by Rev. Canon Dr. Robert Girard Carroon, PCinC
Purnell Frederick Harrington was a career naval officer who served as Commander-in-Chief from 1925 to 1927. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, he was both a scholar and a blue-water sailor of uncommon ability. Purnell was born in Dover, Delaware, on June 6, 1844, the son of Samuel M. Harrington and the former Mary Lofland. Upon completion of high school he received an appointment to the Annapolis and was mustered in as Acting Midshipman on September 20, 1861. On July 16, 1862, he was promoted to Midshipman and, upon graduation, was appointed Acting Ensign.
Acting Ensign Harrington’s first assignment was service on the U.S.S. Ticonderoga with the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron from October 1863 through January 1864. He was then transferred to the U.S.S. Niagara on special service from January-June 1864, after which he was transferred to the U.S.S. Monongahela with the Western Gulf Blockading Squadron. While serving aboard the Monongahela, Ensign Harrington participated in the Battle of Mobile Bay as part of the naval force under Rear Admiral David Glasgow Farragut.
After shore leave at the close of the War of the Rebellion, Acting Ensign Harrington returned to service on the Monongahela and was promoted Ensign on December 21, 1865. Following his appointment as Master on May 10, 1866, Purnell Harrington was promoted to Lieutenant on February 21, 1867, and assigned to the U.S. Naval Academy. After a two-year tour of duty, during which he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander on March 12, 1868, he was assigned to temporary torpedo duty with the U.S.S. California in August 1870. This was followed by appointment as executive officer of the U.S.S. Pensacola, flagship of the Pacific Fleet, from December 1870 through August 1873.
He returned to the Annapolis in September 1873 and served on the faculty until September 1876, when he became executive officer of the U.S.S. Hartford with the South Atlantic Squadron. He returned again to the Naval Academy faculty in January 1880 and was promoted to Commander on May 28, 1881. His next sea assignment was as captain of the U.S.S. Juanita on the Asiatic Station from March 1883 to January 1886, after which he became Commandant of Cadets at the U.S. Naval Academy. While commanding the Juanita, he was involved in U.S. affairs in Madagascar and the Comoro Islands, particularly matters concerning the relationship between the Sultan of Johanna and Dr. B. F. Wilson, an American citizen.
Purnell Harrington’s next assignment was as inspector of the Fourth Lighthouse District in Philadelphia, where he served until 1893, when he assumed command of the U.S.S. Yorktown. Following this command, he served on special duty at the Navy Department in Washington, DC, and later assumed the presidency of the Steel Board of the U.S. Navy. Harrington was promoted to Captain, United States Navy, on March 1, 1895.
After commanding the U.S.S. Terror with the North Atlantic Squadron from April 1896 to July 1897, Captain Harrington found himself in command of the U.S.S. Puritan at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. From November 1898 to October 1901, he served as Commandant of the Navy Yard at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. On March 21, 1903, Captain Harrington was promoted to Rear Admiral and became Commandant of the U.S. Navy Yard at Norfolk, Virginia. On June 6, 1906, after an illustrious career of service to the United States Navy and the Republic, Rear Admiral Harrington was placed on the retired list. His final military duty was in connection with the Jamestown Exposition from July 1906-January 1908.
A scholar in the field of nautical engineering, Harrington wrote a number of articles, including “The Coefficient of Safety in Navigation” and “Notes of Navigation and the Determination of Meridian Distances for the Use of Naval Cadets at the U.S. Naval Academy.” He is listed among the founding members of the U.S. Naval Institute.
Rear Admiral Harrington was elected a Companion of the First Class of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion on December 7, 1910, by the Commandery of the State of New York and assigned Insignia #16399. On May 1, 1912, he was elected Senior Vice-Commander of the New York Commandery, and on February 15, 1913, he became Commander. In 1923 he was elected Senior Vice-Commander-in-Chief. Rear Admiral Harrington succeeded Lieutenant General Nelson Appleton Miles as Commander-in-Chief upon the latter’s death.
On August 5, 1868, Purnell Frederick Harrington married Maria Nelthropp Ruan of St. Croix in the then-Danish West Indies in 1868. They had four children, including Brigadier General Samuel Milby Harrington, USMC, who was an Hereditary Companion with Insignia #16527. Rear Admiral Harrington died at his home in Yonkers, New York, on October 20, 1937. He was interred aside his wife, who predeceased him by eleven years, at Lakeside Cemetery in Dover, Delaware.