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121k | [A] Benjamin F. Sands, born in Baltimore on 11 February 1811, was appointed Midshipman in the United States Navy on 1 April 1828. By 1834, he had served on the Brazil Station and in the West Indies and Mediterranean squadrons. From 1834 to 1841, he was engaged in coastal survey work and during the mid-40's was attached to the Bureau of Charts and Instruments at the Naval Observatory. During hostilities between the United States and Mexico, he was attached to the Home Squadron and served off Tabasco and Tuxpan. In the 1850's, he commanded the steamer Walker in the Gulf of Mexico on coast survey duty and invented a deep sea sounding apparatus and other hydrographic instruments. Commissioned Captain in 1862, he served off the west coast on survey duty until 1863, then joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron as commander of Dacotah. In February of that year, he participated in the engagement at Fort Caswell. He remained off the Carolinas for another two years, commanding the steamer Fort Jackson during the attacks on Fort Fisher. In February 1865, he was transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron and assigned to duty off the Texas coast. Through the end of the Civil War, he commanded a division off that coast; and, on 2 June 1865, took formal possession of Galveston for the Union. After the war, Sands, appointed Commodore in July 1866, served at the Boston Navy Yard until returning to Washington as Superintendent of the Naval Observatory. Commissioned Rear Admiral on 27 April 1871, he remained at the Observatory until he retired in 1874. Rear Admiral Sands died in Washington, D.C.,on 30 June 1883. [B] James H. Sands, son of Rear Admiral Benjamin F. Sands,was born in Washington, D.C., on 12 July 1845 and was appointed Acting Midshipman in the United States Navy on 25 November 1859. During the Civil War, he served in Tuscarora, Juniata, and Shenandoah and, in the years which followed, in Hartford and Richmond. Ordered to the Naval Observatory in 1869, he returned to sea duty, on the Asiatic Station, a year and a half later. From October 1873 to April 1875, he served in the Hydrographic Office. Duty in Minnesota and Iroquois followed; and, in 1884, he returned to Washington, D.C., for duty at the Navy Yard. During the 1890's, he commanded Monongahela; served as equipment officer at the Boston Navy Yard; commanded Columbia and Minneapolis; and served as Governor of the Naval Home at Philadelphia. Detached from the latter in 1901, he became a member of the Retirement Board and assumed its presidency in 1902. Commissioned Rear Admiral the same year, he served as Commandant of the Navy Yard, League Island, Philadelphia,from May 1902 to April 1903; commanded the Coast Squadron until 1905; then assumed duty as Superintendent of the Naval Academy. Further duty on the Retirement Board and as President, Naval Examining Board, followed; and, in July 1907, he transferred to the Retired List. Rear Admiral Sands died in Washington, D.C.,on 27 October 1911. | Bill Gonyo |
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79k | As DD-243, undated, location unknown. | Curt Clark, The Four Stack APD Veterans |
| 173k | Undated, fueling from the USS Neches (AO-5). | Robert Hurst |
| 166k | Undated, location unknown. Photo from the collection of the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum. | Darryl Baker |
| 250k | Undated, New York City is in the background. Photo from the collection of the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum. | Darryl Baker |
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91k | USS Barry (DD-248), USS Sands (DD-243) and USS King (DD-242), undated, location unknown. | Tommy Trampp |
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41k | Undated, location unknown. | Bill Roddy |
