BUCHANAN, FRANKLIN
Buchanan, Franklin
(September 17, 1800–May 11, 1874)
Confederate Admiral
F
ranklin Buchanan
made history by ini-
tiating the world’s
first battle between
wooden and iron war-
ships. An aggressive leader
with an appetite for ad-
ministration, he achieved
impressive results with
the limited resources at
his disposal during the
Civil War.
Buchanan was born in
Baltimore, Maryland, on
September 17, 1800, and
in January 1815 com-
menced his long naval ca-
reer by becoming a mid-
shipman. He cruised the
Mediterranean for two
years under Comdr. Oli-
ver Hazard Perry and was
promoted to lieutenant in
January 1825 following a
decade of sea and shore
assignments. He was
named a commander in
September 1841. Bu-
chanan then commanded the steam frigate
Mississippi and sloop Vincennesuntil 1844,
when Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft
asked him to draft a proposal for the new
Naval Academy at Annapolis. The secretary
was so impressed by Buchanan’s scheme that
he appointed him its first superintendent in
- In this capacity Buchanan imparted his
strict, no-nonsense attitude on academy ad-
ministration and gave the institution a suc-
cessful start.
Following the onset of war with Mexico in
1846, Buchanan petitioned for active duty and
in March 1847 received command of the sloop
Germantown. Buchanan cruised with the
squadrons of David Con-
ner and Matthew C. Perry
in the Gulf of Mexico, and
he helped capture the
towns of Vera Cruz, Al-
varado, Tuxpan, and
Tabasco. Five years later,
Buchanan commanded
Perry’s flagship Susque-
hannaduring the expedi-
tion to Japan in 1853. He
advanced to captain in
1855 and directed the
Washington Navy Yard
for several years until
April 1861. That spring,
Buchanan resigned his
commission in the mis-
taken belief that Mary-
land would secede from
the Union. When that
state remained loyal, he
tried to retract his resig-
nation, but the Navy De-
partment declined to re-
instate him. After four
months of inactivity, the
aggressive Buchanan vis-
ited Richmond, Virginia, and tendered his ser-
vices to the Confederacy.
Buchanan was commissioned a captain in
the Confederate Navy in September 1861 and
was posted as chief of the Bureau of Orders
and Details. He performed well but chafed in an
administrative role and requested a more active
command. Accordingly, in February 1862
Buchanan took charge of the Chesapeake
squadron and spent several weeks supervising
reconstruction of the former Union frigate Mer-
rimac. Converted into a steam-powered iron-
clad, it emerged off Hampton Roadson March
8, 1862, as the CSS Virginia, with Buchanan at
the helm. Undeterred by a blockading UnionFranklin Buchanan
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