    stephen russell mallory (1812 &ndash; november 9, 1873) served in the united states senate as senator (democrat) from florida from 1850 to the secession of his home state and the outbreak of the american civil war. for much of that period, he was chairman of the committee on naval affairs. this was a time of rapid naval reform, and he insisted that the ships of the united states navy should be as capable as those of great britain and france, the foremost navies in the world at that time. he also wrote a bill, and guided it through congress, that provided for compulsory retirement of officers who did not meet the standards of the profession. although he was not a leader in the secession movement, mallory followed his state out of the union. when the confederate states of america was formed, he was named secretary of the navy in the administration of president jefferson davis. he held the position throughout the existence of the confederacy. because of indifference to naval matters by most others in the confederacy, mallory was able to shape the confederate navy according to the principles he had learned while serving in the us senate. some of his ideas, such as the incorporation of armor into warship construction, were quite successful and became standard in navies around the world. on the other hand, the navy was often handicapped by administrative ineptitude in the navy department. during the war, he was weakened politically by a congressional investigation into the navy department for its failure in defense of new orleans. after months of taking testimony, the investigating committee concluded that it had no evidence of wrongdoing on his part. mallory resigned after the confederate government had fled from richmond at the end of the war. following the final collapse of the confederacy, he and several of his colleagues in the cabinet were imprisoned and charged with treason. after more than a year in prison, the public mood had softened, and he was granted parole by president [[andrew jo
1813_births 1873_deaths American_Roman_Catholics Confederate_States_Cabinet_members Confederate_States_Navy Confederate_States_of_America_political_leaders Democratic_Party_United_States_Senators Florida_Democrats Florida_lawyers People_from_Pensacola,_Florida People_of_Florida_in_the_American_Civil_War Trinidad_and_Tobago_emigrants_to_the_United_States United_States_Senators_from_Florida