Franklin_Buchanan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Franklin Buchanan Franklin Buchanan Franklin Buchanan September 13, 1800(1800-09-13) – May 11, 1874 (aged 73) Portrait of Admiral Buchanan Place of birth Place of death Place of burial Allegiance Service/ branch Years of service Rank Commands held Baltimore, Maryland Talbot County, Maryland Wye House family plot outside Easton, Maryland United States of America Confederate States of America United States Navy Confederate Navy USN 1815-1861 CSN 1861-1865 Admiral USS Vincennes, USS Germantown, USS Susquehanna (antebellum), James River Squadron, CSS Virginia, CSS Tennessee (ACW) Mexican-American War American Civil War • Battle of Hampton Roads • Battle of Mobile Bay College president and businessman during the 1840s and the steam frigate Susquehanna in the Perry expedition to Japan during the 1850s. In 1845-47, he served as the first Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy, followed by notable Mexican-American War service. In 1859-61, Captain Buchanan was the Commandant of the Washington Navy Yard. During the Civil War he joined the Confederate forces. Civil War He was the captain of the ironclad CSS Virginia (formerly the USS Merrimack) during the Battle of Hampton Roads in Virginia. He climbed to the top deck of the Virginia and began furiously firing toward shore with a carbine as the USS Congress was shelled. He soon was brought down by a sharpshooter’s minie ball to the thigh. He would eventually recover from his leg wound. He never did get to command the Virginia against the USS Monitor. That honor went to Catesby ap Roger Jones. But Buchanan had handed the United States Navy the worst defeat it would take until Pearl Harbor. In August 1862, Buchanan was promoted to the rank of admiral and sent to command Confederate naval forces at Mobile Bay, Alabama. He oversaw the construction of the ironclad CSS Tennessee and was on board her during the Battle of Mobile Bay with Rear Admiral David Glasgow Farragut’s Union fleet on August 5, 1864. Wounded and taken prisoner, Admiral Buchanan was not exchanged until February 1865. He was on convalescent leave until the Civil War ended a few months later. Battles/ wars Other work Franklin Buchanan (September 13, 1800 – May 11, 1874) was an officer in the United States Navy who became an admiral in the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War, and commanded the ironclad CSS Virginia. Early life Buchanan was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He became a midshipman in 1815, was promoted to lieutenant in 1825, commander in 1841 and captain in 1855. Over the four and a half decades of his U.S. Navy service, Buchanan had extensive and worldwide sea duty. He commanded the sloops of war Vincennes and Germantown Later life Following the conflict, Buchanan lived in Maryland, then was a businessman in Mobile until 1870, when he again took up residence in Maryland. He died there on May 11, 1874. He is buried at the Wye House family plot outside Easton, Maryland. 1 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Military offices Preceded by None Preceded by French Forrest Academic offices Preceded by Charles Minor President of the Maryland Agricultural College 1868–1869 Superintendent of United States Naval Academy 1845-1847 Franklin Buchanan Succeeded by George P. Upshur Succeeded by Commander of the James River Josiah Tattnall Squadron February 27, 1862 – March 29, 1862 Succeeded by Samuel Register In memoriam Three U.S. Navy destroyers have been named in honor of Admiral Franklin Buchanan: Buchanan (DD-131), (DD-484) and (DDG-14). See USS Buchanan for U.S. Navy ships named in his honor. The Superintendent’s quarters at the United States Naval Academy is also named the Buchanan House. External links • Photos of Buchanan - from the Naval Historical Center, Washington, D.C. Persondata NAME ALTERNATIVE NAMES SHORT DESCRIPTION DATE OF BIRTH PLACE OF BIRTH DATE OF DEATH PLACE OF DEATH United States Navy officer September 13, 1800 Baltimore, Maryland May 11, 1874 Talbot County, Maryland Buchanan, Franklin See also • List of Superintendents of the United States Naval Academy References • Symonds, Craig L., Confederate Admiral: The Life and Wars of Franklin Buchanan, Naval Institute Press, 1999, ISBN 978-1591148463. Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Buchanan" Categories: United States Navy officers, Confederate Navy admirals, Superintendents of the United States Naval Academy, Presidents of the University of Maryland, College Park, People from Baltimore, Maryland, 1800 births, 1874 deaths This page was last modified on 6 May 2009, at 14:37 (UTC). All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) taxdeductible nonprofit charity. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers 2