David Legge Brainard (1856–1946) is a US Army Brigadier General , Arctic explorer , member of the American Arctic Expedition (1881–1884) led by Adolf Greely (one of the six survivors), the first honorary member of the American Polar Society .
| David Leigh Brainard | |
|---|---|
| David Legge Brainard | |
 | |
| Date of Birth | December 21, 1856 |
| Place of Birth | New York , USA |
| Date of death | March 22, 1946 (89 years old) |
| Place of death | Washington DC , USA |
| Affiliation |  USA |
| Type of army | Cavalry |
| Years of service | 1876-1919 |
| Rank |  Brigadier General |
| Battles / wars | Native American Wars (1877-1878): |
| Awards and prizes | Purple heart |
Content
The early years and the beginning of a military career
David Brainard was born December 21, 1856 in New York in the family of Helenson and Mary Leg Brainard. In 1876 he began serving in the army as a private . From 1876 to 1884 he served at Fort Ellis, Montana Territory . He participated in the war for the Black Hills , was wounded. He took part in the Bannock campaign and the non-Persian war under the command of Colonel Nelson Miles [1] . On May 7, 1877, in the was wounded in the right hand and cheek. In 1878 he was promoted to corporal , and in subsequent years of service to sergeant [2] . More than half a century later, David Brainard was awarded the unique Purple Heart medal for participating in the Indian Campaign in 1933 (presumably, only five Purple Hearts were issued for participating in the Indian Campaign) [3] .
American Arctic Expedition (1881–1884)
In 1880, Brainard volunteered to participate in the Arctic expedition of Captain , which was unsuccessful [4] . The following 1881, with the rank of first sergeant, he became a member of the American Arctic Expedition under the leadership of Adolf Greely (1881–1884).
The expedition was organized as part of the first International Polar Year . Her goal was to organize a meteorological station in the north of the Canadian Arctic archipelago in Lady Franklin Bay and to conduct meteorological , astronomical and magnetic observations, as well as geological and geodetic works. During the expedition, David Brainard held the position of responsible for food and equipment, and also participated in almost all tobogganing trips. The expedition's most famous achievement was a toboggan trip in the spring of 1882 by David Brainard and Frederick Christiansen, led by Lieutenant James Lockwood along the northern coast of Greenland . On May 13, travelers reached 83 ° 24 'north latitude - the northernmost point reached by man at that time [5] .
In the spring of 1883, Lockwood, Brainard, and Kristiansen made a toboggan trip, during which they explored the interior of Ellesmere Island , crossed it west on the breadth of Lady Franklin Bay and opened the fjord , which was named Lockwood in honor of the expedition leader.
In the summer of 1882 and 1883, support vessels could not break through to the polar explorers due to the difficult ice situation in the Kennedy Strait , therefore, guided by the instructions [6] , Greeley decided to leave the wintering base in August 1883 (although there were still products for a year) and independently sail south towards the rescue ship [7] . Due to the harsh winter that began too early, 25 participants managed to cover only about 400 kilometers in almost two months of their journey and reach Cape Saybayn on Pim island , which had to get up for the winter with a minimum supply of food [8] . During the wintering, 19 out of 25 people died of starvation and starvation. Up until the survivors were saved on June 22, 1884 [9], Brainard was able to somehow remain on his feet in some incredible way, since April he was almost the only breadwinner of completely exhausted people, finding the strength to engage in krill fishing on makeshift nets and hunting [10] .
Brainard played an exceptional role both in achieving the scientific results of the expedition and in saving the survivors. As the most complete description of Sergeant Brainard could be a few excerpts from the diaries of Greeley, made in December 1883:
"December 11th. Brainard again overworked from overwork and was very weak tonight. I was forced to point out to him that he constantly performed excessive work for others. But when he referred to the apathy of most people and the need to perform this or that work, I had to shut up. Everyone does what he can, and I bitterly regret that I can only kill time and is incapable of hard physical work ” [11] ...
