This Day in Naval History - Feb. 22

From the Navy News Service 1865 - A Union squadron under the command of Rear Adm. David Dixon Porter bombards and captures Wilmington, N.C. 1870 - After arriving on USS Nipsic, the Darien Expedition, commanded by Cmdr. Thomas O. Selfridge Jr., begins active operations ashore at Caldonia Bay. The exhibition then surveys the Isthmus of Darien, Panama, for an interoceanic ship canal. 1909 - The "Great White Fleet" returns to Hampton Roads, Va., from its historic around-the-world cruise. 1943 - USS Iowa (BB 61), the lead ship of the last class of American fast battleships, is commissioned. 1974 - Lt. j.g. Barbara Ann Allen becomes the first Navy officer designated as a female aviator.