CHARLES O'NEIL
O'NEIL, CHARLES, rear-admiral United States navy, is an officer who in peace, in preparation for war, and in war itself, has won an enviable record for fidelity, foresight, and efficiency. Without either official influence or the advantage of study in a technical school or the naval academy, by his energy, ability and character, he has risen from the place of a common sailor on a merchant vessel to his present high position.
He was born in Manchester, England, March 15, 1842. His parents were John and Mary Ann (Francis) O'Neil. His father was a note and stock broker, a man of culture and integrity, who gave careful attention to his business and was devoted to his family, but who never entered public life. Mrs. O'Neil was a woman of fine mind and noble character. They removed to this country in 1847 and settled in Roxbury, now incorporated in Boston, Massachusetts. One of their earlier ancestors was Henry O'Neil, an English painter.
Charles O'Neil studied in the grammar and high schools of Roxbury, but at the age of seventeen he "went to sea before the mast." During the next few years the craving for adventure which had led him to become a sailor was fully satisfied. His first voyage, from Boston to Liverpool and Calcutta, was made in safety, but on his second voyage, the ship foundered in the Indian Ocean. After drifting two or three days in an open boat, with a few of his companions he was rescued by a French bark and landed at Mauritius, where he found employment as clerk to the United States consul. Early in 1861, he went to New York as third mate, on a ship which had come into port for repairs.
As soon as possible after reaching New York, O'Neil entered the United States navy as a volunteer in the Civil war which had just begun. He served on the war ship Cumberland at both attacks on Forts Hatteras and Clark, and also in the encounter in which about one hundred and twenty men lost their lives and the ship was sunk by the famous Confederate ironclad, Merrimac. He also participated in both attacks on Fort Fisher. In 1864, while at Key West for coal