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152k | Undated, location unknown. From the collection of CWO4 Cecil Wood USMC. | Donald Wood |
| 131k | New York Shipbuilding Corporation Shipyard, Camden, New Jersey. Eleven destroyers fitting out in the Wet Basin between Piers 3 and 4. Photo is dated 28 September 1920. Ships present are identified as (from left to right):
Childs (DD-241), commissioned 22 Oct. 1920; Reuben James (DD-245), commissioned 24 Sept. 1920; McFarland (DD-237), commissioned 30 Sept. 1920; Sturtevant (DD-240), commissioned 21 Sept. 1920; Williamson (DD-244), commissioned 29 Oct. 1920; Sands (DD-243), commissioned 10 Nov. 1920;
Lawrence (DD-250), commissioned 18 April 1921; Hopkins (DD-249), commissioned 21 March 1921; Bainbridge (DD-246), commissioned 9 Feb. 1921; Goff (DD-247), commissioned 19 Jan. 1921; and Barry (DD-248), commissioned 28 Dec. 1920. | Robert Hurst |
| 103k | USS Sands (DD-243) under the command of Commander Robert L. Ghormley, circa 1920-1922. The other destroyer is possibly USS Williamson (DD-244). Courtesy of Commander Robert L. Ghormley, Jr., USN (Supply Corps) (Ret.), Washington, D.C., 1969. Source: Naval History and Heritage Command, Photo No. NH 67926 | Mike Green |
| 131k | USS Vestal (AR 4) with six destroyers alongside, during the later 1920s. Outboard destroyer is USS Sands (DD 243). Next inboard is USS Hatfield (DD 231). Two of the other destroyers present are also of the group (DD 231 - 235) armed with 5"/51 guns, which can be seen on the ships' fantails. Collection of Vice Admiral Dixwell Ketcham. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. | Joe Radigan |
| 95k | USS Sands (DD-243), At Danzig, circa August-September 1921. She was then commanded by Commander Robert L. Ghormley. Courtesy of Commander Robert L. Ghormley, Jr., USN(SC), 1969. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Photo #: NH 67925. | Robert Hurst |
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301k | Balboa Harbor, Panama Canal Zone. Aerial photograph taken 23 April 1934, with U.S. Fleet cruisers and destroyers moored together. Ships present include (left to right in lower left): USS Elliot (DD-146); USS Roper (DD-147); USS Hale (DD-133); USS Dorsey (DD-117); USS Lea (DD-118); USS Rathburne (DD-113); USS Talbot (DD-114); USS Waters (DD-115); USS Dent (DD-116); USS Aaron Ward (DD-132); USS Buchanan (DD-131); USS Crowninshield (DD-134); USS Preble (DD-345); and USS William B. Preston (DD-344). (left to right in center): USS Yarnall (DD-143); USS Sands (DD-243); USS Lawrence (DD-250); (unidentified destroyer); USS Detroit (CL-8), Flagship, Destroyers Battle Force; USS Fox (DD-234); USS Greer (DD-145); USS Barney (DD-149); USS Tarbell (DD-142); and USS Chicago (CA-29), Flagship, Cruisers Scouting Force. (left to right across the top): USS Southard (DD-207); USS Chandler (DD-206); USS Farenholt (DD-332); USS Perry (DD-340); USS Wasmuth (DD-338); USS Trever (DD-339); USS Melville (AD-2); USS Truxtun (DD-229); USS McCormick (DD-223); USS MacLeish (DD-220); USS Simpson (DD-221); USS Hovey (DD-208); USS Long (DD-209); USS Litchfield (DD-336); USS Tracy (DD-214); USS Dahlgren (DD-187); USS Medusa (AR-1); USS Raleigh (CL-7), Flagship, Destroyers Scouting Force; USS Pruitt (DD-347); and USS J. Fred Talbott (DD-156); USS Dallas (DD-199); (four unidentified destroyers); and USS Indianapolis (CA-35), Flagship, Cruisers Scouting Force. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. | Fabio Peña |
| 141k | At Mare Island February 9 1942. From the John Dickey collection. | Ed Zajkowski |
| 205k | As above. | Ed Zajkowski |
| 137k | USS Sands (DD 243) off Mare Island on February 10, 1942. Photo from the collection of the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum. | Darryl Baker |
| 514k | USS Sands (DD 243) off Mare Island on February 10, 1942. MINSY photo DD 243 732-2-42, from the collection of the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum. | Darryl Baker |