George Mifflin Bache Papers, 1821-1917, 1952, 1968: Finding Aid

Biography of George Mifflin Bache

George Mifflin Bache was born in Washington, D.C. on November 12, 1840, the son of George Mifflin Bache [Sr.], a lieutenant in the Navy, and Eliza (Patterson) Bache, daughter of Commodore Daniel Todd Patterson. Benjamin Franklin was his great-great-grandfather. Bache was also related to Alexander James Dallas, Secretary of the Treasury under President James Madison, and George Mifflin Dallas, Vice President of the United States from 1845 to 1849. Among his uncles were Alexander Dallas Bache, who became superintendent of the U.S. Coast Survey in 1843, and naval officer David Dixon Porter, son of Commodore David Porter.

In 1846, the elder Bache was swept overboard during a gale while in command of the U.S.S. Washington (brig), engaged on duty with the Coast Survey. Despite his father's tragic death at sea, George Mifflin Bache embarked upon a naval career. Undoubtedly, both his father's and mother's connections aided him in his choice of vocation. He served as captain's clerk aboard the U.S.S. Saratoga (sloop-of-war) from August 1855 to May 1857. The same month he left the Saratoga, he was appointed Acting Master's Mate of the Coast Survey schooner Nautilus, under the command of Lieutenant Richard Wainwright, an uncle by marriage. In November 1857, he entered the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating on June 1, 1861.

George Mifflin Bache had a distinguished career during the Civil War. He received his lieutenant's commission in July 1862 and in November took command of the U.S.S. Cincinnati (stern-wheel casemate gunboat). That vessel was involved in the operations against Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1863 and was sunk during an engagement with Confederate batteries defending the approaches to the city. The Secretary of the Navy wrote a letter to Bache commending him and the Cincinnati's surviving officers and crew for their bravery in action. Bache subsequently took command of the U.S.S. Lexington (side-wheel gunboat) and in late 1864 assumed the duties of executive officer aboard the U.S.S. Powhatan (steam sloop-of-war) in the North Atlantic Squadron. That ship was involved in the attacks on Fort Fisher, North Carolina. Bache was wounded in the shoulder while taking part in the land assault on that post.

On July 25, 1866, Bache was commissioned a lieutenant commander. He served as the executive officer of the U.S.S. Sacramento (steam sloop-of-war) from September 1866 until June 1867, when the vessel ran aground on reefs at the mouth of the Godavari River on the east coast of India. All hands survived, but the ship was lost. A Navy General Court Martial held in New York in January 1868 suspended Bache and Captain Napoleon Collins. On March 11, 1869, Navy Department General Order No. 102 revoked the sentence of the court martial and restored Bache's pay.

From 1869 to 1872, Bache served aboard the U.S.S. Juniata (steam sloop-of-war) during that vessel's cruise in European waters. His final post was at the Washington Navy Yard. Bache retired with the rank of commander in 1875. He died on February 11, 1896, and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C. He was survived by his wife, the former Harriet DuBois of Hallstead, Pennsylvania, and three daughters.

The destroyer Bache (DD-470), commissioned on November 14, 1942, was named for Commander George Mifflin Bache.

Description of Contents

The collection spans the dates 1821 to 1968, with the bulk of the documents dating from 1855 to 1896, and consists mostly of letters, journals, photographs, and other papers related to George Mifflin Bache and his naval career. Letters from Bache to his mother Eliza (Patterson) Bache (1814-1884) make up the majority of the correspondence. Five of these letters date from the Civil War, including one describing the Red River campaign in 1864. In addition, there are a group of papers related to the loss of the U.S.S. Sacramento, a map of the battle of Chattanooga drawn by Dallas Bache (1838-1902), and three documents related to George Mifflin Bache [Sr.] (d. 1846).

A small amount of material relates to the Pattersons, including two journals kept by Eliza Patterson (one a transcribed copy) and one journal kept by her sister George Ann (1819-1893) when they sailed with their father during his command of the Mediterranean Squadron in the 1830s. There is a typescript copy of one lengthy letter written in 1821 from Margaret (Porter) Heap (1791-1858) to Evelina (Anderson) Porter (1791-1871). Evelina Porter was the wife of Commodore David Porter (1780-1843) and the mother of George Mifflin Bache's uncle David Dixon Porter (1813-1891). Margaret Porter, David Porter's sister, was married to naval surgeon Samuel Davies Heap (1781-1853), who at the time of the letter was in charge of the hospital of the American Mediterranean fleet. He later served as United States consul to Tunis.

Among the photographs are several of George Mifflin Bache at various points in his life, including one of him in his midshipman uniform and an opalotype (probably dating from 1866) showing him in the uniform of a lieutenant commander. A cabinet card from the Washington, D.C. studio of Charles Milton Bell, who was in business from 1873 to 1909, depicts Bache in the uniform of a commander. Another cabinet card of Bache in civilian clothes was taken at the Rieman & Co. studio in San Francisco.

