Henry "Harry" Clay Taylor (4 March 1845 – 26 July 1904) was a rear admiral in the

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who served in the

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and the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

. He also served as Chief of the

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and

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Early life and Civil War service

Taylor was born in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He was appointed midshipman at the

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on 28 September 1860. When the Civil War expansion of the Navy engendered a pressing need for junior officers in the fleet, Midshipman Taylor's class was graduated a year early. He was commissioned

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on 28 May 1863 and posted to the steam sloop operating with the

North Atlantic Blockading Squadron The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading. The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required the monitoring of of Atlantic ...

. In 1864, he was transferred to the sloop-of-war , in which he visited the

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and participated in the hunt for the

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raider .

Postbellum service

After the Civil War, Taylor served in a succession of ships on various stations. In 1866 and 1867, he was in with the

North Atlantic Squadron The North Atlantic Squadron was a section of the United States Navy operating in the North Atlantic. It was renamed as the North Atlantic Fleet in 1902. In 1905 the European and South Atlantic squadrons were abolished and absorbed into the Nort ...

, and he was assigned to from 1867 to 1868. His next tour of duty, in 1868 and 1869, was with the

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in the storeship . Between 1869 and 1880, Taylor sandwiched two tours at sea in between two periods of shore duty. His first assignment ashore—in 1869, 1870, and 1871—was at the Naval Academy. Following that, he was executive officer of , the flagship of the

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, from 1872 to 1874. Over the next three years, Lieutenant Commander Taylor commanded the

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steamer . In 1877, he came ashore once more, this time assigned to the Hydrographic Office. From there, he went to the

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where he was serving at the time of his promotion to commander in December 1879. In 1880, Commander Taylor resumed sea duty as the commanding officer of . In 1884 and 1885, he was on special duty at

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. From 1885 to 1887, Taylor served as a member of the Board of Inspection and then took a leave of absence in 1888. In 1890, he returned to duty to command on the

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until September 1891 when he took another leave of absence until December 1892. After six months' special duty in 1893, Taylor became President of the

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Spanish–American War

In April 1894, he was promoted to captain. Captain Taylor assumed command of (Battleship No. 1) in December 1894. His ship was assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron, and he commanded her through the

in 1898.

Flag assignments

In the fall of 1899, Taylor was detached from ''Indiana'' and assigned to shore duty. In March 1900, he became a member of the

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and, 11 months later on 11 February 1901, he was promoted to rear admiral. On 29 April 1902, he assumed the post of Chief of the

, which he held until his death.

Namesakes

Three U.S. Navy vessels have been named ''Taylor''. The first was named for Rear Admiral Henry Clay Taylor, the second commemorates Rear Admiral William Rogers Taylor, and the third ship commemorates Commander Jesse Jr Taylor].

Burial

Admiral Taylor and his wife Mary Virginia are buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

.Burial Detail: Taylor, Mary V
– ANC Explorer

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Henry Clay 1845 births 1904 deaths American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Military personnel from Washington, D.C. People of Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War Presidents of the Naval War College United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy admirals