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39-518: Henrietta is roughly circular in shape with a diameter of about 5 to 6 km (3 to 4 mi) and area of about 15 km (5.8 sq mi). Its shoreline consists of 50 to 100 m (164 to 328 ft) high, continuous, and rocky seacliffs . Cape Melville (Mys Mel'villya), Henrietta's northernmost landhead, is the northernmost point of the De Long Islands, as well as the northernmost land thousands of miles east and west. The closest land

78-486: A professional rather than an artisan footing. The Annapolis laboratory was a brainchild of Melville. As engineer-in-chief of the Navy, he fought hard to get an appropriation of $ 400,000 for an experiment and testing laboratory to be located at Annapolis. In 1903, he finally was successful in obtaining the appropriation for the engineering experiment station. His primary argument for the establishment of an experiment station

117-474: A testing plant be developed to test methods of burning fuel in Navy boilers. On November 18, 1910, the Secretary of Navy authorized "... the construction and equipment, at an estimated cost of $ 10,000.00, of a structure simulating a naval fireroom, for the purpose of instigating the subject of fuel oil burning in connection with the design of proposed oil burning battleships" in an existing building at

156-461: Is Jeannette Island , located to the east-southeast. Almost half of the island is covered by a central ice cap that reaches its maximum height at 312 m (1,024 ft) above sea level. The ice cap area has a surface of approximately 6 km (2.3 sq mi) and occupies the highest south-eastern part of the island. The southern and eastern edges of the ice cap are fringed by 40 to 50 m (131 to 164 ft) tall icy cliffs rising above

195-418: Is a sheltered spot accessible through a narrow channel, all blasted out of the red sandstone cliffs. This was constructed in 1890 by Andrew Laidlay, the then laird, who used a steam engine and compressed air to cut the stone. It was once home to boats owned by fishermen and landowners but today it is rarely used by boats and more for diving and dive training. The entrance measures just three metres across and it

234-622: Is awarded periodically by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in honor of the best original paper from its transactions. Melville Hall, built in 1937 on the campus of the United States Naval Academy , was used as classroom and laboratory space for the steam and electrical engineering departments. Melville's name lives on as the new hall's Melville Entrance. A statue of Admiral Melville in Navy Park at

273-528: Is the smallest harbour in the UK. The estate is home to farming, the Seacliff Haulage depot and a small number of cottages. 56°03′06″N 2°38′06″W  /  56.0518°N 2.6350°W  / 56.0518; -2.6350 George W. Melville George Wallace Melville (January 10, 1841 – March 17, 1912) was a United States Navy officer, engineer and Arctic explorer . He joined

312-640: The Jeannette , hoping to reach Wrangel Island and to discover open seas in the Arctic Ocean near the North Pole . However, the ship entered an ice pack near Herald Island in September 1879 and became trapped. The vessel drifted several hundred miles with the ice, passing north of Wrangel Island. In May 1881 it approached Jeannette Island and Henrietta Island. According to The Annual Report of

351-630: The American Philosophical Society . The U.S. Navy has named two ships in his honor: the destroyer tender USS  Melville and the oceanographic research ship USNS  Melville . Melville, Montana was named in his honor in 1877. The Navy's George W. Melville Award recognizes outstanding engineering contributions in the applications of knowledge toward research and development of materials, devices, and systems or methods; including design, development, and integration of prototypes and new processes. The Melville Medal

390-541: The Hampton Roads, Virginia , area working with torpedo boats and as an engineer on the gunboat Maumee . After the war was over, First Assistant Engineer Melville served aboard several ships, among them the experimental cruiser Chattanooga , gunboat Tacony , steam sloop Lancaster and Asiatic Squadron flagship Tennessee . For the remainder of his life, Melville belonged to the Military Order of

429-552: The Philadelphia Navy Yard . He retired from active duty on January 10, 1903, and spent his final years in Philadelphia , where he continued to be engaged in matters relating to his profession. His first wife having died in 1882, Melville married Estella Smith Polis in 1907. She died two years later. There was no issue from their marriage. Melville was the recipient of many honors during his lifetime, both in

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468-539: The Royal Navy who established a top-secret research base there during World War I . The station, known as HMS Scottish Seacliff, was mainly used for navigation training and U-Boat defence. Robert Louis Stevenson was related to the Dale family, who still own and farm much of the land around Seacliff today. The area is largely unspoiled and attracts surfers, dog-walkers, riders and summer picnickers. Seacliff Harbour

507-595: The Russian Empire . This territorial claim was later maintained by the Soviet Union . A Soviet polar station was established on Henrietta Island in 1937 in an expedition by Rudolf Samoylovich , and closed in 1963. Henrietta Island served in 1979 as the starting point for a Soviet expedition to the North Pole on skis. Some U.S. individuals assert American ownership of Henrietta Island, and others of

