Background
Richard Wainwright was born in Washington, D. C. , the son of Richard Wainwright and Sally Franklin (Bache) Wainwright.
Richard Wainwright was born in Washington, D. C. , the son of Richard Wainwright and Sally Franklin (Bache) Wainwright.
As a youth he attended private schools in Washington. In 1864 he received from President Lincoln on the recommendation of Admiral Farragut an appointment at large to the United States Naval Academy, then at Newport, R. I.
In 1868 he joined the Jamestown of the Pacific Fleet, and two years later was promoted master. From 1870 to 1873 he was with the Colorado, the flagship of the Asiatic Fleet. His marriage to Evelyn Wotherspoon of New York City, September 11, 1873, occurred a few days before he received his lieutenancy. After periods of service with the bureau of equipment, the hydrographic office, and the United States Coast Survey, he was with the Asiatic Fleet (1877 - 80). While he was absent from the United States, the U. S. S. Huron was wrecked off Hatteras, and a naval court of inquiry headed by Admiral David Dixon Porter placed the blame on the dead officers, among whom were several of Wainwright's friends. On his return home Wainwright made an intensive study of the case and proved that the wreck was caused by erroneous data furnished to the officers by an expert in Washington. As a result of his findings the court was reconvened, its verdict reversed, and the officers exculpated. From 1880 to 1884 Wainwright was on special duty with the bureau of navigation. From 1884 to 1887 he was with the Tennessee and Galena of the North Atlantic station, part of the time as secretary to the commander-in-chief. He was steel inspector (1887 - 88), instructor at the United States Naval Academy (1888 - 90), on special duty with the Alert (1890 - 93), on duty at the hydrographic office (1893 - 96), and chief of the intelligence office (1896 - 97). When in November 1897 he left the last-named position to go to the battleship Maine, his services were commended by Theodore Roosevelt, then assistant secretary of the navy. In the meantime, September 1894, he had been commissioned lieutenant commander. As executive officer of the Maine he was next in command to Admiral C. D. Sigsbee when that vessel was sunk in Havana harbor, Feburary 15, 1898. Soon thereafter he was attached to the tender Fern as the navy's representative in the recovery of the bodies and in the examination of the hull for evidence of the cause of the disaster. On his return to Washington he applied for sea duty and was chosen to command the Gloucester, formerly the pleasure yacht Corsair of J. Pierpont Morgan, a small frail naval vessel, without armor and with an inferior battery. It was intended to protect her with armor, but on Wainwright's protest this was not done, and he was able to sail without delay and arrive in Cuban waters in time to participate in the battle of Santiago Bay, July 3, 1898.
When the Spaniards steamed out of the harbor, he fearlessly attacked at close range the destroyers Furor and Pluton, each the superior of the Gloucester, and after a brief engagement sank one and beached the other, killing or wounding two-thirds of their officers and men. He next turned his attention to the burning Spanish flagship Infanta Maria Teresa and rescued some two hundred officers and men, including Cervera, the Spanish admiral. He also rescued part of the crew of the Almirante Oquendo.
Later in July he participated in the naval operation off Puerto Rico, entering the harbor of Guanica under circumstances that added to his reputation for courage and initiative. For his eminent and conspicuous conduct in the battle of Santiago he was advanced by Congress ten numbers in rank. A loving cup was presented to him by the citizens of Gloucester, Massachussets, and a sword by the people of Washington, D. C. John Davis Long, secretary of the navy, wrote that his action with the two Spanish destroyers was "one of the most intrepid and brilliant heroisms in all naval history". Wainwright was made a commander from March 3, 1899; a captain from August 10, 1903; and a rear-admiral from July 11, 1908.
From 1899 until 1902 he was at the Naval Academy, during the latter part of the period as its superintendent. He commanded the Newark (1902 - 04), the Louisiana (1907 - 08), the second division of the Atlantic Fleet (1908 - 09), and the third division of the same (1909 - 10). His last duty was as aide for operations to the secretary of the navy. He was retired as rear-admiral on December 17, 1911. Both before and after his retirement he contributed articles to naval periodicals, chiefly to the Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute. These include "Fleet Tactics", "The Battle of the Sea of Japan", and "The General Board". He was joint editor with R. M. Thompson of Confidential Correspondence of Gustavus Vasa Fox.
He was of average height, slender and erect.
He married on September 11, 1873 at Washington, D. C. , Evelyn Wotherspoon.