His most famous exploit was the rescue of the Greely Arctic expedition.

In 1881 Lieutenant Adolphus W.Greely commanded an expedition of twenty-five men, which established an observation station at the farthest point in the polar regions then attained.

The expedition, when in a starving condition and with only seven men alive, was rescued at Cape Sabine, Grinnell Land, in 1884 by Captain Schley.

He was rewarded for this service by a gold medal from Congress and promoted by President Arthur to chief of the Bureau of Equipment and made captain in 1888.
[Illustration: COMMODORE WINFIELD SCOTT SCHLEY.] After resigning this position Captain Schley commanded the cruiser _Baltimore_, which bore the remains of Ericsson, the great Swedish inventor, to his native land, whose king presented Schley with a gold medal in recognition of this service.

He won the commendation of the Navy Department for his tactful success in settling threatened trouble over the stoning of a number of American sailors from the _Baltimore_ by a party of Chilians at Valparaiso.