546-551: The United States Naval Academy in Annapolis to test machinery and equipment before its installation in Navy ships as well as to aid in training engineering officers. He served as chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering from 1887 to 1903 and was promoted to rear admiral in 1889. He oversaw the design of 120 ships and introduced innovations including the water-tube boiler , the triple-screw propulsion system, vertical engines,

585-638: The 1914–1915 Imperial Russian Arctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition led by Boris Vilkitsky , the Vaygach approached Jeannette Island with the intention of mapping Jeannette and Henrietta Islands, but heavy ice blocked the approach. In 1916 the Russian ambassador in London issued an official notice to the effect that the Imperial government considered Henrietta, along with other Arctic islands, integral parts of

624-471: The De Long group, based on the 1881 discovery and claim. However, according to the U.S. Department of State in 2003, the U.S. government has never claimed Henrietta Island. Henrietta Island was described by the sled party from the De Long expedition in the following terms: "The island is a desolate rock, surmounted by a snow-cap, which feeds several discharging glaciers on its east face. Dovekies nesting in

663-580: The Jeanette expedition under Lieutenant Commander George W. De Long and left San Francisco aboard USS  Jeannette on August 7, 1879, to try to find a way to the North Pole via the Bering Strait . Jeannette became icebound in the Chukchi Sea off of Herald Island . After two years of effort to save her, Jeanette was crushed by the ice and sank June 12, 1881 – leaving

702-721: The Loyal Legion of the United States , serving as national commander-in-chief of the Loyal Legion from 1911 to 1912. In 1867, Melville married Henrietta Beatty Waldron of Buffalo. The couple had three children. In 1873, he volunteered for duty as chief engineer of USS  Tigress for her rescue in Baffin Bay of 19 survivors of the Polaris expedition to the Arctic. In the summer of 1879, he volunteered for

741-717: The Pennsylvania Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and served as its commander from 1908 to 1909 and also served as national commander-in-chief of the Order from 1911 to 1912. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and an honorary member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and served as its 18th president. He was also an elected member of

780-525: The Secretary of the Navy, for the Year 1882 (p. 16), "A sled party landed, hoisted the national ensign, and took possession in the name of the United States". The excursion was led by George W. Melville , accompanied by William Dunbar, William Nindemann, Hans Erichsen, Walter Sharvell and James Bartlett. They landed on June 2 or 3, constructed a cairn, and placed inside it a record of their visit. During

819-727: The U.S. Navy in 1861 and served as an engineer during the American Civil War . He was a member of three Arctic expeditions; the Polaris expedition in 1873, the ill-fated Jeannette expedition in 1879 and the Lady Franklin Bay expedition in 1884. During the Jeannette expedition, in search of the Open Polar Sea , Jeannette became icebound and was eventually crushed. Melville was one of the 13 survivors from

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858-664: The United States and internationally. He was one of the 33 founding members of the National Geographic Society . He died in Philadelphia on March 17, 1912, and was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery . Melville was a companion of the District of Columbia Commandery of the Naval Order of the United States – a military society of naval officers and their descendants. In 1886, he became a companion of

897-774: The conglomerates range from sub-angular to rounded and are composed of schist , granites , quartz , and volcanic rocks. In the northern clifts of Henrietta Island, a bed of basaltic andesite occurs within this set of strata. It conformably overlies the Ediacaran strata. The upper set of Cambrian strata consists of about 140 m (459 ft) of medium- to coarse-grained quartzose sandstone. The sandstone contains beds of quartz conglomerates and subordinate beds of siltstones. Sandstones exhibit parallel and planar-lamination with occasional ripple marks. Thick beds of Upper Cambrian basalt and andesitic basalt unconformably overlie these beds. The intensity of tectonic deformation varies across

936-472: The core of the older house. From 1854 until 1885 the house was owned by the orientalist John Watson Laidlay and he lived here with his family including Johnny Laidlay . In 1907 the house was gutted by fire, killing the owner, Andrew Laidlay. Although plans were drawn up by Robert Lorimer for its restoration in 1911 these were never carried out. The exterior survives almost complete with gables, turrets and bartizans. The outbuildings were later purchased by

975-544: The crew stranded on the ice floes in mid-ocean in three small boats and with scant provisions. Melville was the only boat commander to find safety in the Lena Delta in Siberia . He and his boatmates were rescued by Tungusic hunters. Four months later, he mustered a rescue team in search of De Long and his men only to find them dead. However, he was able to recover and bring back the ships' logbooks which contained

1014-437: The design of 120 ships of the "New Navy". Among the major technical innovations that he helped introduce, often in defiance of the conservative opinion within the naval establishment, were the water-tube boiler , the triple-screw propulsion system, vertical engines, the floating repair ship, and the distilling ship. He was promoted to rear admiral March 3, 1899. Melville entirely reformed the service, putting Navy engineers on

