Henry Glass ( admiral ) Henry Glass ( January 7 , 1844 – September 1 , 1908 ) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy , best remembered for his role in the bloodless capture of Guam in the Spanish - American War . He was also a Union veteran of the American Civil War . Biography . Glass was born in Hopkinsville , Kentucky , and entered the Naval Academy in 1860 , graduating a year ahead of schedule with the rank of ensign on 28 May 1863 . Civil War . He saw considerable action during the Civil War while attached to the steam sloop . He took part in engagements with Confederate batteries at Charleston , South Carolina , between July and September 1863 ; in the Stono River in December 1863 and July 1864 ; and in the North Edisto River in February 1865 . He also participated in the capture of Georgetown , South Carolina , in February 1865 . 1865 – 1880 . After the war , Glass was advanced to the rank of master on 10 November 1865 ; to lieutenant on 10 November 1866 ; and to lieutenant commander on 12 March 1868 . Sea duty came in a succession of ships : the steam sloop in the Pacific Squadron ( 1865 – 1868 ) ; the steam sloop in the North Atlantic Squadron ( 1869 ) ; and the steam sloop in the Pacific Squadron ( 1870 – 1871 ) . During his time in the " Mohican " , he was assigned to temporary command of the wooden - hulled , screw gunboat for six months during 1870 . Also whilst serving in " Mohican " , he performed duty as an aide on the staff of the Commander of the Pacific Squadron , Rear Admiral John Lorimer Worden . Glass then served in the screw sloop in the Asiatic Squadron from 1872 to 1873 , before returning to the United States for the first of several tours of duty at the Mare Island Navy Yard , first serving in the receiving ship , before he was given command of the State of California ' s State Marine School Ship , , which was recommissioned for this service on 21 July 1876 . Returning to the Navy on 3 March 1879 , " Jamestown " was refitted at Mare Island and sailed from San Francisco for Alaska on 22 May 1879 to protect American lives and property threatened by " " the disturbed condition of affairs " " on shore . She arrived at Sitka on 14 June and remained there into the following year " " preserving the peace and furnishing security to persons and property . . . and . . . surveying the waters and bays adjacent to Sitka . " " Promoted to commander on 27 October 1879 , Glass served as the senior naval officer in Alaskan waters in charge of Indian affairs in that territory in 1880 . 1881 – 1898 . The following year , Glass took command of the screw sloop , of the Pacific Squadron , before he began a tour at the Mare Island Navy Yard in 1883 . During his time there , he compiled " Marine International Law " , a collection drawn , as he freely acknowledged , " " from the writings and opinions of certain acknowledged authorities on the subject " " to provide a handy reference work for naval officers . This volume was published in 1885 . After winding up his tour at Mare Island in 1886 , Glass commanded the sidewheel gunboat of the Asiatic Squadron into 1888 . Glass ' next duty was that of Commandant of Cadets at the Naval Academy , a post he held from 1889 to 1891 , before serving on the Naval Examining Board from 1891 to 1893 . Since the latter assignment was only intermittent , Glass served as equipment officer of the Mare Island Navy Yard in 1892 and later became captain of the yard the following year . On 23 January 1894 , he was commissioned as captain . He returned to sea in 1894 and commanded the cruiser from 1894 to 1896 before he took command of the battleship . He then returned to Mare Island to the post of captain of the yard in 1897 . Spanish – American War . Upon the outbreak of war with Spain in 1898 , the twin - screw protected cruiser was quickly readied for service , with Glass in command . Commissioned on 5 May 1898 , " Charleston " set out for the Hawaiian Islands 16 days later . Escorting three transports — " City of Peking " , " Australia " , and " City of Sydney " — she sailed from Honolulu on 4 June , bound for Manila , Philippines . When clear of land , Glass opened his confidential orders , which directed him to take the island of Guam while en route to the Philippines . Her mission thus outlined , " Charleston " altered course for Guam , and the cruiser and her three consorts reached their interim destination at daybreak on 20 June . Leaving the transports anchored outside , " Charleston " boldly entered the harbor and fired a challenge , only to receive no return fire of any kind . Spanish emissaries soon called upon Glass and were astonished to learn that a state of war existed between their respective countries . As the island was virtually undefended — the forts were in ruins — the Spanish governor surrendered ; and Glass took possession of Guam for the United States on the afternoon of 21 June 1898 . As the orders specified , Charleston proceeded on to Manila and participated in the operations that resulted in the surrender of that city in August 1898 and took part in the initial actions against Filipino " insurgents " who were resisting America ' s assumption of control in the Philippine Islands . 1898 – 1908 . Relieved of command of " Charleston " on 12 December 1898 by Capt . W . H . Whiting , Glass returned to the United States and soon assumed command of the naval training station at San Francisco , California , on 23 January 1899 . Promoted to rear admiral in 1901 , he broke his flag in the armored cruiser on 4 February 1903 as Commander in Chief , Pacific Squadron . During his tour of duty in command of the squadron , the flagship , " New York " , together with the cruiser and visited Adak and Kiska , in the Aleutians , conducting surveys of the latter place in July 1903 with an eye toward establishing a coaling station there . Later , with " New York " requiring extended repairs at the Puget Sound Navy Yard , Glass and his staff proceeded to San Francisco , and he briefly wore his flag in the cruiser from 28 to 30 September 1903 before he transferred to the cruiser " Marblehead " on the 30th . On 3 November , a revolution broke out on the isthmus of Panama which soon won the independence of that strategic region from Colombia . Glass , in " Marblehead " , was dispatched to Panama ' s Pacific coast and arrived there a week later . In addition to the " Marblehead " , his fleet consisted of the USS Wyoming , USS Concord and USS Nero . During the period of tension , Glass stationed one ship at Darien harbor to protect American lives and property and , with the permission of the Panamanian government , sent small observation parties from his ships offshore to explore the rivers , roads , and trails of the region , thereby gaining " " much information . . . of a country of which very little was known . " " Placed on the retired list on 7 January 1906 , Glass served subsequently on active duty as Commandant , Pacific Naval District . He died in Paso Robles , California , on 1 September 1908 . Honors . The Glass Breakwater in Apra Harbor is named in his honor .