"21 December. Today, Sergeant Brainard is twenty-seven years old. On this occasion, I gave him 1/4 liter of rum, regretting that I can do nothing more. All this winter he performed unusually hard work. His endurance, his always equanimous mood and the impartiality with which he distributes food, rendered me invaluable services [12] . ”
Interestingly, David Brainard received his first recognition for his services not from his compatriots, but from the Royal Geographical Society . In June 1886, it presented him with a nominal grant and, besides him, a nominal gold watch and a diploma [3] .
Further military career
In 1886, Brainard was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment . He served in Washington . He was engaged in the study of the Cascade Mountains . In the early 1890s received the rank of first lieutenant and was appointed to deal with army supply. He served in California , Arizona and New Mexico . In 1896 he received the rank of captain [2] . In 1898, during the Spanish-American War, he served in the Philippines as the Chief Quartermaster [13] . In 1912 he received the rank of colonel , was appointed deputy chief military commissary of the US Army. In the years 1918-1919, Brainard worked as a military attache at the American diplomatic mission in Portugal . In 1919, he retired from the army with the rank of brigadier general [14] .
Personal life and subsequent years of life
In 1888, Brainard married Anne Chase. The marriage was short-lived and soon broke up. In 1904, he became a member of the American "Travelers Club" , among the organizers of which was A. Greeley. In 1917, he married Sarah Gyutri, who had a daughter, Eleanor (Brainard did not leave his children). After leaving military service, he worked as a Washington representative at a New York army supply company. Over time, he became its director [2] . In 1925, the American Geographical Society he was awarded for polar research [15] . In 1929 he published the book “Outpost of the Dead” [16] . He was awarded the Travelers Club Traveler Medal. In 1936, he was elected the first honorary member of the American Polar Society . In 1940, Brainard published his diaries from the Arctic expedition “ Six Came Back ” ( English Six Came Back ). The original diaries, personal correspondence and other legacy of David Brainard is now in the library of Dartmouth College [14] .
Brainard died March 22, 1946 in Washington, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. [17]
Notes
- ↑ David Legge Brainard collection, 1876-1928. (eng.) . ARCHIVEGRID. Date of treatment February 1, 2015.
- ↑ 1 2 3 A Biographical Sketch of Gen. David L. Brainard, US Army (inaccessible link) . The International Polar Year. Date of treatment February 1, 2015. Archived April 2, 2015.
- ↑ 1 2 A Historical Sketch of the Life of General David L. Brainard, US Army . 2d Dragoons Serving proudly since 1836. Date of treatment February 1, 2015.
- ↑ Greeley, 1935 , p. 12.
- ↑ Mills, 2003 , p. 270.
- ↑ Mills, 2003 , p. 271.
- ↑ Greeley, 1935 , p. 182.
- ↑ Greeley, 1935 , p. 286.
- ↑ Shley, 1885 , p. 221.
- ↑ Greeley, 1935 , pp. 313-329.
- ↑ Greeley, 1935 , p. 269.
- ↑ Greeley, 1935 , p. 271.
- ↑ HISTORY OF KANE LODGE (inaccessible link) . Kane Lodge No. 454 F & AM. Date of treatment February 2, 2015. Archived December 20, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 The papers of David Legge Brainard in the Dartmouth College Library . Dartmouth College Library. Date of treatment February 1, 2015.
- ↑ Medals and Awards . American Geographical Society. Date of treatment March 27, 2015.
- ↑ David Legge Brainard. The Outpost of the Lost: An Arctic Adventure . - Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill co ..
- ↑ David Legg Brainard . Arlington National Cemetery. Date of treatment February 1, 2015.
Literature
- Adolph Greeley. Three years in the Arctic. 1881-1884 / Per. from English under the editorship of V.K.Esipova. - Leningrad: Glavselmorputi, 1935 .-- S. 338.
- William James Mills. Exploring polar frontiers: a historical encyclopedia. - ABC-CLIO, Inc, 2003 .-- 844 p. - ISBN 1-57607-422-6 .
- Schley, Winfield Scott. The rescue of Greely . - New York, C. Scribner's sons, 1885.