Franklin Buchanan (September 17, 1800 – May 11, 1874) was an officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

who became the only full

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

in the

Confederate Navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

. He also commanded the ironclad CSS ''Virginia''.

Early life

Franklin Buchanan was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore wa ...

, on September 13, 1800. He was the fifth child and third son of a physician, George Buchanan, and Laetitia McKean Buchanan.Quarstein, "Franklin Buchanan" The Buchanan side of his family arrived in the United States from Scotland. His

paternal A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

grandfather was a general with the Maryland Militia during the Revolutionary War while his

maternal ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestat ...

grandfather

Thomas McKean Thomas McKean (March 19, 1734June 24, 1817) was an American lawyer, politician, and Founding Father. During the American Revolution, he was a Delaware delegate to the Continental Congress, where he signed the Continental Association, the United ...

was one of the signers of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

He joined the U.S. Navy on January 28, 1815 and became a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Af ...

; he was promoted to lieutenant on January 13, 1825,

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

on September 8, 1841, and then

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on September 14, 1855. On February 19, 1835, at

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

, he married Ann Catherine Lloyd. They had nine children: eight daughters and a son.

U.S. Navy

During the 45 years he served in the U.S. Navy, Buchanan had extensive and worldwide sea duty. He commanded the sloops of war and during the 1840s and the steam frigate in the

Perry Expedition The Perry Expedition ( ja, 黒船来航, , "Arrival of the Black Ships") was a diplomatic and military expedition during 1853–1854 to the Tokugawa Shogunate involving two separate voyages by warships of the United States Navy. The goals of thi ...

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 The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The 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 The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the ...

service in 1847–1848. From 1859–1861, Buchanan was the commandant of the

Washington Navy Yard The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy. The Yard currently serves as a ceremonial and administrat ...

. With the Civil War upon him, he resigned his commission on April 22, 1861, expecting his home State of Maryland to eventually secede. When that didn't happen, he tried to recall his resignation, but U.S. Secretary of the Navy,

Gideon Welles Gideon Welles (July 1, 1802 – February 11, 1878), nicknamed "Father Neptune", was the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1861 to 1869, a cabinet post he was awarded after supporting Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 election. Although opposed ...

said he did not want traitors or half-hearted patriots in his navy and refused to reinstate him. Thus in May, 1861 he was out of the U.S. Navy.

Civil War

On September 5, 1861, Franklin Buchanan joined the Confederate Navy and was given a captain's commission. On February 24, 1862, the

Confederate States Secretary of the Navy The Confederate States Secretary of the Navy was the head of the Confederate States Department of the Navy. Stephen Mallory, Stephen R. Mallory held this position through the entire duration of the Confederate States of America. Secretary of the ...

Stephen Mallory Stephen Russell Mallory (1812 – November 9, 1873) was a Democratic senator from Florida from 1851 to the secession of his home state and the outbreak of the American Civil War. For much of that period, he was chairman of the Committee on Nav ...

, appointed Buchanan to the office of Confederate Navy James River Squadron

Flag Officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countries ...

and he then selected the newly built

ironclad An ironclad is a steam-propelled warship protected by iron or steel armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. Th ...

to be his flagship. Buchanan was the captain of CSS ''Virginia'' (formerly ) during the

Battle of Hampton Roads The Battle of Hampton Roads, also referred to as the Battle of the ''Monitor'' and ''Virginia'' (rebuilt and renamed from the USS ''Merrimack'') or the Battle of Ironclads, was a naval battle during the American Civil War. It was fought over t ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

. He climbed to the top deck of ''Virginia'' and began furiously firing toward shore with a

carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and lighte ...

as was shelled. He soon was brought down by a

sharpshooter A sharpshooter is one who is highly proficient at firing firearms or other projectile weapons accurately. Military units composed of sharpshooters were important factors in 19th-century combat. Along with " marksman" and "expert", "sharpshooter" ...

's minie ball to the

thigh In human anatomy, the thigh is the area between the hip ( pelvis) and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb. The single bone in the thigh is called the femur. This bone is very thick and strong (due to the high proportion of ...

. He would eventually recover from his leg wound. He did not get to command ''Virginia'' against . That honor went to

Catesby ap Roger Jones Catesby ap Roger Jones (April 15, 1821 – June 21, 1877) was an officer in the U.S. Navy who became a commander in the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War. He assumed command of during the Battle of Hampton Roads and engaged in ...

In August 1862, Buchanan was promoted to the rank of full admiral – the only officer so honored in the Confederate Navy – and was sent to take command of Confederate naval forces stationed at

Mobile Bay Mobile Bay ( ) is a shallow inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. The ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

.Tucker, Spencer, ''Almanac of American military history'', Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO, 2013, p. 668. He oversaw the construction of the ironclad , of which the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

was laid in October 1862. He was on board ''Tennessee'' during the

Battle of Mobile Bay The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864, was a naval and land engagement of the American Civil War in which a Union fleet commanded by Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, assisted by a contingent of soldiers, attacked a smaller Confederate fle ...

with Rear Admiral

David Glasgow Farragut David Glasgow Farragut (; also spelled Glascoe; July 5, 1801 – August 14, 1870) was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. Fa ...

's Union fleet on August 5, 1864.Symonds, p. 254. Wounded and taken prisoner, Buchanan was not exchanged until February 1865.

Later life

Following the conflict, Buchanan lived in Maryland and in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth-most-populous city in Alabama ...

, until 1870, when he again took up residence in Maryland. He died there on May 11, 1874. He is buried at the

Wye House Wye may refer to: Place names *Wye, Kent, a village in Kent, England **Wye College, agricultural college, part of University of London before closure in 2009 ** Wye School, serving the above village **Wye railway station, serving the above villag ...

family plot outside

Easton, Maryland Easton is an incorporated town in and the county seat of Talbot County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,945 at the 2010 census, with an estimated population in 2019 of 16,671. The primary ZIP Code is 21601, and the secondary ...

Legacy

Three U.S. Navy destroyers have been named ''Buchanan'' in honor of Confederate Admiral Franklin Buchanan: (), (), and (). The superintendent's quarters at the United States Naval Academy is also named the Buchanan House.

References

Bibliography

* Quarstein, John V., ''The CSS Virginia: Sink before surrender'', Charleston, History Press, 2012, . * Symonds, Craig L., ''Confederate Admiral: The Life and Wars of Franklin Buchanan'', Naval Institute Press, 1999, . * Lewis, Charles L., ''Admiral Franklin Buchanan: Fearless Man of Action'', Baltimore, The Norman Remington Company, 1929
Online

External links

– from the Naval Historical Center, Washington, D.C.
Franklin Buchanan Naval Papers, 1796–1847 (bulk 1817–1847) MS 1
held b
Special Collections & Archives

Nimitz Library
at th
United States Naval Academy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buchanan, Franklin United States Navy officers Confederate States Navy admirals American people of Scottish descent Battle of Hampton Roads Superintendents of the United States Naval Academy Presidents of the University of Maryland, College Park Military personnel from Baltimore 1800 births 1874 deaths