Image: Framingham History Center Collection
Rear Admiral (RADM) Charles Jackson Train was born in Framingham on 14 May 1845.He was the son of Charles Russell Train (1817-1885).Charles Russell was a Framingham lawyer,a Massachusetts Attorney General,a Congressman and an Aide to General George Gordon (of Framingham) during the Civil War. Charles Russell was the son of the Reverend Charles Train (1783-1849) who was the minister of the First Baptist Church of Framingham for twenty-nine years.
(see https://biographies.framinghamhistory.org/rev-charles-train/)
In 1861,after spending two years at Phillips Exeter Academy,Charles Jackson was accepted at Harvard.Three months after matriculation (November 1861),he was nominated to the US Naval Academy.He left Harvard for the Academy,which had relocated to Newport, Rhode Island as a “safe harbor” during the Civil War (1861-1865).Charles followed a typical Navy career path with significant time spent at sea.His performance was exceptional as he rose through the ranks.In 1894,as a Lieutenant Commander,he was a member of the Naval War College Staff in Newport.While there,he and two other staff officers were tasked to develop a naval campaign plan that addressed the possibility of war with Spain.This effort included both maritime and land components given likely Navy involvement in troop movements to Spanish-owned Cuba.Assistant Secretary of the Navy Teddy Roosevelt played an integral role in the development of such war planning.Train received significant accolades for this work.
On 19 April 1898,then Commander Train, assumed command of the USS Prairie,an auxiliary cruiser.On 24 April 1898,the US declared war on Spain.As the Commanding Officer of the Prairie, he successfully participated in the US Blockade of Cuba.On 19 April 1898,he took command of the battleship USS Massachusetts. Hostilities ceased on 12 August 1898 and the Treaty of Paris, ending the war,was signed on 10 December 1898.In November of that year,prior to the treaty,Charles was promoted to the rank of Captain.In 1904,he was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral.On 30 March 1905,Train became the Commander-in-Chief of the US Asiatic Fleet.His son,Charles Russell Train (1879-1967) served as his aide.Charles Russell would also have a highly successful career,including reaching the Rear Admiral rank.On 04 August,at the age of 60,Charles Jackson Train passed away from uremia (kidney failure) while on an official visit to China.A funeral service was held on his flagship,the USS Ohio in Japan.His remains were then transported back to Washington,DC aboard the steamer Empress of China.His final resting place is at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
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