Civil War Confederate Navy Admiral. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, prior to the Civil War, he was a US Navy Captain, served as the first superintendent of the US Naval Academy and commanded the USS Susquehanna in the Perry Expedition to Japan. Believing that his home state of Maryland would be soon seceding from the Union, he tendered his resignation from the US Navy on April 22, 1861. When he realized that Maryland was not to leave the Union, he asked Navy Secretary Gideon Welles if he could withdraw his resignation but he refused. Buchanan tried to remain neutral, but joined the Confederate Navy as a Captain, serving as chief of the Confederate Bureau of Orders and Details. In March 1862, he was appointed the first Captain of the Iron Clad Merrimack CSS Virginia which destroyed several Union ships including the USS Congress. Promoted Admiral in charge of naval forces at Mobile, Alabama, in August 1862, he was defeated by Union Admiral Farragut at the Battle Mobile Bay in August 1864 and held prisoner until February 1865. After the war, he became president of Maryland State Agricultural College in 1868 and worked as an insurance executive until his death.

Civil War Confederate Navy Admiral. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, prior to the Civil War, he was a US Navy Captain, served as the first superintendent of the US Naval Academy and commanded the USS Susquehanna in the Perry Expedition to Japan. Believing that his home state of Maryland would be soon seceding from the Union, he tendered his resignation from the US Navy on April 22, 1861. When he realized that Maryland was not to leave the Union, he asked Navy Secretary Gideon Welles if he could withdraw his resignation but he refused. Buchanan tried to remain neutral, but joined the Confederate Navy as a Captain, serving as chief of the Confederate Bureau of Orders and Details. In March 1862, he was appointed the first Captain of the Iron Clad Merrimack CSS Virginia which destroyed several Union ships including the USS Congress. Promoted Admiral in charge of naval forces at Mobile, Alabama, in August 1862, he was defeated by Union Admiral Farragut at the Battle Mobile Bay in August 1864 and held prisoner until February 1865. After the war, he became president of Maryland State Agricultural College in 1868 and worked as an insurance executive until his death.

Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith