USS Ammen DD-35

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Ammen

Daniel Ammen was born in Brown County, Ohio, on 15 May 1820. He was appointed a midshipman on 7 July 1836 and later served with distinction during the Civil War. Ammen commanded Seneca at the Battle of Port Royal, S.C., on 7 November 1861; Patapsco in the attack on Fort McAlister and Fort Sumter in 1863; and Mohican in the bombardment of Fort Fisher in late 1864 and early 1865. Following the end of the fighting, he spent most of his remaining years of service in Washington, serving first as Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and then as Chief of the Bureau of Navigation. He was promoted to rear admiral upon his retirement in 1878. After leaving active duty. He spent much of his time writing on naval subjects and pub- lished two books: the Atlantic Coast and The Old Navy and The New. Ammen died near Washington, D.C., on 11 July 1898, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

(Destroyer No. 35: dp. 883; 1. 293'10"; b. 26'10 1/2"; dr. 8'4"; s. 30.48 k.; cpl. 83; a. 5 3", 6 18" tt.; cl. Paulding)

Ammen (Destroyer No. 35) was laid down on 29 March 1910 by the New York Ship Building Co., Camden, N.J.; launched on 20 September 1910; sponsored by Miss Ethel C. Andrews; and commissioned at Philadelphia on 23 May 1911, Lt. (jg.) Lloyd W. Townsend in command.

Following commissioning, Ammen was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet. She operated with the Torpedo Flotilla along the east coast. Upon the outbreak of World War I in Europe in 1914, Ammen began neutrality patrols and escort duty along the east coast. After the United States entered the conflict in April 1917, Ammen sailed for the Bahamas on a reconnaissance mission. When she returned to the United States, the destroyer entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 6 May to be fitted out for overseas service. Ammen was assigned to Division 9, Destroyer Force, and sailed on 18 June for St. Nazaire, France.

After the arrival of the convoy at St. Nazaire on 2 July, Ammen proceeded to Queenstown, Ireland, and was attached to American naval forces based there. The ship carried out convoy escort duty between Ireland and France, patrolled off the Irish coast for enemy submarines, and went to the aid of vessels in distress. Ammen returned to the United States in January 1919. Shemade a cruise to the Gulf of Mexico before going out of commission at Philadelphia on 11 December 1919. The vessel was desig- DD-35 on 17 July 1920. Ammen remained at Philadelphia until 28 April 1924, when she was transferred to the Coast Guard, in whose hands she was redesignated CG-8. Ammen was one of 20 destroyers that formed the Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Force, established to help suppress bootlegging.

On 22 May 1931, Ammen was returned to the Navy, but she performed no further active service. Her name was dropped on 1 July 1933, and thereafter she was referred to as DD-35. She was struck from the Navy list on 5 July 1934 and sold to Michael Flynn, Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y.

Alden was awarded three battle stars for her World War II service.