Naval History and Heritage Command

Finding aid (Word)

Biographical Note

Henry C. Daniel was born on 19 October 1903 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was commissioned as an Ensign in the Navy on 15 June 1924 after having attended the U.S. Naval Academy.

Ensign Daniel's early service included training in the battleships USS Arkansas and Maryland, and duty as Gunnery Officer of the cruiser St. Louis from May 1939 until December 1941. He then went on to command USS Conyngham prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. During his command, Conyngham performed convoy and patrol duties in the Pacific and Southwest Pacific areas, shooting down enemy planes and participating in important engagements such as the Battles of Midway, Santa Cruz and the capture and defense of Guadalcanal.

In 1943, he commissioned USS Fullam and after her shakedown and training cruises, was ordered to Washington, D.C., to serve on the staff of Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet. Almost two years later he received the rank of Captain as he served as Commander Destroyer Squadron 52 and also in command of Destroyer Division 103, which participated in the Okinawa campaign. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for outstanding service in the Pacific during the war.

Captain Daniel then served a tour of duty as Director of the Naval Reserves of the Sixth Naval District, Headquarters in Charleston, South Carolina.  In July of 1948 he joined the staff of Commander Battleships-Cruisers, Pacific Fleet, as Chief of Staff and Aide, and in September of the next year assumed command of USS Des Moines, flagship of Commander Sixth Fleet. In October of 1950 he reported to the Navy Department, Washington D.C. to serve as Head of Collection and Dissemination, Naval Intelligence Division of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. 

Upon his selection to the rank of Rear Admiral, he was ordered to sea as Commander Destroyer Flotilla Two. In March 1953 he returned to the Navy Department to serve again in the Naval Intelligence Division, as Deputy Director.  On 25 April 1955 he assumed command of Cruiser Division Four, Atlantic Fleet, and after a year in that command, and a brief tour of duty in the Bureau of Naval Personnel, he was ordered to duty on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations as Hydrographer of the Navy with additional duty in command of the Hydrographic Office.

He retired from active duty on April 1959 and was advanced on the Retired List to the rank of Vice Admiral. Following his retirement he lived in Birmingham, Alabama until his death in 1987.

Scope and Content Note

The Papers of Vice Admiral Henry C. Daniel are a set of news clippings, letters, estate correspondence and photographs collected by his family.

The collection is organized in one series, which is a subject file. The folders are divided by subject and arranged alphabetically.

Preferred Citation

Papers of Henry C. Daniel, Archives Branch, Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington, D.C.

Subject Headings (LCSH)

World War, 1939-1945--United States.
Conyngham (Destroyer : DD-371).
Fullam (Destroyer : DD-474).
Crowninshield (DD-134).