The Biographical Dictionary of America/Bagley, Worth

BAGLEY, Worth, naval officer, was born in Raleigh, N.C., April 6, 1874; son of Maj. William H. and Adelaide Anne (Worth) Bagley; grandson of Col. William H. Bagley; great-grandson of William Bagley, a soldier in the war of 1812, and great²-grandson of Thomas Bagley, who served in the Revolutionary war. His father served in the Confederate army, 1861-'65, and was clerk of the supreme court of North Carolina, and his mother was a daughter of Gov. Jonathan and Martitia (Daniel) Worth. He gained admission to the U.S. naval academy by competition in a large class, all his seniors. He was appointed in 1889, reappointed in 1891; was graduated in 1895 and joined the receiving ship Vermont. He was assigned successively to the Montgomery, July 23, 1895; Texas, Oct. 8, 1895; Maine, Jan. 20, 1895, and Texas, July 20, 1896; was promoted ensign July 1, 1897, and assigned to the Indiana. He was transferred to the U.S. battleship Maine Aug. 17, 1897, and thence to the torpedo-boat Winslow, as second in command, entering upon his duties Dec. 28, 1897. He was the first American naval officer killed in the Spanish-American war, meeting his death on board the Winslow, in the naval engagement in Cardenas Bay, Cuba, May 12, 1898.