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Henry Braid Wilson Jr. was born on Mount Vernon Street in Camden NJ on February 23, 1861 to Henry Braid Wilson Sr. and his wife Mary Ann. His father was a prominent citizen in Camden NJ, a successful businessman who served on City Council, on the the Commission of Public Instruction, the precursor of the city Board of Education, and as Postmaster for Camden at different times. Henry Wilson Jr. enrolled at the United States Naval Academy at the age of 15, and graduated in 1881. He soon began his illustrious Navy career, first as a training officer for apprentices, then serving in the West Indies, Bering Sea, Pacific Ocean and the Great Lakes. Wilson saw action in the Spanish-American War as a lieutenant, and was "highly commended for coolness and bravery," says a newspaper account. In
1916, he was assigned to the command of the USS Pennsylvania, flagship
of the commander-in-chief of the Atlantic Fleet.
In April of 1917, when America entered World War I, he was made commander of the American fleet in French waters by the First World War. Admiral Wilson convoyed troops and supplies to France during the war without the loss of a single life. For his "outstanding wartime services, Admiral Wilson was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor of France, Commander of the Order of St. Maurice and St. Lazarus of Italy and the Grand Official of the Military Order of Avia of Portugal," the newspaper account says. In 1919, Wilson was given command of the Atlantic Fleet. In April 1919, Camden welcomed Admiral Henry B. Wilson to the city with receptions, motorcades, planked shad dinner, and a reception at the Third Regiment Armory. Prosecutor Charles A. Wolverton, later a 16 term Congressman from Camden, addressed the banquet gathering. "It was a Camden officer, in the person of Admiral Wilson, who taught the Kaiser and his war lords that there is no such word as 'impossible' to be found in all the historic records of the American Navy." Admiral Wilson served as the commandant of the United States Naval Academy from 1921 through 1925. His final rank was that of Rear Admiral. He retired, first to California, and then to New York. In November of 1929 he again returned to Camden, for the Armistice Day celebration. It was then when the newly constructed Bridge Boulevard, which ran from the Delaware River Bridge to the Airport Circle in Pennsauken, was renamed the Admiral Wilson Boulevard. Admiral Wilson and his wife Ada were living in Philadelphia PA at the time of the 1930 census. He passed away on January 30, 1954. Admiral Wilson's brother, Phillip Wilson became president of the Central Trust Bank, and was later a vice-president at Camden Trust. Phillip's wife, the former Emma Foulon, was the daughter of Charles Foulon who founded a bakery in the 1880s at 524 Federal Street. After her father's death in 1905 Emma's brother, also named Charles Foulon, operated the business, which also included an ice cream parlor, for many years. |
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Philadelphia Inquirer - May 5, 1899 |
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Lieutenant Henry B. Wilson, of the battleship Indiana, is home on a brief leave of absence. |
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Admiral
Wilson During World War I from History of Camden
County
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Navy Department Washington DC Click
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Henry B. Wilson, USN, Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet, Admiral Robert E. Coontz, USN, Chief of Naval Operations, & Admiral Hugh Rodman, USN, Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet. (listed from left to right) |
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Philadelphia
Inquirer September 7, 1919 Click on Images for PDF File of Complete Article Admiral
Henry Wilson - Charles
H. Ellis |
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Admiral Wilson at the Naval Academy - 1921-1925 |
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Rear Admiral Henry B. Wilson ’81 (1921-1925), the twenty-sixth superintendent, reported to the Naval Academy having just completed a tour as Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet, reverting from a four star billet to that of a Rear Admiral upon acceptance of his new orders. An imposing figure, Wilson, ultimately referred to by midshipmen as "Uncle Harry," believed strongly that the Academy’s crucial task was the development of character, with truth as the cornerstone. Launching a campaign to make the academy "more humane," Wilson revised Christmas leave and inaugurated an Easter leave, as well. He had no tolerance for hazing and in its place instituted a system of "rates," or privileges, incorporating many traditional but unofficial practices into academy regulations. He created the first USNA department of physical training in 1923 and introduced one of the Academy’s most romantic traditions, the Ring Dance, in 1925. It is said that Admiral Wilson’s administration constituted the transition between the cloistered academy of the nineteenth century and the open academy of the twentieth. |
