William Barker Cushing (4 November 184217 December 1874) was an officer in the United States Navy, best known for sinking the during a nighttime raid on 27 October 1864, for which he received the Thanks of Congress. Accounts of the raid made Cushing famous in the United States and gave him the nickname Albemarle Cushing.
Cushing was the younger brother of Medal of Honor recipient Alonzo Cushing. As a result, the Cushing family is the only family in American history to have a member buried at more than one of the United States Service Academies.
Biography
Early life
Cushing was born in Delafield in the Territory of Wisconsin, and was the youngest of four brothers and had two sisters. After his father died from pneumonia when he was still a young child, the family relocated to Fredonia, New York. He was expelled from the United States Naval Academy, just before graduation, for pranks and poor scholarship. In particular, he received a failing grade in Spanish after drawing a picture of the Spanish professor biting a horse. The Spanish professor was offended because, in actuality, the horse had bitten him. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, however, he pleaded his case to United States Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles himself, was reinstated and went on to acquire a distinguished record, frequently volunteering for the most hazardous missions. "His heroism, good luck and coolness under fire were legendary."
Civil War
Cushing saw action during the Battle of Hampton Roads and at Fort Fisher, among many others. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1862, and to commander in 1872. Two of his brothers died in uniform, Alonzo H. Cushing in the Battle of Gettysburg, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor, and Howard B. Cushing, while fighting the Chiricahua Apaches in 1871. His eldest brother, Milton, served in the Navy as a paymaster. On each he mounted a 12-pound Dahlgren howitzer and a spar projecting into the water from its bow. One of the boats was lost at sea during the voyage from New York to Norfolk, Virginia, but the other arrived safely with its crew of seven officers and men at the mouth of the Roanoke. There, the steam launch's spar was fitted with a lanyard-detonated torpedo.
thumb|upright=.8|left|Torpedo-strike on Albemarle
On the night of 27–28 October 1864, Cushing and his men began working their way upriver. A small cutter accompanied them, its crew having the task of preventing interference by the Confederate sentries stationed on a schooner anchored to the wreck of the . When both boats, under the cover of darkness, slipped past the schooner undetected, Cushing decided to use all 22 of his men and the element of surprise to capture Albemarle.
As they approached the Confederate docks, their luck turned and even though under the cover of darkness they were spotted by a guard dog. They came under heavy sentry fire from both the shore and aboard Albemarle. As they closed with Albemarle, they quickly discovered she was defended against approach by floating log booms. The logs, however, had been in the water for many months and were covered with heavy slime. The steam launch rode up and then over them without difficulty. When her spar was fully against the ironclad's hull, Cushing stood up in the bow and detonated the torpedo's explosive charge.
thumb|upright=1|right|The salvaged Albemarle
The explosion threw everyone aboard the steam launch into the water. Cushing stripped off his uniform and swam to shore to hide. The next afternoon, having avoided detection by Confederate search parties, Cushing stole a small skiff to rejoin the Union forces at the river's mouth. Of the other men in Cushing's boat, William Houghtman escaped, John Woodman and Richard Higgins were drowned, and 11 were captured.
Cushing's team recovered the Albemarle and received prize money. However, there was a dispute over the allocation of this money. The statute allocated one-tenth of the total prize for the boat's commander. After the rest of the money was distributed among the crew in proportion to their respective wages, the commander's share was actually smaller than three of his subordinates' shares. The dispute lasted 20 years. In 1885, the case reached the United States Supreme Court in United States v. Steever.
Both of Cushing’s brothers were killed in combat. His oldest brother, Alonzo Cushing died at the battle of Gettysburg during Picket’s Charge. Howard Cushing died in 1871 fighting the Apaches.
After the American Civil War
After the American Civil War, Cushing served in both the Pacific and Asiatic Squadrons; he was the executive officer of the and commanded the . He also served as ordnance officer in the Boston Navy Yard.
Before taking command of USS Maumee, while he was on leave at home in Fredonia, Cushing met his sister's friend, Katherine Louise Forbes. 'Kate', as she was known, would sit and listen for hours to William's stories of adventure. Cushing asked her to marry him on 1 July 1867. Unfortunately, he received orders and was gone before a ceremony could take place. On 22 February 1870, Cushing and Forbes married. Their first daughter, Marie Louise, was born on 1 December 1871.
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On 31 January 1872, he was promoted to the rank of commander, becoming the youngest up to that time to attain that rank in the Navy. Two weeks later he was detached to await orders. Weeks of waiting turned into months, but no word came. He had given up hope of another sea command, when early in June 1873, Cushing had an offer to take command of . He took command of his new ship on 11 July 1873.
He commanded Wyoming with his typical flair for being where the action was, performing daring and courageous acts. Wyomings boilers broke down twice, and in April she was ordered to Norfolk for extensive repairs. On 24 April, Cushing was detached and put on a waiting list for reassignment. He believed that he would be given Wyoming again when she was ready for duty, but in truth, his ill-health would not permit him to command another vessel.
He was given the post of executive officer of the Washington Navy Yard. He spent the summer of 1874 pretending to be happy with his inactive role. He played with his children and enjoyed their company. On 25 August, he was made senior aide at the yard; in the fall he amused himself by taking an active interest in the upcoming congressional elections.
On Thanksgiving Day, William, Kate and his mother went to church in the morning. That night, the pain in Cushing's back was worse than it had ever been and he could not sleep. The following Monday he dragged himself to the Navy Yard. Kate sent Lieutenant Hutchins, once of the Wyoming crew and now Cushing's aide, to bring his superior home. She feared that he wouldn't last the day. True to his nature, Cushing stayed at the yard until after nightfall, and went right to bed when he got home. He would not rise again. The pain was constant and terrible. He was given injections of morphine, but that only dulled the pain a little. Apparently he also suffered from mental illness.
On 8 December, it became impossible to care for Cushing at home, and he was removed to the Government Hospital for the Insane. His family visited him often, but he seldom recognized them. Cushing died on 17 December 1874, in the presence of his wife and mother. He was buried on 8 January 1875, at Bluff Point, at the United States Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis.
Five ships in the U.S. Navy have been named after him. The most recent one, the , was decommissioned in September 2005.
Cushing has a portrait of him in full dress uniform hanging in Memorial Hall at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. Nearly all of the other portraits in the hall are of admirals. A monument that honors Alonzo, William, and Howard Cushing is located at Cushing Memorial Park in Delafield, Wisconsin.