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[1]
[2]
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30k | Levi Twiggs was born in Richmond County, Georgia, 21 May 1793, the sixth son of Major General John Twiggs. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps on 10 November 1813. During the War of 1812, he saw action on board President and was captured when that frigate was taken, after a gallant defense, by a squadron of four British warships. After being imprisoned on Bermuda, he was freed when word of the Treaty of Ghent reached that island. Over two decades later, he took part in the Indian Wars in Florida and Georgia during 1836-1837. When the war with Mexico opened, Major Twiggs requested an active part in the fighting and was attached to the Marine Battalion which left New York in June 1847. He was felled by enemy fire as he led a storming party in the assault on Chapultepec before Mexico City on 13 September 1847.
During the battle at Chapultepec, 90 percent of the Marine officers and noncommissioned officers who fought were killed. In honor of these officers and NCOs, Marine Corps tradition maintains that all officers and noncommissioned officers shall be entitled to wear a red stripe on the trousers of the Dress Blue Uniform. Commonly referred to as the blood stripe, it serves as a reminder to all Marines of the blood that was shed in the capture of Chapultepec.
[1] Digital ID: cph 3g06207, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. [2] Painting of Major Levi Twiggs, source unknown. | [1] Robert M. Cieri / Dave Wright
[2] Dave Wright |
USS Twiggs (DD-127)
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70k | Undated, drydock location unknown. | Randle Biddle |
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216k | Undated, location unknown. | Darryl Baker |
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159k | Undated, location unknown. From the John Dickey collection. | Ed Zajkowski |
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148k | Undated, location unknown. From a family scrapbook. | Donna Heuer |
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221 | Undated, location unknown. From a family scrapbook. Left to right; USS Badger (DD-126), USS Jacob Jones (DD-130), USS Twiggs (DD-127), USS Babbitt (DD-128), USS DeLong (DD-129) and USS Tattnall (DD-125). | Donna Heuer |
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126k | Undated, location unknown. From a family scrapbook. | Donna Heuer |
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150k | Undated, location unknown. From a family scrapbook. | Donna Heuer |
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103k | Undated, location unknown. From a family scrapbook. | Donna Heuer |
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56k | Undated, location unknown. | Richard Miller BMCS USNR RET. |
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58k | Undated, location unknown. | Richard Miller BMCS USNR RET. |
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88k | The launching, Miss Lillie S. Getchell, granddaughter of Levi Twiggs and sponsor, USS Twiggs, 28 May 1918. New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey. Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Independence Seaport Museum. | Bill Gonyo |
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102k | USS Birmingham (CL-2) leading destroyers out of a West Coast harbor (probably San Diego), circa 1919-1922. The ships directly behind her are USS Twiggs (DD-127) and USS Chauncey (DD-296).
Naval History & Heritage Command photo NH 69510, courtesy of ESKC Joseph L. Aguillard, USNR, 1979. | Fred Weiss |
0512728 |
174k | USS Twiggs (Destroyer No. 127) mooring at San Diego, 1920s. | Dave Wright |
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153k | Destroyers laid up at San Diego, California. Some of the eighty reserve destroyers in San Diego harbor, part of some 260 destroyers laid up there and at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Photograph dated 29 December 1926. Identifiable ships present include (from left to right): USS Kennison (DD-138); USS Jacob Jones (DD-130); USS Aulick (DD-258); USS Babbitt (DD-128); USS Twiggs (DD-127); and USS Badger (DD-126).
Naval History & Heritage Command photo NH 69122, courtesy of the San Francisco Maritime Museum, San Francisco, California, 1969. | Fred Weiss |
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195k | Red Lead Row, San Diego Destroyer Base, California. Photographed at the end of 1922, with at least 65 destroyers tied up there. Ships present are identified as:
(left to right, in the right diagonal row): Stansbury (DD-180); MacKenzie (DD-175); Renshaw (DD-176); Howard (DD-179); Gillis (DD-260); Tingey (DD-272); McLanahan (DD-264); Swasey (DD-273); Morris (DD-271); Bailey (DD-269); Tattnall (DD-125); Breese (DD-122); Radford (DD-120); Aaron Ward (DD-132) -- probably; Ramsey (DD-124); Montgomery (DD-121); and Lea (DD-118).
(left to right, in the middle diagonal row): Wickes (DD-75); Thornton (DD-270); Meade (DD-274); Crane (DD-109); Evans (DD-78); McCawley (DD-276); Doyen (DD-280); Elliot (DD-146); Henshaw (DD-278); Moody (DD-277); Meyer (DD-279); Sinclair (DD-275); Turner (DD-259); Philip (DD-76); Hamilton (DD-141); Boggs (DD-136); Claxton (DD-140); Ward (DD-139); Hazelwood (DD-107) or Kilty (DD-137); Kennison (DD-138); Jacob Jones (DD-130); Aulick (DD-258); Babbitt (DD-128); Twiggs (DD-127); and Badger (DD-126).
