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Sir Edward Saganami, PMV, was an early Manticoran military officer and considered the founding father of the modern Royal Manticoran Navy. (HH3)
Physical appearance[]
Saganami was of somewhat less than average height, with a dark complexion, a strong nose, dark brown, slightly receding hair, and dark eyes. He was considered to be ordinary-looking. (SI1)
Biography[]
Edward Saganami was born to yeoman parents on the planet Gryphon in 1616 PD. A typical Gryphon Highlander, he excelled on the basis of sheer talent and determination, and had risen to the rank of Commodore by 1662 despite his lack of patronage. At that time, he was selected to command a punitive expedition to the Ranier System, whose piratical "navy" had conducted several raids near the Hennesy Terminus of the Manticore Wormhole Junction. Following his victory over the pirates, Saganami taught at the Academy for a short time. (Companion)
In 1671 PD, he was selected by Queen Adrienne to command a squadron dispatched to the Silesian Confederacy to battle pirates who harassed Manticoran shipping in the area. His force was able to destroy four pirate bases and even defeat the reinforced pirates in the Battle of Trautman's Star, but the victory was a costly one, with two RMN ships being destroyed and four so heavily damaged they had to return home for repairs.
With his fleet thinned out, Saganami assigned single vessels to convoy duty. His own ship, the battlecruiser HMS Nike, escorted a convoy that was ambushed in the Carson System. In order to allow the merchantmen to flee, Saganami took a stand with Nike, destroying and crippling several enemy ships in what history would come to call the Battle of Carson. However, Nike was eventually overwhelmed and Saganami died after sending a last message to James Hargood of RMMS Prince Harold. (SI1)
He was one of the few people with a crypt in King Michael's Cathedral whose body was not buried there. (HH8)
As a result of their losses, the pirates were unable to capture or destroy any more merchants, and their remaining forces were easily defeated by the heavily reinforced fleet that Queen Adrienne dispatched to avenge Edward Saganami. (Companion)
Legacy[]
Saganami was seen as the father of modern Royal Navy doctrine ("initiative and aggressiveness"). His primary dictum was that time was the one irreplaceable commodity any fleet had. (HH7)
By his actions, established the tradition and the meter stick by which all subsequent Royal Manticoran Navy officers were to be judged.
His fighting to protect the innocent while outnumbered six to one became the example by which all future actions of the Royal Manticoran Navy were measured. (HH3)
His name was honored by the RMN in many ways:
- The Saganami March was the official hymn of the Navy.
- The Saganami Cross was a high military honor.
- Saganami Island, home to the Royal Manticoran Naval Academy, was named after him.
- The Edward Saganami-class of heavy cruisers was named after him.
- The name HMS Nike was entered into the List of Honor as a result of Saganami's efforts at Carson.
- The Nike-class of battlecruisers was named after his ship as well.
Service Record[]
Promotions[]
Commander- Commodore (1662 PD)
Posts[]
- Commanding Officer, HMS Unconquered
- 1662 PD: commanded a successful punitive expedition against the Ranier System
- A brief stint lecturing at the Academy
- Commanding Officer, HMS Nike, & senior officer, an "augmented battlecruiser squadron"[1] dispatched to the Silesian Confederacy to suppress piratical attacks on Manticoran commerce - late 1671-1672 PD
Decorations[]
- Parliamentary Medal of Valor (posthumous) - the very first every awarded
References[]
- ↑ Nine battlecruisers.