For more information on Benjamin Franklin Tracy, visit Britannica.com.
Benjamin F. Tracy
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Benjamin Franklin Tracy |
| 5min Related Video: Benjamin F. Tracy |
| US Military History Companion: Benjamin F. Tracy |
(1830–1915), soldier, jurist, secretary of the navy
A small‐town lawyer and Republican politician from Tioga County, New York, Tracy served in the state legislature before raising and commanding troops in the Civil War. He received a Medal of Honor (1897) for gallantry at the Battle of the Wilderness despite subsequent controversial administration of the Elmira, New York, prison camp. Elmira, with its prisoner death rate of 25 percent, held the distinction of being the worst Union prison, although more as a result of War Department policy and bureaucracy than Tracy's management. Moving to Brooklyn in 1865, he served as federal district attorney from 1866 to 1873, and chief justice of the state court of appeals in 1881 and 1882. Tracy's major contribution to national security came as secretary of the navy (1889–93) during Benjamin Harrison's presidency.
Tracy publicly championed Alfred T. Mahan's doctrine of seapower. He launched the navy upon battle fleet construction in support of that doctrine, as well as introducing a prototype military‐industrial complex through close relationships between government and the steel industry. He encouraged technology transfer from Europe, and shrewdly negotiated with Congress for increased naval budgets. He modernized operational planning through establishment of a policy board, organized the first tactical squadron of evolution for fleet maneuver training, and abolished the spoils system in navy yards in order to reform the shore establishment. His ventures in overseas naval base acquisitions in Samoa, Haiti, and Santo Domingo, as well as his response to revolutions in Chile and Hawaii, proved more controversial than successful. Tracy's active retirement included service in the boundary dispute over British Guiana and chairman of the greater New York Charter Commission in 1897.
[See also Navy, U.S.: 1866–98; Prisoner‐of‐War Camps, Civil War.]
Bibliography
- B. Franklin Cooling, Benjamin Franklin Tracy; Father of the Modern American Fighting Navy, 1979.
- Paola E. Coletta,
Benjamin F. Tracy , in Coletta, ed., American Secretaries of the Navy, 1980
| US Military Dictionary: Benjamin Franklin Tracy |
Tracy, Benjamin Franklin (1830-1915) U.S. army officer, jurist, and secretary of the navy. Born in Tioga County, New York, Tracy earned a Congressional Medal of Honor commanding the 109th New York Regiment in the Battle of the Wilderness. Worn out after that campaign, he returned home to recuperate, and agreed to administer the draft rendezvous and prisoner-of-war camp at Elmira. He had to deal with riots and protests over the draft and overcrowding and malnourishment among the prisoners. After the war Southern Congressmen compared the conditions at Elmira to Andersonville, but Tracy had tried to improve the situation as best he could. He went back to his legal career until he was chosen by President Benjamin Harrison to be secretary of the navy in 1889. Tracy seized upon broad political support, new technology, and the seapower theories of Alfred Thayer Mahan to secure the first true battleships of the steel navy along with other vessels. Tracy became the administration's most prominent advocate for an expansionist foreign policy, which also benefited his navy. He also improved training and administration of the service before he left office in 1893. The press called him “the father of the fighting navy, ” and his fleet performed admirably in the Spanish-American War. He died in Brooklyn from complications after experiencing an automobile accident on his way to a Grand Army of the Republic parade.
See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Benjamin Franklin Tracy |
Tracy, Benjamin Franklin, 1830-1915, American lawyer, cabinet member, and soldier, b. Owego, N.Y. He was admitted to the bar in 1851 and later served (1853-59) as district attorney of Tioga co., N.Y. He helped organize (1854) the Republican party in his county and served (1862) in the state assembly. In the Civil War he recruited volunteers for the Union army, was wounded in battle, and was mustered out as brigadier general. Tracy served as U.S. district attorney (1866-73) for the eastern district of New York and was defense counsel to Henry Ward Beecher in the adultery suit brought against him by Theodore Tilton. He was (1881-82) judge of the New York court of appeals before becoming Secretary of the Navy (1889-93) under President Benjamin Harrison. Tracy was (1896) chairman of the commission that drafted the charter for Greater New York and served (1899) as counsel for Venezuela in the arbitration of the boundary dispute with Great Britain.
Bibliography
See study by B. F. Cooling (1973).
| Wikipedia: Benjamin F. Tracy |
| Benjamin Franklin Tracy | |
 |
|
|
|
|
|---|---|
| In office March 6, 1889 – March 4, 1893 |
|
| Preceded by | William C. Whitney |
| Succeeded by | Hilary A. Herbert |
|
|
|
| Born | April 26, 1830 Apalachin, New York, U.S. |
| Died | August 6, 1915 (aged 85) U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Profession | Politician |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States of America Union |
| Service/branch | Union Army |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Commands | 109th New York Infantry Regiment |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War *Battle of the Wilderness |
| Awards | Medal of Honor |
Benjamin Franklin Tracy (April 26, 1830 – August 6, 1915) was a United States political figure who served as Secretary of the Navy from 1889 through 1893, during the administration of U.S. President Benjamin Harrison.
