Background
George Eugene Belknap was born at Newport, New Hampshire, the son of Sawyer B. and Martha (Aiken) Belknap.
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George Eugene Belknap was born at Newport, New Hampshire, the son of Sawyer B. and Martha (Aiken) Belknap.
Belknap was appointed midshipman in 1847 and was promoted to be passed midshipman in 1853, master in 1855, and lieutenant in September of the same year. From 1847 to 1850 he served on the brig Porpoise off the coast of Africa, and later (1856 - 1857), serving on the sloop Portsmouth of the East India Squadron, he was commended for gallant behavior during the naval attack on the Barrier Forts at Canton, China.
In April 1863 Belknap served as executive officer of the New Ironsides, flagship of Admiral Du Pont, in the attack on the forts in Charleston Harbor, and was especially commended for the state of efficiency to which he had brought his ship, as well as for his conduct in action. He commanded the monitor Canonicus in the attacks on Fort Fisher in December 1864 and January 1865, after which he returned to duty off Charleston, his ship firing the last gun before the surrender of that city. Belknap was promoted to be commander in 1866, commanding the Hartford on the Asiatic Station, and directing, among other activities, the expedition against Formosa.
In the Tuscarora, in 1873 and 1874, Belknap made extensive deep-sea surveys for submarine cable routes, developing the use of piano wire for sounding. He became captain in 1875, and commanded the Navy Yard at Pensacola and then the cruiser Alaska in the Pacific. After a tour of service at the Norfolk Navy Yard he served as superintendent of the Naval Observatory, and as commandant of the Mare Island Navy Yard, California. He was promoted to be commodore in 1885. He then became commander-in-chief of the Asiatic Station for three years, and was president of the Board of Inspection and Survey until his retirement in 1894, having been made rear admiral February 12, 1889.
After retirement Belknap was appointed chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Massachusetts Nautical Training School and during the war with Spain was appointed chairman of a board on naval coaling stations. He died at Key West while again on special duty. He was greatly respected as an officer of high character and uncommon ability, his wide experience, especially in foreign relations, giving much weight to his influence and opinion.
George Belknap was a courageous naval officer who participated in the American Civil War and the Formosa Expedition. He commanded the monitor Canonicus during the attacks on Battle of Fort Fisher during the American Civil War, and the sloop-of-war Hartford during the Formosa Expedition of 1867. In 1889 Belknap was appointed as a rear admiral. USS Belknap (DD-251) was named for him.
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George Belknap was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic; a Veteran Companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS); an Honorary Companion of the Military Order of Foreign Wars; a member of the New Hampshire Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.
George Belknap was married twice: to Ellen D. Reed in Newport, New Hampshire, in 1861, and to Frances G. Prescott in Calcutta, India, in 1866.
