28 Facts About Adolphus Greely

1.

Adolphus Washington Greely was a United States Army officer and polar explorer.

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2.

Adolphus Greely attained the rank of major general and was a recipient of the Medal of Honor.

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3.

Adolphus Greely received his commission as a second lieutenant in 1863 and was promoted to first lieutenant in 1864 and captain in 1865.

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4.

In March 1887, Adolphus Greely was serving as a captain when President Grover Cleveland appointed him as the Army's Chief Signal Officer with the rank of brigadier general.

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5.

Adolphus Greely left the Army in 1908 after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 64.

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6.

In retirement, Adolphus Greely authored numerous magazine articles and books on his Arctic experiences.

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7.

Adolphus Greely was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts on March 27,1844, the son of John Balch Greeley and Frances Dunn Cobb Adolphus Greely.

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8.

Adolphus Greely was educated in Newburyport and was an 1860 graduate of Brown High School.

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9.

Adolphus Greely was promoted to first lieutenant on 26 April 1864 and to captain on 4 April 1865.

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10.

Adolphus Greely was mustered out of the Volunteer Army on 22 March 1867.

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11.

From 1865 to 1867, Adolphus Greely took part in the post-war occupation of New Orleans.

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12.

Adolphus Greely was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 36th Infantry Regiment of the Regular Army on 7 March 1867 and was reassigned to the 5th Cavalry Regiment on 14 July 1869 after the 36th Infantry was disbanded.

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13.

Adolphus Greely was detailed for service with the Signal Corps from 1871 to 1880, and he was promoted to first lieutenant on 27 May 1873.

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14.

Adolphus Greely's efforts helped establish the floodplains of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio Rivers, which facilitated Corps of Engineers flood control projects.

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15.

In 1881, First Lieutenant Adolphus Greely was named to command the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition.

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16.

Adolphus Greely was without previous Arctic experience, but he and his party succeeded in discovering and exploring many much of the coast of northwest Greenland.

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17.

Adolphus Greely's party ran into difficulty when two supply parties failed to reach Adolphus Greely's encampment at Fort Conger on Ellesmere Island in 1882 and 1883.

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18.

Adolphus Greely's team reached Cape Sabine expecting to find food and equipment left by the supply ships, but these had not been provided.

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19.

An exhibition on the Adolphus Greely expedition was part of the Columbian Exposition in 1893 and was captured on stereoscopic images.

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20.

Adolphus Greely represented the United States at the 1903 International Telegraph Congress in London and the 1903 International Wireless Telegraph Congress in Berlin.

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21.

In 1890, Adolphus Greely was a founding member of the District of Columbia Society of the Sons of the American Revolution and was elected vice president.

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22.

Adolphus Greely was a companion of the District of Columbia Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.

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23.

Adolphus Greely was a member of the General Society of the War of 1812 and Grand Army of the Republic.

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24.

Fort Adolphus Greely, located 100 miles southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska, was named for Adolphus Greely in 1942.

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25.

In 1878, Adolphus Greely married Henrietta Nesmith, and they remained married until her death in 1918.

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26.

Henrietta Adolphus Greely was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and one of the founding vice presidents general of the Children of the American Revolution.

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27.

Adolphus Greely was awarded the Royal Geographical Society's Founder's Medal in 1886.

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28.

In 1886, Adolphus Greely received the Roquette Medal of the Societe de Geographie.

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