Edward Wilson Very

{{Short description|United States Navy officer}} {{Infobox military person |honorific_prefix = |name = Edward Wilson Very |honorific_suffix = |image = |image_upright = |alt = |caption = |native_name = |native_name_lang = |birth_name = |other_name = |nickname = |birth_date = {{birth date|1847|10|26}} |birth_place = Belfast, Maine |death_date = {{death date and age|1910|03|1|1847|10|26}} |death_place = New York City, New York |burial_place = |burial_label = |burial_coordinates =  |allegiance = {{flag|United States}} |branch = {{Navy|United States}} |branch_label =  |service_years = |service_years_label = |rank = |rank_label = |service_number = |unit = |commands = |known_for = |battles = |battles_label = |awards = |memorials = |alma_mater = United States Naval Academy |spouse =  |children = |relations = |other_work = |signature = |signature_size = |signature_alt = |website =  |module = }} '''Edward Wilson Very''' (October 26, 1847 – March 1, 1910) was a United States Navy officer who adopted and popularized a single-shot breech-loading snub-nosed flare gun that fired flares that bear his name (Very lights).<ref>{{cite web|title=Very light|url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_us1303992|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714185136/http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_us1303992|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 14, 2012|website=Oxford Dictionary|publisher=Oxford University Press|accessdate=December 28, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Jones|first1=Roger|title=What's who? : a dictionary of things named after people and the people they are named after|date=2008|publisher=Matador|location=Leicester|isbn=9781848760479|page=265|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=46Rx1U5x70QC|accessdate=December 28, 2015}}</ref> During his naval career he captained a gunboat off the shores of Japan, held positions in engineering, naval ordnance, artillery and signal staff postings and saw diplomatic service with the U.S. Legation in Paris.<ref name=Baer/>

==Early life and education== Very was born in Belfast, Maine, and, at the age of {{frac|15|1|2}}, was admitted to the U.S. Naval Academy from the Washington Territory. His was the first appointment ever issued from that territory. He entered the academy in February 1863. He was granted a leave of absence in June 1864 for active service during the Civil War. From June 7, 1864, until the end of July 1864, he served on the {{USS|Agawam|1863|6}} at Dutch Gap on the James River. He was then transferred to the steamer {{USS|Gettysburg|1858|2}}, where he participated in the blockade of Wilmington, North Carolina. He returned to the academy that October to complete his studies, graduating on June 7, 1867.<ref name=Hamersly>{{cite book|last1=Hamersly|first1=Lewis Randolph|title=The Records of Living Officers of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps|date=1878|publisher=J. B. Lippincott and Company|location=Philadelphia|isbn=9785876208880|pages=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924028731309/page/n245 242]–243|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924028731309|accessdate=December 28, 2015}}</ref>

==Military career== Following graduation, Very served his first midshipman tour briefly on the {{USS|Michigan|1843|6}}. He then saw service with the Asiatic Squadron aboard the {{USS|Piscataqua|1866|6}} from September 1867 to July 1868, and then on the {{USS|Oneida|1861|6}}. In January 1869, he received his commission as an ensign and was ordered to the {{USS|Idaho|1864|6}} in May. In August, he was ordered to the {{USS|Monocacy|1864|6}}, where he received his Masters commission in December. In February 1870, he received orders to the {{USS|Delaware|1866|6}}.<ref name=Hamersly/>

In December 1870, he received orders to service with the European Squadron, serving brief tours on the {{USS|Franklin|1864|6}} and {{USS|Richmond|1860|6}}. In May 1871, he was transferred to the {{USS|Shenandoah|1862|6}}, remaining with the squadron until 1874. He was promoted to lieutenant in September 1871.<ref name=Hamersly/> During his time in Europe, he witnessed Marshal MacMahon's march into Paris to quell the Paris Commune.<ref name=Obit>{{cite news|title=Edward W. Very Obituary|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1910-03-02/ed-1/seq-7/|accessdate=December 29, 2015|work=New-York Tribune|date=March 2, 1910|location=New York, NY|page=7}}</ref>

In February 1874, he was ordered to ordnance duty at the Washington Navy Yard. He served four months with the Panama Interoceanic Canal Survey from December 1874 until returning to the Ordnance Bureau in mid-April 1875. In June, he received orders to the Navy's Torpedo Station, where he eventually commanded the experimental battery there. From January 9 to February 14, 1878, he served on the {{USS|Constitution}}, when he was ordered to special ordnance duty in Europe.<ref name=Hamersly/> Beginning in February 1878, he was in charge of naval ordnance matters placing him with top European military and armaments officials while in Paris until 1881.<ref name=Baer>{{cite journal|last1=Baer|first1=F. H.|title=Lieutenant Very's Pistol|journal=American Rifleman|date=June 1993|pages=40–43, 84|publisher=National Rifle Association}}</ref>

After serving on the Naval Advisory Board from 1881 to 1883,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Johnson|first1=Robert Erwin|title=Rear Admiral John Rodgers: 1812–1882|date=1967|publisher=United States Naval Institute|location=Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=0405130392|pages=[https://archive.org/details/rearadmiraljohnr00john/page/366 366], 371|url=https://archive.org/details/rearadmiraljohnr00john|url-access=registration}}</ref> Very was assigned to special duties abroad.<ref name=Resignation/> He resigned from the U.S. Navy, effective April 30, 1885, and took positions at the Hotchkiss Company and later at the American Ordnance Company.<ref name=Baer/><ref name=Resignation>{{cite journal|title=Resignation of Lieutenant Very|journal=Army and Navy Journal|date=25 October 1884|volume=XXII|issue=13|page=246|url=http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951p00675211t;view=1up;seq=256|accessdate=January 6, 2016}}</ref>

==Personal life== Very married Margaret Freeman Zeilin, the daughter of Jacob Zeilin, the seventh Commandant of the Marine Corps. He died of pneumonia in 1910 in New York City.<ref name=Obit/>

==Publications== *{{cite book|last1=Very|first1=Edward Wilson|title=Organization of the Naval Brigade|date=1875|publisher=U.S. Navy, Bureau of Ordnance|location=Washington, DC}} *{{cite book|last1=Very|first1=Lieut. Edward W.|title=Navies of the World|date=1880|publisher=J. Wiley and Sons|location=New York|url=http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/006584832}} * {{cite book|last1=Very|first1=Edward Wilson|title=The Hotchkiss Revolving Canon. Descriptions and Illustrations of the Systems as Designed for Naval Service, Field Artillery and Flank Defence, Together with Firing Tables, Proving Ground Tests and Official Reports|date=1885|publisher=Waterlow and sons}} *{{cite book|last1=Very|first1=Edward Wilson|title=The Annapolis Armor Test|date=1891|publisher=United States Naval Institute|location=Annapolis, MD|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qqJAAAAAYAAJ}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Very, Edward Wilson}} Category:1847 births Category:1910 deaths Category:United States Navy officers Category:United States Naval Academy alumni Category:Union navy officers Category:Deaths from pneumonia in New York City Category:People from Belfast, Maine Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery