Andrew Bryson Rear Admiral Andrew Bryson ( 25 July 1822 – 7 February 1892 ) was an officer in the United States Navy . He fought in the American Civil War and served as commander of the South Atlantic Squadron . Naval career . Bryson was born on 25 July 1822 in New York City . He was appointed as a midshipman on 1 or 21 December 1837 ( sources vary ) and went to sea in the West Indies Squadron from 1838 to 1842 , serving first aboard the sailing frigate and then on the sloop - of - war . He attended the Philadelphia Naval School in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , from 1842 to 1843 and , upon completing his studies , was promoted to passed midshipman on 29 June 1843 . From 1843 to 1845 , Bryson served in the Africa Squadron , first aboard the sailing frigate , then on the sloop - of - war . He next had duty on the Great Lakes aboard the steamer from 1845 to 1849 , then served aboard the stores ship from 1849 to 1850 . Promoted to master on 30 January 1851 and to lieutenant on 30 August 1851 , he was aboard the brig from 1851 to 1853 , operating first in the Brazil Squadron and later in the Africa Squadron , then aboard the receiving ship at Boston , Massachusetts , from 1853 to 1855 , the sloop - of - war in the Home Squadron from 1856 to 1858 , and the sloop - of - war in the Brazil Squadron from 1858 to 1859 . He performed duty at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn , New York , in 1861 , and was serving there when the American Civil War broke out in April 1861 . Promoted to commander on 16 July 1862 , Bryson was commanding officer of the gunboat on special service from 1862 to 1863 . He took command of the monitor in the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron in 1863 , and led her in the reduction of Fort Macon in North Carolina and in all major actions that U . S . Navy ironclad warship s fought against the defenses of Charleston , South Carolina , between 22 September 1863 and 5 April 1864 , during one of which he suffered a slight wound inflicted by a shell fragment . From 1864 to 1865 he commanded the ironclad river gunboat in the Mississippi River Squadron . After the end of the Civil War , Bryson was promoted to captain on 25 July 1866 and returned to the steamer " Michigan " on the Great Lakes as her commanding officer from 1866 to 1869 . He then commanded the receiving ship at Boston , Massachusetts , from 1869 to 1870 , performed duty at the Boston Navy Yard in Charlestown , Massachusetts , in 1871 , and commanded the sloop - of - war in the European Squadron from 1871 to 1872 . Promoted to commodore on 14 February 1873 , Bryson was a member of the Board of Examiners in 1873 , then was commandant of the Portsmouth Navy Yard at Kittery , Maine , from 1874 to 1877 . He commanded the South Atlantic Squadron from 1879 to 1881 and was promoted to rear admiral on 25 March 1880 . He retired from the Navy on either 1 July 1881 or 30 January 1883 ( sources vary ) . Personal life . Bryson was married to Charlotte Arnold Bryson . They had a son , also named Andrew Bryson ( 2 September 1851 – 1 October 1918 ) . Death . Bryson died at his residence in Washington , D . C . , on 7 February 1892 . He is buried at Green - Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn , New York .