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Matthew Fontaine Maury was an American oceanographer and naval officer, serving the United States and then joining the Confederacy during the American Civil War.
USS Robert Smalls (CG-62) is a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser built during the Cold War for the United States Navy. Commissioned in 1989, the warship was originally named USS Chancellorsville for the American Civil War Battle of Chancellorsville. In March 2023, she was renamed for Robert Smalls, a former slave who freed himself and others by commandeering a Confederate transport ship.
USS or USNS Maury may refer to the following ships, named for Commodore Matthew Fontaine Maury:
The Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO), located at John C. Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi, is an echelon IV component of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (NMOC) and comprises approximately 1,000 civilian, military and contract personnel responsible for providing oceanographic products and services to all elements within the Department of Defense.
USNS Dutton (T-AGS-22) was an oceanographic survey ship for the United States Navy from the late 1950s through the 1980s. She was launched as SS Tuskegee Victory in 1945, Maritime Commission hull number MCV 682, a type VC2-S-AP3 Victory ship. In her U.S. Navy service, she was named after Captain Benjamin Dutton, Jr., and was the second U.S. Navy ship named in his honor.
Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) is an American shipbuilding firm in Marinette, Wisconsin. Marinette Marine was a subsidiary of Manitowoc Marine Group of Wisconsin from 2000 to 2009, when it was sold to Fincantieri Marine Group.
The Pathfinder-class survey ships are owned by the United States Navy and operated by Military Sealift Command for the Naval Oceanographic Office ("NAVOCEANO"). They have mostly civilian crews, including scientists from NAVOCEANO.
The TS Golden Bear is the training ship of the California State University Maritime Academy (CSUMA), a campus of the California State University. The first training ship of the then–California Nautical School was known as the Training Ship California State, then as the T.S. Golden State. Since then, there have been three ships to bear the name T.S. Golden Bear.
USNS Bowditch (T-AGS-21) was the lead ship of her class of oceanographic survey ships for the United States Navy. Launched as the SS South Bend Victory in 1945, Maritime Commission hull number MCV 694, a type VC2-S-AP3 Victory ship, she was named for Nathaniel Bowditch, the second U.S. Navy vessel named in his honor. The ship was acquired by the Navy in August 1957 and converted to an AGS at Charleston Naval Shipyard. Named Bowditch on 8 August 1957 and placed in service 8 October 1958 for operation by the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS).
USNS Michelson (T-AGS-23) was a Bowditch class oceanographic survey ship of the United States Navy. Launched as the SS Joliet Victory in 1944, Maritime Commission hull number MCV 114, a type VC2-S-AP3 Victory ship, she was named after Albert Abraham Michelson. The ship was reactivated from the James River Maritime Administration Reserve Fleet on 8 February 1958, delivered to the Navy Department at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 8 August 1957 and converted to an AGS by the Charleston Naval Shipyard. USNS Michelson (AGS‑23) was placed in service on 15 December 1958 under the operational control of MSTS Atlantic.
United States ship naming conventions for the U.S. Navy were established by congressional action at least as early as 1862. Title 13, section 1531, of the U.S. Code, enacted in that year, reads, in part,
The vessels of the Navy shall be named by the Secretary of the Navy under direction of the President according to the following rule: Sailing-vessels of the first class shall be named after the States of the Union, those of the second class after the rivers, those of the third class after the principal cities and towns and those of the fourth class as the President may direct.
NOAAS Thomas Jefferson is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hydrographic survey vessel in service since 2003. The ship was built for the United States Navy as USNS Littlehales (T-AGS-52) serving as one of two new coastal hydrographic survey vessels from 1992 until transfer to NOAA in 2003 when it was named after Founding Father and third U.S. president, Thomas Jefferson.
TS State of Maine is the current training ship of the Maine Maritime Academy. Formerly in United States Navy service as the USNS Tanner (T-AGS-40), she assumed her present name and role in June 1997.
USNS Marie Tharp (T-AGS-66) is a Pathfinder-class oceanographic survey ship operated by the Military Sealift Command of the United States Navy. The seventh ship in her class, Marie Tharp is named for oceanographer Marie Tharp; the ship was renamed in 2023 from Maury.
USNS Kane (T-AGS-27) was a Silas Bent-class survey ship acquired by the United States Navy and delivered to Military Sealift Command in 1967. Kane spent her career performing oceanographic surveys. The ship was equipped with the Oceanographic Data Acquisition System (ODAS) as were oceanographic survey ships USNS Silas Bent (T-AGS-26) and USNS Wilkes (T-AGS-33).
USS John Blish was a Patrol Craft Sweeper (PCS) of the PCS-1376-Class, five of which were converted to small hydrographic survey vessels designated AGS and later coastal survey vessels, AGSc, that conducted hydrographic surveys for the United States Navy during and immediately after the Second World War. The small PCS type vessels assigned to the United States Navy Hydrographic Office missions conducted pre invasion surveys, sometimes under fire, with the survey crews erecting signals for survey and later navigation, laying buoys and placing lights.
USNS Chauvenet (T-AGS-29) was a multi-function survey ship laid down on 24 May 1967, at Upper Clyde Shipbuilding Corp., Glasgow, Scotland. The ship was the second survey ship, Chauvenet (AGS-11) being the first, named for William Chauvenet (1820-1870). He was instrumental in the founding of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD. The mathematics department of the US Naval Academy in Annapolis was founded by Chauvenet and is housed in Chauvenet Hall. Chauvenet was launched on 13 May 1968, delivered to the US Navy, 13 November 1970 and placed in service with the Military Sealift Command (MSC) as USNS Chauvenet (T-AGS-29). The ship conducted coastal hydrographic and topographic surveys under the technical direction of the Oceanographer of the Navy through the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO). The ship was assigned to the Pacific for surveys, sister ship Harkness (T-AGS-32) was assigned Atlantic duties, doing so until inactivated in November 1992.
The Commission on the Naming of Items of the Department of Defense that Commemorate the Confederate States of America or Any Person Who Served Voluntarily with the Confederate States of America, more commonly referred to as the Naming Commission, was a United States government commission created by the United States Congress in 2021 to create a list of military assets with names associated with the Confederate States of America and recommendations for their removal.
References
- NavyTimes: Meet the Navy ships named in honor of the Confederacy
- Naval Vessel Register online at www.nvr.navy.mil.