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In 1921 evidence of continuing difficulty with hazing was apparent with the publication of a letter to the Brigade by Rear Admiral Henry B. Wilson, Superintendent. Wilson reminded the students that they were not empowered to punish any other Midshipmen by denial of such things as food and rest. He also made clear in the following remarks that Classmate loyalty was not to be confused with honor. Wilson stated: Tradition never did and never will require one on duty to assume responsibility for the derelictions of a Classmate or shipmate. Worthwhile friends will not place a Midshipman on duty in a position where he must either report them or himself or assume the responsibility for an offence more serious—neglect of duty—which may carry with it distrust and possible dismissal. Class spirit is commendable…But it is indefensible through a mistaken idea of “Class honor” to shield another who has knowingly failed to accord to the regiment that honorable position which generations of Midshipmen have earned for it. |
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Boulevard was named for decorated World War I admiral By
LAURIE STUART Admiral Wilson. Motorists who have driven through Camden instantly recognize the name, but most don't know who he is. Henry Braid Wilson was born in Camden in 1861. At the age of 15, he went to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., where he graduated in 1881. He soon began his illustrious Navy career, first as a training officer for apprentices, then serving in the West Indies, Bering Sea, Pacific Ocean and the Great Lakes. Wilson saw action in the Spanish-American War as a lieutenant, and was "highly commended for coolness and bravery," says a newspaper account. In 1916, he was assigned to the command of the USS Pennsylvania, flagship of the commander-in-chief of the Atlantic Fleet. The following year … when the United States entered World War I … he was assigned commander of the U.S. Naval Forces in France. For his "outstanding wartime services, Admiral Wilson was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor of France, Commander of the Order of St. Maurice and St. Lazarus of Italy and the Grand Official of the Military Order of Avia of Portugal," the newspaper account says. In 1919, Wilson became commander-in-chief of the Atlantic Fleet. Two years later, he was appointed superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy. In 1923, he retired with the rank of rear admiral. In accordance with a Congressional Act, he was later given the rank of admiral. Although Wilson retired to California, then to New York, his parents still lived in Camden, where his father, also Henry B. Wilson, was a member of the Camden Board of Education. In fact, the H.B. Wilson School at 9th and Florence streets is named for his father. So when do Admiral Wilson and the boulevard cross paths? While some people think that was on Armistice Day in 1929, that's not altogether true. Bridge Entrance Road or Bridge Boulevard opened in 1925 as the main highway to the Ben Franklin Bridge. Four years later, Wilson returned as an honored guest of Camden and during Armistice Day ceremonies, officials decided to rename the highway "in honor of Camden's great native son." So South Jerseyans came to know the highway as Admiral Wilson Boulevard. What they thought, however, didn't ring true. While everyone was under the impression that the boulevard … which goes through Camden and Pennsauken … had been renamed in 1929, there was a slight wrinkle. In 1937, it was discovered that the name change had not been made official. "When the Forest Hills development was made, Camden approved a change of name honoring one of Camden's most renowned citizens, and later, during the administration of Mayor Winfield S. Price, a resolution was passed to make the name, as the then commissioners thought, official," says a Nov. 18, 1937 Courier-Post article. "But an ordinance to approve the change was necessary, and no ordinance was ever passed. . . So next Wednesday, when commissioners meet a day early on account of the Thanksgiving holiday, Commissioner Frank J. Hartmann will sponsor an ordinance which will make Bridge Boulevard Admiral Wilson Boulevard once and for all. Pennsauken Township is expected to do the same." |
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Admiral Henry B. Wilson in Camden - 1926 |
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On April 22, 1959 the guided missile-firing destroyer USS HENRY B. WILSON DDG-7 was launched at Bay City MI, with Mrs. Patrick Hurley, Admiral Wilson's daughter, attending. The Wilson served in the Pacific and off the coast of Vietnam during that conflict. After along and distinguished career she was converted into a power barge in 1996, and sunk as a target off the coast of California on August 15, 2003. Click here for more pictures and information on the USS HENRY B. WILSON DDG-7. |
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Disposition:
SUNK AS A TARGET |
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Sources include: Camden County, New Jersey, 1616-1976: A Narrative, by Jeffrey M. Dorwart and Philip English Mackey. Camden County, NJ: Camden County Cultural & Heritage Commission, 1976. [Note that Professor Dorwart's new book, Camden County, New Jersey: The Making of a Metropolitan Community, 1626-2000, has recently been released.]. Also thanks to Camden's own Joe Gambardello, staff writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer. |
