Edward Walter Eberle - U.S. Navy Service

U.S. Navy Service

Following the two years of sea service—spent in screw sloops-of-war Mohican and Shenandoah and in steamer Ranger—then required before commissioning, Eberle was promoted to ensign on July 1, 1887. Brief duty in Washington, D.C., in the late summer and early autumn preceded his reporting to Albatross on November 22, 1887 to begin three years of duty in that Fishing Commission steamer.

Following leave from November 22, 1890 to January 28, 1891, he received instruction in new developments in naval ordnance at the Washington Navy Yard while awaiting orders for sea duty. Here, he demonstrated an interest in and an aptitude for naval gunnery which ever after was central to his career.

On March 20, he reported to USS Lancaster and, in the veteran screw sloop-of-war, steamed across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans to the Far East. A year and a half later, while still in the Far East, he was transferred to the sailing sloop-of-war Marion to close out this tour of duty in Asiatic waters. He returned to the United States in the summer of 1894 and reported for duty at the Naval Academy on August 20.

In the waning days of this service at Annapolis, Eberle's commission as lieutenant, junior grade, arrived on June 12, 1896, only to be followed a week later by orders sending him across the continent to San Francisco where Oregon (Battleship No. 3) was being completed.