U.S. Navy Career
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Sands was appointed Midshipman in the United States Navy on April 1, 1828. By 1834, he had served on the Brazil Station and in the West Indies and Mediterranean squadrons. From 1834 to 1841, he was engaged in coastal survey work and during the mid-40's was attached to the Bureau (Depot) of Charts and Instruments at the Naval Observatory.
During hostilities between the United States and Mexico, he was attached to the Home Squadron and served off Tabasco and Tuxpan on the brig USS Washington. In the 1850s, he commanded the steamer Walker in the Gulf of Mexico on coast survey duty and invented a deep sea sounding apparatus and other hydrographic instruments. In 1861, Sands served on west coast survey duty as commander of the Active. Commissioned captain in 1862, he joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron as commander of Dacotah in 1863.
In February of that year, Sands participated in the engagement at Fort Caswell. He remained off the Carolinas for another two years, commanding the steamer Fort Jackson during the attacks on Fort Fisher. In February 1865, he was transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron and assigned to duty off the Texas coast. Through the end of the American Civil War, he commanded a division off that coast; and, on June 2, 1865, took formal possession of Galveston, Texas for the Union.
After the war, Sands, appointed Commodore in July 1866, served at the Boston Navy Yard until returning to Washington, D.C. as Superintendent of the Naval Observatory. Commissioned Rear Admiral on April 27, 1871, he remained at the Observatory until he retired in 1874.
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