Stephen Bleecker Luce (March 25, 1827 – July 28, 1917) was a

U.S. 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 o ...

admiral. He was the founder and first

president of the Naval War College The president of the Naval War College is a flag officer in the United States Navy. The President's House in Newport, Rhode Island is their official residence. The office of the president was created along with the Naval War College as a whol ...

, between 1884 and 1886.

Biography

Born in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

, to Dr. Vinal Luce and Charlotte Bleecker, Stephen B. Luce was one of the Navy's outstanding officers in many fields, including strategy, seamanship, education, and professional development. He is best known for being the founder of the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associ ...

. In 1854 Luce married Elizabeth Henley, who was a grand niece of

Martha Washington Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 21, 1731 — May 22, 1802) was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington served as the inaugural ...

, wife of President

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

. Their children included daughter Caroline (1857–1933), who became the wife of Montgomery M. Macomb, a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. Luce entered the Navy, at the age of 14, on October 19, 1841, as a midshipman. He was instructed at the Naval School in Philadelphia until the newly instituted

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 ...

in Annapolis, Maryland was opened in 1845. He graduated from the academy in 1848 and was warranted as a passed midshipman to date from August 10, 1847. He was promoted to lieutenant on September 15, 1855.

Civil War

Luce served with the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

coast blockaders during the

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

, and commanded the monitor at the siege of Charleston, South Carolina. He was promoted to lieutenant commander in 1862. He was assigned to the US Naval Academy in Newport, RI from January 1862 to October 1863. In 1862, while serving as head of the Department of Seamanship at the U.S. Naval Academy, he prepared one of the first seamanship textbooks used by the academy. During the war he also commanded the USS ''Sonoma'', USS ''Canadaigua'' and USS ''Pontiac''. He was promoted to commander in 1866.

Post-Civil War

After the Civil War, Luce organized the Navy's apprentice training program to prepare seamen and petty officers for fleet duty. He was promoted to captain in December 1872 and served at the

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

until 1875. He commanded the USS ''Hartford'' from November 1875 to August 1877. From August to December 1877 Captain Luce was inspector of training ships. From January 1878 to February 1881 he commanded the training ship USS ''Minnesota''. From July to September 1884 Luce commanded the North Atlantic Squadron with the USS ''Tennessee'' as his flagship. From June 1886 to February 1889 Luce commanded the North Atlantic Squadron with the USS ''Richmond'' as his flagship. Luce was also instrumental in starting the

U.S. Naval Institute The United States Naval Institute (USNI) is a private Nonprofit organization, non-profit military association that offers independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national security issues. In addition to publishing magazines and books, the ...

and its publication, ''Proceedings''. He served as the institute's president from 1887 to 1898.

Newport

In 1881 Luce was promoted to

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

, in which capacity he commanded the US Navy Training Squadron in Newport from April 1881 to June 1884. While in command of the Training Squadron, Luce developed and implemented the apprentice training program—the first formal program for training enlisted sailors for service in the Navy. Luce's plan was to have bright and healthy young men (in the age range of 14 to 17 years old) serve a three-year apprenticeship with the Training Squadron during which they received an academic education as well as hands on training to learn various seamanship skills. The "boys", as the apprentices were officially referred to, were typically enlisted by their parents until they would reach the age of 21 whereupon they could decide if they wished to extend their service in the Navy. Previously, the Navy had taken recruits with no prior experience and all training of enlisted sailors was "on the job". The problem with this approach was that many recruits lacked the discipline and skills necessary to be useful to the Navy. Luce's vision from the apprentice program was to develop sailors who were fully trained and accustomed to navy life prior to joining the fleet. The program ended when the United States entered the First World War in 1917 as the Navy needed to train sailors rapidly for service during the war. Based on Luce's urgings and exhaustive reports, the

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

, was established October 6, 1884 with Luce as its first president. In 1885 he was promoted to rear admiral, and in 1886 he was succeeded as president by Captain

Alfred Thayer Mahan Alfred Thayer Mahan (; September 27, 1840 – December 1, 1914) was a United States naval officer and historian, whom John Keegan called "the most important American strategist of the nineteenth century." His book '' The Influence of Sea Powe ...

, whose writings had greatly influenced the Navy's decision to establish the War College.

