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LT Edward Howard Dunn

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LT Edward Howard Dunn Veteran

Birth
Pawcatuck, New London County, Connecticut, USA
Death
30 Nov 1914 (aged 41)
Westerly, Washington County, Rhode Island, USA
Burial
Westerly, Washington County, Rhode Island, USA GPS-Latitude: 41.3555106, Longitude: -71.8318505
Plot
Section 5, Lot 1324
Memorial ID
View Source
US Navy Officer, 1895 -1906. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Class of 1895 from Connecticut, he was dismissed from the Navy in September 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt, following Dunn's conviction in a highly-publicized court martial for a shipboard alcohol and sex scandal. Two years later, he was arrested on charges of forgery in Boston, Pittsburgh and Hartford.

Dunn was born in Connecticut in April 1873 to Edward R. Dunn (1853-?), a machinist born in nearby Westerly, RI and his wife, Martha L. Brayton, (1852-1949) a member of the D.A.R., who were married at Groton, CT in December 1871. Dunn's paternal grandfather was a respected citizen and Civil War veteran and his father's younger brother was a Naval Academy graduate (Class of 1881) and career officer, Herbert Omar Dunn, who rose to rear admiral in the Navy, and probably was an influence and patron to Edward Dunn securing admission to Annapolis. As an inventor, Dunn's rear admiral uncle designed and patented the Dunn Anchor in 1889. This new anchor had many distinct advantages over old style maritime stock anchors used at that time. It had great holding power due to it's moveable shanks and could be applied in applications of 200 to 20,000 pounds. Accepted by the American Bureau of Shipping, the Dunn Anchor thus became the standard for ships world wide to date. He also held the patents for several other marine appliances.

While at Annapolis, Edward Dunn was a tenor in the chapel choir. Dunn's parents divorced sometime between 1880 and 1885 and each remarried shortly thereafter. His father, Edward R. Dunn was still alive as of the 1930 census, married to his second wife, and operating a machine shop at the age of 77. Dunn's mother lived to be 97.

Edward Dunn was appointed to the US Naval Academy at Annapolis from Connecticut in 1891 and completed his academic work to become a passed naval cadet on September 5, 1895. On July 1, 1897 he was promoted to Assistant Engineer. During the Spanish American War, he was assistant engineer on Commodore George Dewey's flagship of the Asiatic Squadron, USS Olympia, during the Battle of Manila Bay, on May 1, 1898. He was advanced to Ensign on March 3, 1899. Per the 1900 Census, he was an ensign on USS Montgomery at Montevideo, Uruguay. On July 1, 1900 Dunn was advanced to Lieutenant, junior grade.

On March 5, 1902, in an Episcopal one-ring ceremony at the Central Congregation Church in Bath, ME, Dunn married Maude C. Worth of that city. On July 13, 1906 when Dunn was a Lieutenant and attached to the receiving and training ship USS Independence, at Mare Island, CA, he brought a notorious demimonde, Marian Churchill, from the "tenderloin district" of neighboring Vallejo, CA onto the ship for an alcoholic revelry that lasted three days. At the time, the ship's captain, GIles B. Harber, (who later in his career commanded both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets) was away from the ship and Dunn was acting commanding officer. Dunn was not the first officer to be implicated in a relationship with Churchill, though his case was certainly the most notorious.

The court martial of Lieutenant Dunn on charges of drunkenness on duty, conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, and scandalous conduct tending to the destruction of good morals, was the fallout of his orgy with Marian Churchill. His Navy appointed defense lawyer and private counsel retained by his family, mounted a defense of temporary insanity by reason of alcohol, and Dunn's testimony besmirched and shamelessly sullied his family and upbringing as the cause of his professed congenital alcoholism. The evidence showed that over the three day period that Churchill was on Independence as Dunn's consort, fairly open and notorious drinking parties in his cabin were the norm and he did not make much effort to conceal it. Dunn brought Churchill to the officer's wardroom for at least one meal. Other commissioned officers and chief petty officers testified against Dunn at the trial, including a Japanese steward sent to spy on him, and provided graphic and detailed testimony that led to his conviction. Surprisingly, none of the contemporary newspaper accounts of the coverage of the trial reported that Dunn was married at the time, and it is interesting that this was apparently not adduced as evidence during the court martial.

