Stephen Bleecker Luce was born on March 25, 1827, in Albany, New York, to Vinal Luce and Charlotte Bleecker. He entered the navy on October 19, 1841, as a midshipman, and he graduated from the United States Naval Academy in the late 1840s. He married Elizabeth Henley on December 4, 1854, and they had at least three children: Henley, born around 1856; Caroline, born around 1858; and Charlotte, born around 1859. He was promoted to lieutenant on September 15, 1855. By 1860, he was living in Annapolis, Maryland, and he owned $2,00 of personal property.

 

He served in the Atlantic Blockading Squadron during the Civil War, and he commanded the USS Nantucket during the siege of Charleston. He was promoted to lieutenant commander in 1862, and he later commanded the USS Sonoma, the USS Canadaigua, and the USS Pontiac. He also spent a year and a half as head of the Department of Seamanship at the Naval Academy.

 

He remained in the navy after the war. He was promoted to commander in 1866, to captain in 1872, and the commodore in 1881. He commanded the Navy Training Squadron in Newport, Rhode Island, from 1881 until 1884, and he commanded the North Atlantic Squadron later that decade. He also served as the first president of the Naval War College. He retired on March 25, 1889, and he settled in Newport. He served as a faculty member at the Naval War College from 1901 until 1910. He died in Newport on July 28, 1917.

 

Image: Stephen Bleecker Luce (courtesy Wikicommons)

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