BREESE DM 18

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Wickes Class Destroyer Keel Laid 10 November 1917 - Launched 11 May 1918 USS BREESE Destroyer No. 122 Commissioned 23 October 1918 USS BREESE DD-122 Designated (DD) 17 July 1920 - Decommissioned 17 June 1922 USS BREESE DM-18 Reclassified Stribling Class Light Minelayer (DM) 5 January 1930 Recommissioned 1 June 1931 - Decommissioned 12 November 1937 Recommissioned 25 September 1939 - Decommissioned 15 January 1946 Struck from Naval Register 7 February 1946 Sold 16 May 1946 and broken up for scrap

Captain Kidder R. Breese, USN

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

1. USS Breese DM-18 Covers Page 1    (1932-1934)
2. USS Breese DM-18 Covers Page 2    (1935-1946)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

---

2nd Commissioning 1 June 1931 to 12 November 1937

USS BREESE DM-18

 

Locy Type 3 (A-BTT) "PEARL HARBOR / HAWAII"

1933-06-01

2nd Anniversary of Recommissioning. Rubber stamp cachet, signed by NMC Matt Murphey. From the Nancy DeLux collection.

 

Locy Type PPB USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. B-54

1933-06-01

Parcel Post Box / 3 (A-BTT) combo, Signed by NMC Matt Murphey

 

Locy Type LDPS 3 (A-BTT) "SAN DIEGO / CALIF."

1937-11-12

Last Day of Postal Service, cachet by James Chun. Sponsored by the Aloha Crew No. 12, ANCS

---

3rd Commissioning 25 September 1939 to 15 January 1946

USS BREESE DM-18

 

Locy Type FDPS 3r (A-BBT) "FIRST DAY / POSTAL SERV"

1939-12-16

First Day Postal Service

 

Locy Type FDPS 9v

1939-12-16

First Day Postal Service

 

Locy Type 3 (A-BBT) "PEARL HARBOR / HAWAII"

1941-03-23

Note:

 

Locy Type 3r (A-BBT) "PEARL HARBOR / HAWAII"

1941-03-06

Cachet by Walter G. Crosby

 

Locy Type 3z

1943-05-24

Note:

 

Locy Type 9v

1941-07-09

Note:

 

Locy Type 9x

1941-07-09

Note:

 

Locy Type 3 (A-BBT) "T"

1946-01-14

Posted after listed LDPS (1946-01-11) - Before POD (1946-01-15)

 

Other Information

USS BREESE earned the World War I Victory Medal, the American Defense Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 10 Battle Stars and the World War II Victory Medal during her Naval career.

USS BREESE was at Pearl Harbor December 7 1941

NAMESAKE - Captain Kidder Randolph Breese, USN (14 April 1831 - 13 September 1881).
Breese was born in Philadelphia, PA, on 14 April 1831. He was appointed a US Navy Midshipman in November 1847 and served in the sloop of war USS Saratoga during the remainder of the war with Mexico. Sea duty continued until October 1852, when he was assigned to the US Naval Academy to prepare for examination. Warranted a Passed Midshipman in June 1852, Breese took part in the Commodore Matthew C. Perry's expedition to Japan for the next three years. In mid-1855, while serving with the US Coast Survey, he was promoted to the ranks of Master and Lieutenant. He served in the sloop of war USS Preble in 1858 and 1859, during the Paraguay Expedition and off Panama. Lieutenant Breese's next duties were as an officer of the sloop of war USS Portsmouth, off Africa, in 1860, and of the steamer USS San Jacinto from mid-1860 until late 1861. While he was in USS San Jacinto, the Civil War began. He was present when she stopped the British steamship Trent and removed two Confederate agents, an incident that provoked a brief crisis in US relations with Great Britain. From late 1861 Breese commanded part of the flotilla of mortar schooners that helped capture New Orleans in April 1862. Promoted to Lieutenant Commander in mid-1862, he served with Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter on the Mississippi River and off the Atlantic Coast for most of the rest of the conflict, distinguishing himself during the siege of Vicksburg, in the land assault on Fort Fisher, and as Porter's Fleet Captain.
        Beginning in September 1865, Breese spent a year as Assistant to the Naval Academy's Superintendent, achieving the rank of Commander while in that post. During the later 1860s and into 1870 he served on Navy boards and had ordnance duty at the Washington Navy Yard, D.C.. In 1870-1872 he commanded the steam sloop USS Plymouth in European waters. He was Inspector of Ordnance at New Orleans for several months in 1872-1873, followed by two years as Commandant of Midshipmen at the Naval Academy and as Inspector of Hydrography. Breese was promoted to Captain in 1874. From mid-1875 until early 1879 he commanded the Torpedo Station at Newport, RI, and had special ordnance duty. He was Commanding Officer of the steam sloop USS Pensacola, Pacific Station flagship, in 1879 and 1880 and, in 1881, was a member of the Board of Harbor Commissioners. Captain Kidder Breese died at Newport, RI

The ships sponsor was Mrs. Gilbert McHvaine, daughter of Captain Breese.

 

---

 

If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.

 

---

Copyright 2024 Naval Cover Museum