Contents |
Biography
A native of the Apalachin hamlet near Owego, New York, Tracy was a lawyer active in Republican Party politics during the 1850s. During the Civil War, he commanded the 109th New York Infantry Regiment, and served as a Union brigadier general. He was awarded a Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of the Wilderness on May 6, 1864. According to the official citation, Tracy "seized the colors and led the regiment when other regiments had retired and then reformed his line and held it."[1] He resumed the practice of law after the war, and became active in New York state politics, also serving as U.S. Attorney. In December 1881, he was appointed by Governor Alonzo B. Cornell to the New York Court of Appeals to fill the vacancy caused by the appointment of Judge Charles Andrews as Chief Judge after the resignation of Charles J. Folger. Tracy remained on the bench until the end of 1882 when Andrews resumed his seat after being defeated by William C. Ruger in the election for Chief Judge.
Tracy was noted for his role in the creation of the "New Navy", a major reform of the service, which had fallen into obsolescence after the Civil War. Like President Harrison, he supported a naval strategy focused more on offense, rather than on coastal defense and commerce raiding. A major ally in this effort was naval theorist Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan, who had served as a professor at the new Naval War College (founded 1884). In 1890, Mahan published his major work, The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783—a book that achieved an international readership. Drawing on historical examples, Mahan supported the construction of a "blue-water Navy" that could do battle on the high seas.
Tracy also supported the construction of modern warships. On June 30, 1890, Congress passed the Navy Bill, a measure which authorized the construction of three battleships. The first three were later named USS Indiana (BB-1), Massachusetts (BB-2), and Oregon (BB-3). The battleship Iowa (BB-4) was authorized two years later.
After leaving the Navy Department, Tracy again took up his legal practice. In 1896, he defended New York City Police Commissioner Andrew Parker against Commission President Theodore Roosevelt's accusations of negligence and incompetence, in a performance that significantly embarrassed Roosevelt. (ref. Edmund Morris, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, p. 555) He also helped negotiate a settlement to the boundary dispute between Venezuela and Great Britain.
In 1897, Tracy was the regular Republican candidate to be the first Mayor of Greater New York City when her five boroughs consolidated in 1898. He came third behind Robert A. Van Wyck (Democratic) and Seth Low of the Citizens' Union (but well ahead of Henry George's posthumous independent candidacy), winning 101,863 of the 523,560 votes cast in the election of 1897.
Tracy died at his farm in Tioga County, New York in 1915.
Namesake
USS Tracy (DD-214) was named for him.
See also
- List of Medal of Honor recipients
- List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: M-Z
- List of American Civil War generals
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.
- Cooling, Benjamin F. Benjamin Franklin Tracy, Father of the American Fighting Navy. Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books, 1973.
- This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Naval History & Heritage Command.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Benjamin F. Tracy |
 |
Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
- The Spanish-American War: Historical Overview and Select Bibliography. Michael J. Crawford, Mark L. Hayes and Michael D. Sessions. November 30, 1998. Naval Historical Center. September 22, 2004.
- The Navy: The Oceanic Period, 1890-1945. Michael A. Palmer. Naval Historical Center. September 22, 2004. Copyright notice from Naval Historical Center website: "Used by permission of Charles Scribner's Sons, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Macmillan from Encyclopedia of the American Military, John E. Jessup, Editor in Chief. Vol. I, pp. 365-380. Copyright c 1994, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1633 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. [The views expressed in this history are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy or the U.S. government.]"
- Photograph of Tracy as Secretary of the Navy, c. 1890 From the Library of Congress
- Secretary of the Navy: Benjamin F. Tracy (1889-1893) Brief biography from AmericanPresident.org
- The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 by A. T. Mahan at Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg link to Mahan's The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783
- The Political Graveyard
Notes
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William C. Whitney |
United States Secretary of the Navy 1889–1893 |
Succeeded by Hilary A. Herbert |
|
||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Learn More
 | U.S. Navy: 1866 – 1898 |
| Civil War Prisoner‐of‐War Camps |
| U.S. Navy: 1866 – 1898 |
Help us answer these
 | Where did benjamin f fairless go to school? |
| What did benjamin f in the revoloutinary war? |
| Did Benjamin F Stith Jr win the Silver Star? |
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
 |
 | Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| US Military History Companion. The Oxford Companion to American Military History. Copyright © 2000 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
|
| US Military Dictionary. The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. Copyright © 2001, 2002 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more |
 |
| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Benjamin F. Tracy". Read more |
Related answers
- Who is Benjamin F Morris?
- Is Benjamin F Perry black?
- What war was General Benjamin F Cheatham in?
- Who is Colleen Tracy?
- Who is tracie castillo?
ADVERTISEMENT
