they had dragged along during their travels over the ice. One of the boats disappeared in a storm a few days later, its eight occupants becoming the expedition's first fatalities. The other two craft, including that commanded by DeLong, reached the Lena River Delta, where they landed at widely separated points. DeLong and his thirteen companions, suffering badly from frostbite, exhaustion and hunger, struggled southwards in an effort to find inhabitants. However, with exception of two men sent ahead to seek rescue, all died during October or the first few days of November 1881. The bodies of Lieutenant Commander George W. DeLong and nine of his men were discovered in March 1882 and, in early 1884, brought back to the United States for reburial.

The U.S. Navy has named a torpedo boat and a destroyer in honor of George W. DeLong, including: USS DeLong (Torpedo Boat # 28), 1902-1920; and USS DeLong (Destroyer # 129, later DD-129), 1919-1922.

This page features all the views we have of Lieutenant Commander George W. DeLong, USN, and provides links to others that are related to him.

For other images, related to George W. DeLong, see:

  • Lieutenant Commander George W. DeLong, USN, (1844-1881) -- (Part II).

    For pictures of sketches by George W. DeLong, see:

  • Artists -- George W. DeLong.

    For other views concerning the Jeannette Expedition, see:

  • Events -- Jeannette Arctic Expedition, 1879-1881.


    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 61168

    Lieutenant Commander George W. DeLong, USN


    Engraved portrait, with a facsimile of his signature, taken from "The Voyage of the Jeannette ...", Volume I, frontispiece, edited by Emma DeLong, published in 1884.
    He commanded the Jeannette Arctic exploring expedition, 1879-1881.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 107KB; 415 x 765 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 65444

    Lieutenant Commander George Washington DeLong, USN


    Photograph taken just before he left the United States for the Arctic in 1879. He commanded the 1879-1881 Jeannette Arctic exploring expedition.
    The original print was given to Charles Mitchell and Ruth Simpson Thomas.

    Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation. Collection of Admiral Harry E. Yarnell, USN, donated by Miss Ruth Thomas.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 78KB; 570 x 765 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 52007

    USS Jeannette
    (1879-1881)

    Composite photograph of the ship, and the officers of her Arctic expedition. Those shown are (clockwise from top center):
    Lieutenant Commander George W. DeLong, USN, Commanding Officer;
    Passed Assistant Surgeon James M. Ambler, USN;
    Chief Engineer George W. Melville, USN;
    Raymond Lee Newcomb, Naturalist and Astronomer;
    William Dunbar, Pilot;
    Jerome J. Collins, Correspondent for the "New York Herald";
    Lieutenant John W. Danenhower, USN, Second Officer; and
    Lieutenant Charles W. Chipp, USN, Executive Officer.

    Donation of Captain T.S. Wilkinson, USN, 1934.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 131KB; 550 x 765 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 50550

    Lieutenant Commander George Washington DeLong, USN
    (1844-1881)

    19th Century photograph of a plaque in his honor, with scenes from the 1879-1881 Jeannette Arctic exploration expedition, which he commanded.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 97KB; 740 x 520 pixels

     

    For other images, related to George W. DeLong, see:

  • Lieutenant Commander George W. DeLong, USN, (1844-1881) -- (Part II).

    For pictures of sketches by George W. DeLong, see:

  • Artists -- George W. DeLong.

    For other views concerning the Jeannette Expedition, see:

  • Events -- Jeannette Arctic Expedition, 1879-1881.


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the "Online Library's" digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


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    Page made 29 October 2003