Francis M. Bunce

Francis Marvin Bunce

Born	(1836-12-25)December 25, 1836 Hartford, Connecticut
Died	October 19, 1901(1901-10-19) (aged 64) Hartford, Connecticut
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1852-1898
Rank	Rear Admiral
Commands held	SS Robert Bruce (prize master) USS Weehawken USS Lehigh USS Dictator USS Monadnock USS Nantasket USS Ashuelot USS Marion USS Wabash USS Atlanta Naval Station New London USS Richmond / Training Station Newport North Atlantic Squadron New York Navy Yard
Battles/wars	American Civil War Union blockade Peninsula Campaign Second Battle of Fort Wagner Siege of Charleston Second Battle of Fort Sumter Spanish–American War

Francis M. Bunce (25 December 1836 – 19 October 1901) was a rear admiral of the United States Navy who distinguished himself as a junior officer during the American Civil War (1861–65). He was in command of the North Atlantic Squadron from 1895 to 1897, and while serving as its commander-in-chief played an important role in developing the squadron's – and more broadly the U.S. Navy's – capability to operate its ships in cohesive tactical naval formations, preparing it for its performance in the Spanish–American War in 1898.

Bunce was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on 25 December 1836.

Bunce was appointed an acting midshipman on 28 May 1852 and attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, from which he graduated on 10 June 1857. He was warranted to the rank of midshipman the same day. His first assignment was to the sloop-of-war USS Germantown in the East India Squadron from 1857 to 1860. Promoted to passed midshipman on 25 June 1860, he reported aboard the sloop-of-war USS Brooklyn, which was engaged in supporting a scientific expedition surveying a route across the Isthmus of Panama in the Chiriquí area. He was promoted to master on 24 October 1860 and to lieutenant on 11 April 1861.

The American Civil War broke out on 12 April 1861, the day after Bunce's promotion to lieutenant. On 7 January 1862, he transferred to the frigate USS Macedonian of the Gulf Squadron, involved in enforcing the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America. He soon became the executive officer of the gunboat USS Penobscot, and was aboard her for an 1862 engagement with Confederate artillery at Yorktown, Virginia. Detaching from Penobscot, he was attached temporarily to the United States Army and took charge of the disembarkation of heavy artillery and mortars for use by the Army of the Potomac in the April–May 1862 Siege of Yorktown during the Peninsula Campaign.

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