(left to right, in the left diagonal row): Shubrick (DD-268); Edwards (DD-265); Palmer (DD-161); Welles (DD-257); Mugford (DD-105); Upshur (DD-144); Greer (DD-145); Wasmuth (DD-338); Hogan (DD-178); O'Bannon (DD-177); and -- possibly -- Decatur (DD-341).
(Nested alongside wharf in left center, left to right): Prairie (AD-5); Buffalo (AD-8); Trever (DD-339); and Perry (DD-340). Minesweepers just astern of this group are Partridge (AM-16) and Brant (AM-24). Nearest ship in the group of destroyers at far left is Dent (DD-116). The others with her are unidentified.
Naval History & Heritage Command photo NH 42539 | Robert Hurst |
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178k | At anchor, circa the 1930s. | Darryl Baker/Robert Hurst |
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89k | USS Twiggs (DD-127), USS Philip (DD-76), USS Evans (DD-78) and USS Yarnall (DD-143) nested together while awaiting transfer to the Royal Navy. Photo from the Conrad Waters Collection as seen in "Conway's The War at Sea in Photographs: 1939-1945" by Stuart Robertson & Stephen Dent, circa 1940. | Robert Hurst |
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450k | Newspaper clipping of Twiggs being readied for transfer to the Royal Navy, September 1940. | Anonymous donor in memory of Twiggs and her crew |
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379k | Postal cover for Twiggs (DD-127), postmarked 05 April 1937. The original was purchased on E-Bay and given to the late Joseph Krotki, who was a survivor of the sinking of the second USS Twiggs (DD-591). | Anonymous donor in memory of
Joseph Krotki, USS Twiggs (DD-591) |
On British Service
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| HMS Leamington (ex-USS Twiggs, DD-127) transferred at Halifax on 23 October 1940, Leamington refitted at Devonport from 15 November 1940 to 29 11 1940, briefly escorted convoy SL56 and then worked up at Scapa Flow from 15 December 1940 to 5 January 1941 prior to joining 2nd escort Group for North Atlantic work. Leamington's extensive convoy escort duty was interrupted when she collided with, and sank the Norwegian tramp steamer Thyra (at 52 25N 19 22W, 4 dead, 20 surv.) on 27 May 1941 requiring repair at Liverpool to mid-July 1941. She rejoined her Group and was heavily involved in the fighting around convoy SC42, during which she shared in the sinking of U207 on 11 September 1941 with the destroyer HMS Veteran. In February 1942 Leamington commenced escorting troop convoys of the AT, TA and WS series in the UK approaches; whilst so covering WS17 she scored her second success by sinking U587 on 27 March 1942. Leamington continued with her special escort task until June 1942 when she formed part of the UK to Iceland escort for convoy PQ17, followed by covering a minelaying sortie by 1st Minelaying Squadron. She then went to long refit at Hartlepool from July to November 1942 followed by transfer to Halifax to serve with the RCN in the Western Local Escort Force, arriving at Halifax January 1943. Leamington suffered two collisions while operating from Halifax, with the auxiliary minesweeper USS Albatross(i) (AM-71) which put her under repair from 15 April to 3 June 1943 and a less serious brush with SS Mortimer, the repair for which did not commence until late June 1943 at Norfolk, VA, continuing to October 1943. Like a number of her sisters in the WLEF, Leamington returned to Britain in December 1943, and laid up in reserve in February 1944. Refitted and transferred to Russia as Zhguchi on 16 July 1944, she served with the Northern Fleet, and did not return to Rosyth until 15 November 1950. Laid up and transferred to BISCo for scrapping in July 1951, she was then hired as a 'film extra', finally arriving at Newport, Mon, on 3 December to be broken up by J Cashmore & Sons Ltd. (History thanks to Robert Hurst.) |
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60k | The 'Town' class destroyer HMS Leamington, showing seaman clearing snow from her decks while at St. John's, Newfoundland, date unknown (Admiralty Official). | Robert Hurst |
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82k | As the HMS Leamington while the ship was taking delivery of mail. The men on the Bow are using a grappling hook to lift the mail delivered from a cruiser circa 1941. Phil's dad was a member of the British crew. | Phil Marley |
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123k | Ice-covered HMCS Leamington (G 19) moored at Halifax, Nova Scotia, 22 January 1943. Source: Library and Archives Canada, Photo No. MIKAN no. 3566566. | Mike Green |
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69k | The 'Town' class destroyer HMS Leamington seen here in temporary guise, superficially altered so as to vaguely resemble HMS Campbeltown as a 'prop' for the film The Gift Horse entering Portsmouth Harbour as the last 'Town' under her own steam. | Robert Hurst |
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120k | HMS Leamington in 1952, the picture was taken during the filming of the British war film The Gift Horse staring the late Trevor Howard. It shows the old destroyer leaving Plymouth sometime in late 1952. She is showing on her port side the fictional pennant number GH19 that she wore as the fictional destroyer of that film, namely H.M.S Ballantrea. | Phil Marley |
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98k | Ship's badge. | Tommy Trampp |
Decommissioned and transferred to Great Britain 23 October 1940, renamed HMS Leamington (G 19)
Transferred to Soviet Union 16 July 1944, renamed Жгучий [Zhguchiy ("Fiery")].
