Navy Profiles
Theodore Phinney Greene, a native of Montreal, Canada, was appointed as a midshipman from (Brattleboro) Vermont in November 1826. He served on the frigate Constellation in the Mediterranean in 1832, the sloop Vincennes in the Pacific Squadron and participated in a circumnavigation of the world between 1834 and 1836. He was promoted to Lieutenant in December 1837 and served on the razee Independence in the Brazil Squadron from 1837 to 1839. During the Mexican War he served on the Congress in the Pacific Squadron, and spent six months in command of land forces at Mazatlan. He subsequently served on Cyane, and in 1854 through 1856 at the Boston Navy Yard. He was promoted to Commander in 1855, and served as a lighthouse inspector until 1860, when he assumed command of the Navy Yard at Mare Island, California.
He was promoted to Captain in July 1862, and given command of the side-wheel steamer Santiago de Cuba, and later the screw frigate San Jacinto, in the East Gulf Squadron. He was briefly commander pro tem of the squadron from August to October 1864, during which time he suffered an attack of yellow fever. On January 25, 1865, he relieved Captain Thornton Jenkins as commander of the Richmond, attached to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron. In the spring of that year Richmond participated in the capture of Mobile, Alabama. Returning to the New Orleans area at the end of April, Captain Greene participated in the capture of the Confederate ram William H. Webb.
After the war, Greene served on ordnance duty in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and, in 1867, was ordered to the Powhatan, of the Pacific squadron. In July that year, he was promoted to commodore and commanded the Pensacola Navy Yard from 1868 till 1871, when he was retired. In March, 1872, he was placed on the retired list with the rank of rear admiral. Rear Admiral Greene died in Jaffrey, New Hampshire on August 30, 1887. His papers, 1863-1866, are at the New York Historical Society, 2 West 77th Street, New York, NY 10024.
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Notes:
1. Peck, 692; ORN, vol. 17, p. 764-765.
See Researching and writing about Vermont Blue-Jackets in the Civil War for explanations of references.
