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Thomas Ridgway (colonel)

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Thomas Ridgway
Black and white head and shoulders photo of Colonel Matthew Ridgway in uniform in 1919
Ridgway as colonel commanding the Coast Defenses of Oahu in 1919.
Born(1861-08-18)August 18, 1861
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedMay 5, 1939(1939-05-05) (aged 77)
San Diego, California, U.S.
Buried
Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery
AllegianceUnited States
Service / branchUnited States Army
Years of service1883–1919
RankColonel
UnitCoast Artillery Corps
CommandsBattery N, 5th Artillery Regiment
Light Battery F, 5th Artillery Regiment
Coast Defenses of Pensacola
Coast Defenses of Boston
South Atlantic Coast Artillery District
Coast Defenses of Portland, Maine
Coast Defenses of Oahu
Hawaiian Department
Battles / warsSpanish–American War
Philippine–American War
Boxer Rebellion
World War I
Spouse(s)Ruth Starbuck. Bunker (m. 1890–1939, his death)
Children2 (including Matthew Ridgway)

Thomas Ridgway (August 18, 1861 – May 5, 1939) was a career officer in the United States Army. A Coast Artillery specialist, Ridgway served from 1883 to 1919 and attained the rank of colonel. A veteran of the Spanish–American War, Philippine–American War, Boxer Rebellion, and World War I, he was most notable for his service as commander of several Coast Artillery posts and districts and acting commander of the Hawaiian Department. Ridgway was the father of General Matthew Ridgway.

Early life

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Thomas Ridgway was born in Brooklyn, New York on August 18, 1861, the son of attorney James Ridgway and Esther Lucas Molière Ridgway.[1][2][3] He attended the public schools of Brooklyn, and was a student at New York University for two years as a member of the class of 1881.[3] While at NYU, Ridgway became a member of the Delta Phi fraternity.[3] In 1879, Ridgway was appointed to the United States Military Academy by U.S. Representative Simeon B. Chittenden.[4] He graduated in 1883 ranked 10th of 52, and received his commission as a second lieutenant in the Artillery branch.[5]

Start of career

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Ridgway became a specialist in the use of coastal artillery for harbor defenses, a major strategic concern for the United States government in the late 1800s and early 1900s as the expansion of several nations' navies detracted from the natural defenses America enjoyed because of its location between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.[5][6] Initially assigned to the 5th Artillery Regiment, Ridway's early assignments included postings to New York's Fort Wadsworth, Fort Hamilton, and Riverside Park.[5] From May 1886 to October 1887, Ridgway was assigned as professor of military science at St. Paul's School in Garden City.[5]

From December 1887 to July 1888, Ridgway attended the Torpedo School at Fort Totten.[5][a] After graduating, Ridgway returned to duty at Fort Hamilton, where he remained until May 1890.[5] He was assigned to the Presidio of San Francisco from May 1890 to June 1891 and Fort Alcatraz from June 1891 to August 1892.[5] Ridgway was promoted to first lieutenant in February 1891.[5] From 1892 to 1896, he was assigned to the staff of the artillery school at Fort Monroe, Virginia. He graduated from the Fort Monroe artillery officer's course in September 1896.[5] Ridgway served with a light artillery battery at Fort Riley, Kansas from December 1896 to March 1898, when he was transferred to the 6th Artillery.[5]

Spanish–American War

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At the start of the Spanish–American War, Ridgway was assigned to assist in the rapid improvement of coastal defenses in the eastern United States.[5] These postings included Tybee Island, Georgia (March 1898), Fort McHenry, Maryland (March to April 1898), Fort Hamilton (April 1898), and Washington Barracks, D.C. (April 1898).[5] He was transferred back to the 5th Artillery in late April 1898.[5]

After returning to the 5th Artillery, Ridgway served at Fort Myer, Virginia (May 1898), Fort Hamilton (May 1898), Fort Hancock, New Jersey (May to July 1898), Fort Hamilton, (July 1898), and Fort Wadsworth (May to December 1898).[5] After the war, Ridgway was assigned to Fort Hamilton from December 1898 to January 1900.[5] He was promoted to captain in the 5th Artillery in March 1899, and he served as regimental adjutant from May 1899 to January 1900.[5]