When Captain Harber returned on July 17 and unexpectedly ordered all hands on deck, Dunn failed to respond. It was discovered that Churchill was in his quarters and that both were severely intoxicated. Dunn was placed under arrest, confined to his cabin, and Churchill, who incredibly refused to leave the ship, had to be forcibly restrained by four burly sailors and removed from Independence, in an altercation that made its way to the attention of the Secretary of the Navy Charles Bonaparte, and ultimately, to the desk of President Theodore Roosevelt.

During the court martial, which was not closed to reporters, Churchill, who was a very beautiful woman at that time and extremely popular among the naval officers, testified that she had often been entertained on the Independence by other naval and marine officers, and that Dunn was less to blame than others, particularly Paymaster Richworth Nicholson, who she testified had introduced her to Dunn. In a letter addressed to the admiral who presided over the court martial, Dunn subsequently absolved his fellow officers from any connection with the affair, claiming sole responsibility for the sordid debacle. On August 30, the day before the court martial board forwarded its findings to President Roosevelt, Dunn took advantage of his wardroom confinement to crawl though a porthole and was planning to commandeer one of the ship's boats to Vallejo, when he was captured and put in close confinement.

Two years after his September 4, 1906 dismissal from the Navy by Presidential order, a rare occurrence, Dunn resurfaced in March 1908 newspaper stories as a grifter wanted on charges of forgery in Boston, Pittsburgh and Bridgeport, CT. That January his wife, Maude, had obtained a decree of legal separation from a Bath, ME court on grounds of "gross and confirmed habits of alcoholism". It is unclear if Dunn and his wife were even living together at the time. Dunn's modus operandi was to present himself in his naval officer's uniform and represent to a merchant that he was opening up a recruiting station and needed to purchase supplies. Dunn would present a worthless check in a larger amount than the bill of goods and obtain payment of change from the defrauded seller.

He worked his con on hotels and other businesses as well, and managed to charm his way into Boston society in his naval uniform. News accounts described him as "a strikingly handsome fellow" making it easier for him to pull off his swindle. On April 3, Dunn turned himself in to Chicago police, ostensibly after learning in a letter from his mother that he was wanted on forgery charges. Despite overwhelming evidence against him, Dunn amazingly claimed that he had never passed a forged check in his life and that the charges were "somebody's mistake." At the time he was arrested, Dunn possessed a check for $25,000 made payable to himself on the account of Colonial Bank of NY and signed by "A. Sabey", along with numerous business and personal calling cards.

Edward Howard Dunn died in 1914, at the age of 40 or 41, most likely from the deleterious health effects of his chronic alcoholism. He is buried in the same cemetery as his mother, paternal grandfather and uncle.
US Navy Officer, 1895 -1906. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Class of 1895 from Connecticut, he was dismissed from the Navy in September 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt, following Dunn's conviction in a highly-publicized court martial for a shipboard alcohol and sex scandal. Two years later, he was arrested on charges of forgery in Boston, Pittsburgh and Hartford.

Dunn was born in Connecticut in April 1873 to Edward R. Dunn (1853-?), a machinist born in nearby Westerly, RI and his wife, Martha L. Brayton, (1852-1949) a member of the D.A.R., who were married at Groton, CT in December 1871. Dunn's paternal grandfather was a respected citizen and Civil War veteran and his father's younger brother was a Naval Academy graduate (Class of 1881) and career officer, Herbert Omar Dunn, who rose to rear admiral in the Navy, and probably was an influence and patron to Edward Dunn securing admission to Annapolis. As an inventor, Dunn's rear admiral uncle designed and patented the Dunn Anchor in 1889. This new anchor had many distinct advantages over old style maritime stock anchors used at that time. It had great holding power due to it's moveable shanks and could be applied in applications of 200 to 20,000 pounds. Accepted by the American Bureau of Shipping, the Dunn Anchor thus became the standard for ships world wide to date. He also held the patents for several other marine appliances.

While at Annapolis, Edward Dunn was a tenor in the chapel choir. Dunn's parents divorced sometime between 1880 and 1885 and each remarried shortly thereafter. His father, Edward R. Dunn was still alive as of the 1930 census, married to his second wife, and operating a machine shop at the age of 77. Dunn's mother lived to be 97.

Edward Dunn was appointed to the US Naval Academy at Annapolis from Connecticut in 1891 and completed his academic work to become a passed naval cadet on September 5, 1895. On July 1, 1897 he was promoted to Assistant Engineer. During the Spanish American War, he was assistant engineer on Commodore George Dewey's flagship of the Asiatic Squadron, USS Olympia, during the Battle of Manila Bay, on May 1, 1898. He was advanced to Ensign on March 3, 1899. Per the 1900 Census, he was an ensign on USS Montgomery at Montevideo, Uruguay. On July 1, 1900 Dunn was advanced to Lieutenant, junior grade.

