Franklin Buchanan
| Franklin Buchanan | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Admiral Buchanan (in the uniform of a captain, U.S. Navy)
|
|
| Born |
September 17, 1800 Baltimore, Maryland |
| Died | May 11, 1874 (aged 73) Talbot County, Maryland |
| Place of burial | Wye House family plot outside Easton, Maryland |
| Allegiance |
 United States Confederate States
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Navy Confederate States Navy
|
| Years of service | USN 1815–1861 CSN 1861–1865 |
| Rank |
.png){kind=icon} Captain (USN) Admiral (CSN) |
| Commands held |
USS Vincennes USS Germantown USS Susquehanna James River Squadron CSS Virginia CSS Tennessee |
| Battles/wars | |
| Other work | College president and businessman |
Mexican-American War
American Civil War
Franklin Buchanan (September 17, 1800 – May 11, 1874) was an officer in the United States Navy who became the only full admiral in the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War, and commanded the ironclad CSS Virginia.
Franklin Buchanan was born in Baltimore, Maryland on September 13, 1800. He was the fifth child and third son of a physician, George Buchanan and Laetitia McKean Buchanan. The Buchanan side of his family arrived in the United States from Scotland. His paternal grandfather was a general with the Maryland Militia during the Revolutionary War while his maternal grandfather was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
He joined the U.S. Navy on January 28, 1815 and became a midshipman; he was promoted to lieutenant on January 13, 1825, commander on September 8, 1841 and then captain on September 14, 1855.
On February 19, 1835, at Annapolis, Maryland, he married Ann Catherine Lloyd. They had nine children, of which one was a boy.
During the 45 years he served in the U.S. Navy, Buchanan had extensive and worldwide sea duty. He commanded the sloops of war Vincennes and Germantown during the 1840s and the steam frigate Susquehanna in the Perry Expedition to Japan from 1852-1854. In 1845, at the request of the U.S. Secretary of the Navy, he submitted plans to his superiors proposing a naval school which would lead to the creation of the United States Naval Academy that very year; for his efforts, he was appointed the first Superintendent of the Naval School - its first name - where he served in 1845-1847. This assignment was followed by notable Mexican-American War service in 1847-1848. From 1859–1861, Captain Buchanan was the Commandant of the Washington Navy Yard.
...
Wikipedia