Retirement

The USS ''Richmond'' was Luce's last assignment at sea before retiring, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 62, on March 25, 1889. Despite being retired, Luce continued his interest in the improving the efficiency of the Navy. He returned to the War College in 1901 and served for nearly a decade as a faculty member. He finally retired in November 1910 at the age of 83.

Affiliations

Luce belonged to several military societies. In 1894 Luce joined the Aztec Club of 1847, a military society of officers who had served during the Mexican War, and served as its president from 1910 to 1911. He joined the

Military Order of Foreign Wars The Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States (MOFW) is one of the oldest veterans' and hereditary associations in the nation with a membership that includes officers and their hereditary descendants from all of the Armed Services. Memb ...

(MOFW) and became the founding commander of the Rhode Island Commandery of the MOFW in 1900. He was also a member of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Army. The original membership was composed of members ...

(insignia number 13,113) and the Naval Order of the United States. In 1901 he was elected to the board of directors of the Redwood Library in Newport. Luce was an active member of the

Protestant Episcopal Church The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop of ...

. He was a vestryman of All Saints Memorial Chapel in Newport, Rhode Island and was also a parishioner of St. John's Episcopal Church in Newport, where he served as a vestryman and as a warden.

Death and burial

Luce died on July 28, 1917 and was buried in the churchyard of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in

Portsmouth, Rhode Island Portsmouth is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,871 at the 2020 U.S. census. Portsmouth is the second-oldest municipality in Rhode Island, after Providence; it was one of the four colonies which merged ...

Publications

In 1863

David Van Nostrand David Van Nostrand (December 5, 1811 – June 14, 1886) was a New York City publisher. Biography David Van Nostrand was born in New York City on December 5, 1811. He was educated at Union Hall, Jamaica, New York, and in 1826 entered the publish ...

published Stephen Luce's textboo
''Seamanship''
(available through

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). The work was intended for use at the

. A later edition appeared in 1905. In December 1891, ''

The North American Review The ''North American Review'' (NAR) was the first literary magazine in the United States. It was founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale and others. It was published continuously until 1940, after which it was inactive until revived ...

'' published Luce's pape
"The Benefits of War"
(available through JSTOR). Luce also edited ''The Patriotic and Naval Songster'' (1883).

Dates of rank

Reference – ''U.S. Navy Register'', 1899. p. 70. *Midshipman – October 19, 1841 *Passed Midshipman – August 10, 1847 *Lieutenant – September 16, 1855 *Lieutenant Commander – July 16, 1862 *Commander – July 25, 1866 *Captain – December 28, 1872 *Commodore – November 25, 1881 *Rear Admiral – October 5, 1885 *Retired list – March 25, 1889 *Retired on active duty – February 13, 1901 *Final retirement – November 1910

Awards

Civil War Campaign Medal The Civil War Campaign Medal is considered the first campaign service medal of the United States Armed Forces. The decoration was awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces who had served in the American Civil War between 1861 and 186 ...

Spanish Campaign Medal The Spanish Campaign Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces which recognized those men of the U.S. military who had served in the Spanish–American War. Although a single decoration, there were two versions of the Spanish C ...

Legacy

Three ships have been named in his honor. The

and the

both have buildings named

Luce Hall Luce Hall was the first purpose-built building for the U.S. Naval War College, founded at Newport, Rhode Island, in 1884. It is located at Building 1, Luce Avenue, Naval Station Newport. The building is named after Rear Admiral Stephen Luce. In ...

in his honor. The auditorium at the erstwhile Naval Training Center, constructed in 1941 in San Diego, California, was named Luce Auditorium. The library at the

State University of New York Maritime College State University of New York Maritime College (SUNY Maritime College) is a public maritime college in the Bronx, New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Founded in 1874, the SUNY Maritime College was the fir ...

is the Stephen B. Luce Library. There is a memorial window at St. John's Episcopal Church in Newport in Luce's honor. There is a plaque in honor of Admiral Luce at the corner of Kay Street and Rhode Island Avenue in Newport.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Luce, Stephen B. 1827 births 1917 deaths Members of the Aztec Club of 1847 Presidents of the Naval War College Union Navy officers United States Navy admirals Military personnel from Albany, New York People of New York (state) in the American Civil War United States Naval Academy alumni Naval War College faculty American military writers United States Navy personnel of the Mexican–American War