On March 5, 1902, in an Episcopal one-ring ceremony at the Central Congregation Church in Bath, ME, Dunn married Maude C. Worth of that city. On July 13, 1906 when Dunn was a Lieutenant and attached to the receiving and training ship USS Independence, at Mare Island, CA, he brought a notorious demimonde, Marian Churchill, from the "tenderloin district" of neighboring Vallejo, CA onto the ship for an alcoholic revelry that lasted three days. At the time, the ship's captain, GIles B. Harber, (who later in his career commanded both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets) was away from the ship and Dunn was acting commanding officer. Dunn was not the first officer to be implicated in a relationship with Churchill, though his case was certainly the most notorious.

The court martial of Lieutenant Dunn on charges of drunkenness on duty, conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, and scandalous conduct tending to the destruction of good morals, was the fallout of his orgy with Marian Churchill. His Navy appointed defense lawyer and private counsel retained by his family, mounted a defense of temporary insanity by reason of alcohol, and Dunn's testimony besmirched and shamelessly sullied his family and upbringing as the cause of his professed congenital alcoholism. The evidence showed that over the three day period that Churchill was on Independence as Dunn's consort, fairly open and notorious drinking parties in his cabin were the norm and he did not make much effort to conceal it. Dunn brought Churchill to the officer's wardroom for at least one meal. Other commissioned officers and chief petty officers testified against Dunn at the trial, including a Japanese steward sent to spy on him, and provided graphic and detailed testimony that led to his conviction. Surprisingly, none of the contemporary newspaper accounts of the coverage of the trial reported that Dunn was married at the time, and it is interesting that this was apparently not adduced as evidence during the court martial.

When Captain Harber returned on July 17 and unexpectedly ordered all hands on deck, Dunn failed to respond. It was discovered that Churchill was in his quarters and that both were severely intoxicated. Dunn was placed under arrest, confined to his cabin, and Churchill, who incredibly refused to leave the ship, had to be forcibly restrained by four burly sailors and removed from Independence, in an altercation that made its way to the attention of the Secretary of the Navy Charles Bonaparte, and ultimately, to the desk of President Theodore Roosevelt.

During the court martial, which was not closed to reporters, Churchill, who was a very beautiful woman at that time and extremely popular among the naval officers, testified that she had often been entertained on the Independence by other naval and marine officers, and that Dunn was less to blame than others, particularly Paymaster Richworth Nicholson, who she testified had introduced her to Dunn. In a letter addressed to the admiral who presided over the court martial, Dunn subsequently absolved his fellow officers from any connection with the affair, claiming sole responsibility for the sordid debacle. On August 30, the day before the court martial board forwarded its findings to President Roosevelt, Dunn took advantage of his wardroom confinement to crawl though a porthole and was planning to commandeer one of the ship's boats to Vallejo, when he was captured and put in close confinement.

Two years after his September 4, 1906 dismissal from the Navy by Presidential order, a rare occurrence, Dunn resurfaced in March 1908 newspaper stories as a grifter wanted on charges of forgery in Boston, Pittsburgh and Bridgeport, CT. That January his wife, Maude, had obtained a decree of legal separation from a Bath, ME court on grounds of "gross and confirmed habits of alcoholism". It is unclear if Dunn and his wife were even living together at the time. Dunn's modus operandi was to present himself in his naval officer's uniform and represent to a merchant that he was opening up a recruiting station and needed to purchase supplies. Dunn would present a worthless check in a larger amount than the bill of goods and obtain payment of change from the defrauded seller.

He worked his con on hotels and other businesses as well, and managed to charm his way into Boston society in his naval uniform. News accounts described him as "a strikingly handsome fellow" making it easier for him to pull off his swindle. On April 3, Dunn turned himself in to Chicago police, ostensibly after learning in a letter from his mother that he was wanted on forgery charges. Despite overwhelming evidence against him, Dunn amazingly claimed that he had never passed a forged check in his life and that the charges were "somebody's mistake." At the time he was arrested, Dunn possessed a check for $25,000 made payable to himself on the account of Colonial Bank of NY and signed by "A. Sabey", along with numerous business and personal calling cards.

Edward Howard Dunn died in 1914, at the age of 40 or 41, most likely from the deleterious health effects of his chronic alcoholism. He is buried in the same cemetery as his mother, paternal grandfather and uncle.


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