Post-war

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From January to August 1900, Ridgway commanded Battery N, 5th Artillery at Fort Monroe.[5] He was then transferred to Light Battery F, 5th Artillery, which he commanded when it served in the Philippines during the Philippine–American War and in China during the U.S. response to the Boxer Rebellion.[5] He returned to the United States in June 1901, and commanded his battery at Fort Walla Walla, Washington from July 1901 to October 1902 and Fort Snelling, Minnesota from October 1902 to August 1906.[5] He was promoted to major in June 1906.[5]

Ridgway performed staff duty at Fort Caswell, North Carolina, from August 1906 to June 1907 and Fort Monroe from June 1907 to November 1909.[5] When the army created the Coast Artillery Corps as a separate branch in 1907, Ridgway was assigned to the Coast Artillery.[5] He was posted to Fort Andrews, Massachusetts from November 1909 to September 1912.[5] Ridgway was promoted to lieutenant colonel in July 1910 and colonel in September 1912.[5]

Later career

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After becoming a colonel, Ridgway was assigned to Fort Barrancas, Florida as commander of the Coast Defenses of Pensacola.[5] He commanded the Coast Defenses of Boston beginning in November 1915, and remained in this position during the early stages of U.S. involvement in World War I.[5] He commanded the South Atlantic Coast Artillery District in Charleston, South Carolina from March 17 to August 1918, after which he was assigned to command the Coast Defenses of Portland, Maine.[5] He continued in this post through the end of the war.[5]

In February 1919, Ridgway was assigned to command the Coast Defenses of Oahu, where he remained until retiring in October 1919.[5] From June to July 1919, he also served as acting commander of the army's Hawaiian Department.[5] Ridgway was visiting a laboratory in January 1912 when an explosion occurred, which resulted in him losing sight in one eye.[8] In September 1919, he requested retirement for the disability that resulted from this injury, which was approved in October 1919.[5][8]

Retirement and death

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In retirement, Ridgway was a resident of San Diego, California.[5] He died in San Diego on May 5, 1939.[5] He was buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego.[5]

Family

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In February 1890, Ridgway married Ruth Starbuck Bunker (1870–1956).[9][10] They were the parents of two children, Matthew and Ruth.[10] Matthew Ridgway was a career army officer who attained the rank of general and served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army.[11]

Notes

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  1. ^ Torpedoes were underwater mines used in harbor defense.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "1880 United States Federal Census, Entry for James Ridgway Family". Ancestry.com. Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com, LLC. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  2. ^ Seymour, Mary Jane (1899). Lineage Book – National Society of the Daughters of the American. Vol. VIII. Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Company. pp. 314–315 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ a b c Freeland, Arthur G., ed. (1907). Delta Phi Catalogue, 1827–1907. Chapel Hill, NC: Delta Phi Fraternity. p. 131 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "Ridgway Ready for War". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. April 12, 1898. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah Thayer, Bill (February 22, 2017). "Thomas Ridgway in Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the United States Military Academy, Volumes III–VIIII". Bill Thayer's Web Site. Chicago: Bill Thayer. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  6. ^ McGovern, Terrance; Smith, Bolling (2012). American Coastal Defenses 1885–1950. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. p. 4. ISBN 978-1849080439 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ Sacca, John Wands (March–April 1990). "From Coast Artillery to Air Defense Artillery". Air Defense Artillery. Fort Bliss, TX: U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery School. pp. 38–39 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ a b Soffer, Jonathan M. (1998). General Matthew B. Ridgway: From Progressivism to Reaganism, 1895–1993. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers. p. 12. ISBN 978-0275950743 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ "Personal Items: Lieutenant Thos. Ridgway". Army and Navy Journal. New York. February 15, 1890. p. 470 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ a b "Gen Ridgway's Mother Dies". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. September 30, 1956 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Krebs, Albin (July 27, 1993). "Matthew B. Ridgway Dies at 98; Leader of U.S. Troops in 2 Wars". The New York Times. New York – via TimesMachine.
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