Albert Kautz
| Albert Kautz | |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 29, 1839 Georgetown, Ohio |
| Died | February 6, 1907 (aged 68) Florence, Italy |
| Buried at | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Navy
|
| Years of service | 1854–1901 |
| Rank | Rear Admiral |
| Commands held | Pacific Squadron |
| Battles/wars |
American Civil War First Samoan Civil War Second Samoan Civil War |
| Relations | August Kautz (brother) |
Rear Admiral Albert Kautz (January 29, 1839 – February 6, 1907) was an officer of the United States Navy who served during and after the American Civil War.
Kautz was born in Georgetown, Ohio, one of seven children of Johann George and Dorothy Kautz. When a child, his family moved to Levanna, where they farmed, growing grapes and tobacco.
Kautz entered the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, on September 28, 1854, and graduated with the rank of midshipman on June 11, 1858. He was promoted to passed midshipman on January 28, 1861, to master on February 28, then to lieutenant on April 21, 1861, soon after the start of the Civil War.
Kautz served aboard the steamer Flag, on blockade off Savannah, Georgia. On June 20, 1861, Flag captured the Confederate blockade runner Hannah Balch, and Kautz was given command of the prize, and ordered to take her to Philadelphia. However, his ship was recaptured by the Confederate privateer Coffee on June 25, and Kautz and his crew were taken prisoner. He gave his parole, and used his relative freedom to negotiate an exchange of prisoners. Finally, in November 1861, Kautz, John L. Worden, and another officer, plus 368 enlisted men were swapped for a similar number of Confederate prisoners. Eventually this process was formalised in the Dix–Hill Cartel of July 1862.
Kautz then was assigned to David Farragut's flagship Hartford in the Gulf of Mexico, and took part in the campaign to capture New Orleans, forcing a passage up the Mississippi past Forts Jackson and St. Philip and arriving at the city on April 25, 1862.
Farragut sent Captain Theodorus Bailey and Lieutenant George Perkins to meet John T. Monroe, the mayor of New Orleans, and demand the surrender of the city, the lowering of the state flag on the City Hall, and the raising of the flag of the United States over the Post Office, Custom House, and Mint. Monroe refused, claiming that only Major General Mansfield Lovell, the military commander in the city, had that authority. Lovell, however, having withdrawn his troops, passed the responsibility back to the civil authorities. Having failed in their mission Bailey and Perkins then had to leave City Hall by a back door, as an angry crowd attempted to kick down the front doors of City Hall, while calling for the two officers to be lynched.
...
Wikipedia