Fabius Maximus Stanly (December 15, 1815 – December 5, 1882) was a

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, who served during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

and the

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

Early life

Fabius Maximus Stanly was born on December 15, 1815, in

New Bern, North Carolina New Bern, formerly Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 31,291 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located at the confluence of the Neuse River, Neuse a ...

, to John Stanly. His father was the speaker of the

North Carolina House of Commons The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, Speaker of the House, who holds powers si ...

and

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from North Carolina. His grandfather was John Wright Stanly, a veteran of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

Career

Stanly was appointed

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

on December 20, 1831. He sailed on the frigate USS ''Constellation'' from 1832 to 1834. He then served in a variety of places, including Hudson, Concord, Warren, Consort, Falmouth, the Pacific Ocean, Delaware and Brazil until 1843. He was promoted to lieutenant on September 8, 1841. He commanded the sloop in 1854. He was the executive officer of the

Mare Island Navy Yard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY or MINS) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean and was in service 142 years from 1854 to 1996. It is located on Mare Island, northeast of San Francisco, in Vallejo, Califor ...

in 1855. During the

, Stanly was assigned to the

Pacific Squadron The Pacific Squadron of the United States Navy, established c. 1821 and disbanded in 1907, was a naval squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Developing from a small force protecting United States commerc ...

and participated in the capture of California and the defense of San Francisco. He also took part in several land raids and, during the Capture of Guaymas, led a party of 30 sailors on a

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

-spiking raid in the midst of 1,500 enemy troops. He completed his mission successfully, returning to the boats with all his wounded and some prisoners to boot. He also participated in the Capture of Mazatlán and received a knife wound to the chest. After the Mexican–American War, Stanly commanded steamers of the

Pacific Mail Steamship Company The Pacific Mail Steamship Company was founded April 18, 1848, as a joint stock company under the laws of the State of New York by a group of New York City merchants. Incorporators included William H. Aspinwall, Edwin Bartlett (American consul ...

from 1850 to 1851, and during the Paraguay expedition commanded the store ship . From June 1859 to December 1860, he was commander of the steamer in the West Indian Squadron. On May 9, 1860, ''Wyandotte'' captured the slave ship ''William'' off the coast of Cuba. After his service with the ''Wyandotte'', Stanly was sent to California to command the receiving ship at the Mare Island Navy Yard. After the start of the

, Stanly was commissioned as commander on May 19, 1861, and served as commanding officer of the steamer in the Pacific Squadron from April 1862 to October 1863. He also served as a diplomat with Mexico. In November 1863, Stanly joined the

Mississippi River Squadron The Mississippi River Squadron was the Union brown-water naval squadron that operated on the western rivers during the American Civil War. It was initially created as a part of the Union Army, although it was commanded by naval officers, and ...

Cairo, Illinois Cairo ( , sometimes ) is the southernmost city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat of Alexander County, Illinois, Alexander County. A river city, Cairo has the lowest elevation of any location in Illinois and is the only Illinoi ...

as ordnance officer. From November 1864 to April 1865, he was given command of the side-wheel steamer and cruised off the coast of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, including participating in the expedition of Bull's Run. After the Civil War, Stanly was commander of the sloop of war in the Pacific Squadron from June 1865 to November 1867. He was commissioned captain on July 25, 1866, commodore on July 1, 1870, and rear admiral on February 12, 1874. Stanly retired from the Navy on June 4, 1874.

Personal life

His sister married General

Walker Keith Armistead Walker Keith Armistead (March 25, 1773 – October 13, 1845) was a military officer who served as Chief of Engineers of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Armistead was born in Upperville, Fauquier County, Virginia, and served as an ord ...

. His brother,

Edward Stanly Edward W. Stanly (January 10, 1810 – July 12, 1872) was an American lawyer and politician. He was a North Carolina politician and orator who represented the southeastern portion of the state in the United States House of Representatives for fi ...

, served as the

North Carolina Attorney General The attorney general of North Carolina is a statewide elected office in the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. The attorney general is a state constitutional officer, constitutional officer responsible for representing state agencies i ...

and as speaker in the North Carolina House of Commons. Stanly died in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, on December 5, 1882. He was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

Legacy

In 1941, the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

was named in his honor.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stanly, Fabius 1815 births 1882 deaths People from New Bern, North Carolina Military personnel from North Carolina United States Navy personnel of the Mexican–American War People of North Carolina in the American Civil War Union Navy officers United States Navy admirals Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)