1053-575: The engineer corps, with the rank of third assistant engineer. His first year afloat was spent on the Great Lakes ' gunboat Michigan , during which time he was promoted to second assistant engineer. Melville served in the sloops of war Dacotah and Wachusett from mid-1862 until late in 1864, taking part in the capture of CSS  Florida in October 1864. He finished the Civil War in

1092-740: The expedition in his book, In the Lena Delta , published in 1884. Melville was promoted to the rank of chief engineer during his time in Jeannette and returned to the Arctic in USS ; Thetis in 1884, for the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition in search of the survivors of an Arctic expedition commanded by Army Lieutenant Adolphus Greely . He obtained the rank of chief engineer in 1881. He served as Inspector of Coal in 1884–1886, then performed his final seagoing duty in

1131-406: The face of the rock are the only signs of game. A little moss, some grass, and a handful of rock were brought back as trophies. The cliffs are inaccessible, because of their steepness." Seacliff Seacliff comprises a beach, an estate and a harbour. It lies 4 miles (6 kilometres) east of North Berwick , East Lothian , Scotland . The beach and estate command a strategic position at

1170-669: The floating repair ship, and the distilling ship . Melville was born in New York City on January 10, 1841, the son of Alexander Melville, a chemist, and Sarah Wallace. He was educated at the School of the Christian Brothers, a religious academy, where he studied mathematics, and at the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute . He entered the U.S. Navy on July 29, 1861, and became an officer of

1209-443: The island. The most intense deformation, folding and thrusting, occurs in the southwest part of Henrietta Island. In contrast, the strata are monoclinal with gently dipping beds in the south, east, and north of the island. The Ediacaran and Cambrian strata have been intruded by numerous sills and dikes of basalt and porphyritic diorite . American explorer and US Navy lieutenant commander George W. De Long set out in 1879 aboard

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1248-585: The mouth of the Firth of Forth , and control of the area has been contested through the ages. The beach and estate were used as a staging post for various raids on nearby Tantallon Castle from the 14th to the 17th century. Troops were also stationed here to prevent landings by the French during the Napoleonic Wars in 1798. Before bloodshed touched the area, the 8th century Christian missionary Saint Baldred

1287-454: The new cruiser Atlanta . President Grover Cleveland appointed Melville Chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering August 9, 1887, with the relative rank of commodore. During more than a decade and a half in that post, he was responsible for the Navy's propulsion systems during an era of remarkable force expansion, technological progress and institutional change. Melville superintended

1326-459: The records of the expedition. The logbooks are currently maintained at the U.S. National Archives . The third boat, under the command of Charles W. Chipp , was never found and Chipp and seven other men were presumed dead. The United States Congress rewarded Melville for his gallantry and resourcefulness by advancing him 15 numbers on the promotion list and awarded him the gold Jeannette Medal . He published his experiences and hardships of

1365-574: The thirty-three men that began the expedition. The United States Congress awarded Melville the Congressional Gold Jeannette Medal for his gallantry and resourcefulness. He published a book in 1884 titled In the Lena Delta , about his experiences on the Jeanette expedition. He was promoted to engineer in chief of the Navy in 1881, where he reformed the service and increased the professional status of Navy engineers. He established an engineering experimental station near

1404-402: The underlying basalt plateau. Henrietta Island consists of unmetamorphosed, folded and faulted Ediacaran and Middle-Upper Cambrian volcaniclastic sedimentary strata and Upper Cambrian basalt . The Ediacaran strata consist of about 150 m (492 ft) of volcaniclastic turbidite beds with subordinate beds of tuffaceous breccias and dacitic tuffs . They are similar to

1443-650: The volcaniclastic rocks observed on Jeanette Island. These turbidites are mainly fine-grained, grading from siltstones at their base to mudstones at their top. Rare beds of pebbly breccias with a sandy matrix occur at the base of the coarser turbidites. Their pebbles are composed of volcanic rocks. These strata contain several meters of red tuffs and synsedimentary slump structures . The Cambrian strata consists of two sets of sedimentary strata. The lower set of strata consists of about 160 m (525 ft) of parallel-laminated sandstones and siltstone with beds of polymictic conglomerates , The cobbles and pebbles of

1482-415: Was based in nearby Scoughall , and several features of the area have been named after him, such as "Ghegan Rock" (Churchman's Haven). In quieter times, the ownership of the estate has changed hands on several occasions. Seacliff House was built in 1750 by Robert Colt. It was later bought by George Sligo who in 1841 employed the famous Scottish architect David Bryce to build a new house in baronial style on

1521-610: Was that it would increase the efficiency of the Navy. His idea was to establish a dependable means for testing—before installation—machinery and equipment designed for Navy ships. His secondary argument was that it could aid in training engineering officers and accordingly should be located in Annapolis near the Naval Academy . Prior to his retirement, Melville headed a committee tasked with studying how to use fuel oil in Navy boilers instead of coal. They strongly recommended that

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