Photographic History of the United States Navy
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NavSource Naval History Photographic History of the United States Navy |
DESTROYER ARCHIVE |
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Size | Image Description | Contributed By |
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86k | Captain Thomas Holdup Stevens, USN (22 February 1795 - 21 January 1841) was an American naval commander in the War of 1812. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Thomas Holdup was orphaned at an early age and was adopted by General Daniel Stevens. On 8 February 1809, he was appointed midshipman on board Hornet. From then until 1812, he served successively in Constitution, President, and John Adams. Late in 1812, he was assigned to duty with Commodore Isaac Chauncey and distinguished himself in the attack on Black Rock on November 28th. Commodore Chauncey appointed him acting lieutenant in January 1813 and his permanent commission in that rank, to date from 24 July, was confirmed by the Senate on 3 August. On 10 September, he again distinguished himself as captain of the sloop, Trippe, during the Battle of Lake Erie. In 1815, an Act of the Legislature of South Carolina enabled him to add General Stevens' surname to his own. Following the War of 1812, Stevens held many posts, both ashore and afloat, including tours of duty at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and the Washington Navy Yard. He was promoted to Master Commandant on 3 March 1825 and, in 1829, he embarked on a two-year tour as commanding officer of Ontario, serving in the Mediterranean Sea. In 1832, he was assigned to the Navy Yard at Pensacola and in 1836 he was appointed captain, to date from 27 January 1836. After waiting two years for orders, he was appointed to command of the Washington Navy Yard on 29 February 1840. He served in that capacity until his death there early on the morning of 21 January 1841. The first Stevens (Destroyer No. 86) was named for the first Thomas Holdup Stevens and the second Stevens (DD-479) honored both him and his son, Rear Admiral Thomas Holdup Stevens, Jr. | Bill Gonyo | |
| 82k | Artist's conception of the Stevens as she appeared after original construction by the renowned graphic illustrator John Barrett with the text written by naval author and historian Robert F. Sumrall. Their company Navy Yard Associates offers prints of most destroyers, destroyer escorts, submarines and aircraft carriers in various configurations during the ship's lifetime. The prints can be customized with ship's patches, your photograph, your bio, etc. If you decide to purchase artwork from them please indicate that you heard about their work from NavSource. | Navy Yard Associates | |
| 80k | Undated, location unknown. | - | |
| 17k | Captain Frank H Ball, first Commanding Officer of the Stevens, reading the orders at the commissioning ceremony. | Robert Hall | |
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167k | USS Bell sliding down the building ways after being christened at the Charleston Navy Yard, South Carolina, on 24 June 1942. USS Stevens (DD-479) is alongside, awaiting launching (USN Photo No NH 104666). | Robert Hurst | |
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116k | USS Bell (DD-587) and USS Stevens (DD-479) ready for launching at the Charleston Navy Yard, South Carolina, 24 June 1942 (USN Photo No 19-N-58158). | Robert Hurst | |
| 58k | Charleston December 1942. | Robert Hurst | |
| 101k | Taken from the Cooper River Bridge, Charleston SC, in one of her earliest configurations, so it must be Spring 1943. | J. Chiquoine/D. Schroeder | |
| 121k | USS Stevens, DD-479, one of three Fletcher class destroyers to operate with a catapult for a short period, 12 May 1943. The Stevens is at Charleston NY during her inclining experiment. Note her aircraft handling crane, the type that was used on the Stevens and Halford (DD480). The Pringle (DD-477), the third unit to operate a catapult, used a different type of crane. | Rick E Davis | |
| 130k | Forward plan view of the USS Halford (DD 480) at Mare Island on 1 Dec 1943. She was in overhaul at the shipyard from 27 Oct until 6 Dec 43. USS Stevens (DD 479) is outboard. Bow of ARD-11 is just visible forward of Halford. | Darryl Baker | |
| 124k | Aft plan view of the USS Halford (DD 480) at Mare Island on 1 Dec 1943. USS Stevens (DD 479) is outboard. | Darryl Baker | |
| 176k | Aft plan view of the USS Stevens (DD 479) at Mare Island on 1 Dec 1943. She was in overhaul at the shipyard from 11 Oct to 1 Dec 1943. USS Halford (DD 480) is inboard of Stevens. | Darryl Baker | |
| 111k | Forward plan view of the USS Stevens (DD 479) at Mare Island on 1 Dec 1943. She was in overhaul at the shipyard from 11 Oct to 1 Dec 1943. USS Halford (DD 480) is inboard of Stevens. Note: Photo is incorrectly labeled as DD 480, put review of shipyard logs indicates that Stevens was outboard of Halford on this date. | Darryl Baker | |
The contact listed, Was the contact at the time for this ship when located. If another person now is the contact, E-mail me and I will update this entry. These contacts are compiled from various sources over a long period of time and may or may not be correct. Every effort has been made to list the newest contact if more than one contact was found.
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