There are two cartes-de-visite of his cousin Thomas Harman Patterson (1820-1889), a naval officer, and one of his uncle General William Hemsley Emory (1811-1887), none of which are dated. One photograph of Patterson shows him in a commander's uniform before the uniform regulations were modified in July, 1862. It bears a Boston photographer's stamp on the back, so it most likely dates from early 1862 when Patterson would have been in Boston to take command of the U.S.S. Chocura (screw steam gunboat). The other photograph of Patterson shows him in the commander's uniform of 1864.

The connection of two items to George Mifflin Bache is unclear. One is the third volume of a coast survey of Japan, in Japanese, and the other is a letter from bootmaker Jonathan Forrest to Colonel James Duncan Graham, whose son graduated from the Naval Academy in 1862. Eight books and one photograph album have been removed from the collection and are cataloged separately.

Arrangement

• Series 1: CORRESPONDENCE, 1861-1873
• Series 2: JOURNALS, 1855-1857
• Series 3: U.S. NAVY, 1867-1890 and undated
• Series 4: EPHEMERA, 1869, 1888-1889, 1896 and undated
• Series 5: PHOTOGRAPHS, 1861-1880 and undated
• Series 6: BACHE FAMILY, 1846-1848, [1863?], 1885-1917, 1968
• Series 7: PATTERSON FAMILY, 1832-1834, 1875
• Series 8: MISCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS, 1821, 1860, 1952, 1968, and undated

Access and Use

Access

Access is unrestricted.

Copyright and Permission

The George Mifflin Bache Papers are the physical property of Nimitz Library. Copyright belongs to the authors or creators of the works, or their legal representatives. For further information, consult the Head, Special Collections & Archives.

It is the responsibility of the researcher to secure written permission to publish, reprint, or reproduce material from Special Collections & Archives. The researcher assumes responsibility for infringement of copyright or literary or publication rights. Please contact the Head, Special Collections & Archives for permission to publish and for further information.

Acquisition and Appraisal

Provenance and Acquisition

Gift of Captain Jack M. Seymour, USN (Ret.) on 1970 October 8.

Related Materials

Related Archival Material

Journal of the U.S.S. Plymouth, MS 10 is George Mifflin Bache's log of his midshipman practice cruise aboard the sloop-of-war Plymouth in the summer of 1860.

Additional documents connected to George Mifflin Bache are located at the Navy Department Library, Naval History and Heritage Command in the Commander George Mifflin Bache, USN Collection.

Materials Cataloged Separately

The following eight titles have been removed from the collection and cataloged separately: Autographs and Photographs, Graduating Class, 1861, U.S. Naval Academy Amherst, Mass.: J.L. Lovell photographer, [1861]. (Spec Coll Photo Album 2); Hamersly, Lewis Randolph. The Records of Living Officers of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps 4th ed. rev. Philadelphia: L.R. Hamersly & Co. 1890. (Spec Coll E182.H208 1890); Headly, Joel Tyler. Farragut and Our Naval Commanders. New York: E.B. Treat & Co., 1867. (Spec Coll E467.H43 1867 c.2); Maury, Matthew Fontaine. The Physical Geography of the Sea. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1855. (Spec Coll GC11.M45 1855; Inscribed on front free endpaper "Geo. M. Bache U.S.N."); Parker, William Harwar. Recollections of a Naval Officer, 1841-1865. New York: Charles Scribners' Sons, 1883. (Spec Coll V63.P34A37 1883 c.2); Porter, David Dixon Memoir of Commodore David Porter of the United States Navy. Albany: J. Munsell, 1875. (Spec Coll E353.1.P7P8 1875 c.4); Porter, David Dixon. The Naval History of the Civil War. The Sherman Publishing Company, 1886. (Spec Coll E591.P84 1886 c.2); Turnbull, Archibald Douglas. Commodore David Porter, 1780-1843. New York and London: The Century Co. [1929]. (Spec Coll E353.1.P7T94 c. 2)

Processing and Other Information

Preferred Citation

George Mifflin Bache Papers, MS 212

Special Collections & Archives Department

Nimitz Library

United States Naval Academy

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Jennifer A. Bryan in February 2011. Finding aid written by Jennifer A. Bryan in February 2011.

Subject Headings

Name and Subject Terms

• Bache, George Mifflin, 1840-1896
• Bache,Eliza Patterson, 1814-1884
• Red River Expedition, 1864
• Sacramento (Sloop-of-War)
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Naval Operations
• United States. Navy -- History -- 19th Century

Genre Terms

• Clippings (information artifacts)
• Correspondence
• Diaries
• Manuscripts
• Photographs