Stephen Luce Stephen Bleecker Luce ( 25 March 1827 – 28 July 1917 ) was a U . S . Navy admiral . He was the founder and first president of the Naval War College , between 1884 and 1886 . Biography . Born in Albany , New York , Stephen Luce was one of the Navy ' s outstanding officers in many fields , including strategy , seamanship , education , and professional development . He is best known for being the founder of the Naval War College . Luce married Elizabeth Henley in 1854 , who was a grand niece of Martha Washington , wife of President Washington . Luce entered the Navy , at the age of 14 , on October 19 , 1841 as a midshipman . He was instructed at the Naval School in Philadelphia until the newly instituted United States Naval Academy in Annapolis , Maryland was opened in 1845 . He graduated from the Academy in 1848 and was warranted as a passed midshipman to date from August 10 , 1847 . He was promoted to lieutenant on September 15 , 1855 . Luce served with the Atlantic coast blockaders during the American Civil War , and commanded the monitor at the siege of Charleston , South Carolina . He was promoted to lieutenant commander in 1862 . He was assigned to the US Naval Academy in Newport , RI from January 1862 to October 1863 . In 1862 , while serving as head of the Department of Seamanship at the U . S . Naval Academy , he prepared one of the first seamanship textbooks used by the Academy . During the war he also commanded the USS Sonoma ( 1862 ) , USS Canandaigua ( 1862 ) and USS Pontiac ( 1864 ) . He was promoted to commander in 1866 . After the Civil War , Luce organized the Navy ' s apprentice training program to prepare seamen and petty officers for fleet duty . He was promoted to captain in December 1872 and served at the Boston Navy Yard until 1875 . He commanded the USS " Hartford " from November 1875 to August 1877 . From from August to December 1877 Captain Luce was inspector of training ships . From January 1878 to February 1881 he commanded the training ship USS " Minnesota " . He was promoted to commodore , in 1881 and commanded the US Navy Training Squadron in Newport from April 1881 to June 1884 . While in command of the Training Squadron , Luce implemented the first formal program for training sailors for service in the Navy . Luce ' s plan was to have young men ( in the age range of 10 to 15 years old ) serve a three year apprenticeship with the Training Squadron during which they received an academic education as well has hands on training to learn various seamanship skills . Previously , the Navy had taken recruits with no prior experience and all training of enlisted sailors was " on the job " . From July to September 1884 Luce commanded the North Atlantic Squadron with the USS " Tennessee " as his flagship . Based on Luce ' s urgings and exhaustive reports , the Naval War College at Newport , Rhode Island , was established 6 October 1884 with Luce as its first president . In 1885 he was promoted to rear admiral and in 1886 he was succeeded as president by Capatin Alfred Thayer Mahan , whose writings had greatly influenced the Navy ' s decision to establish the War College . Luce was also instrumental in starting the U . S . Naval Institute and its publication , " Proceedings " . He served as the Institute ' s president from 1887 to 1898 . From June 1886 to February 1889 Luce commanded the North Atlantic Squadron with the USS " Richmond " as his flagship . This was his last assignment at sea before retiring , having reached the mandatory retirement age of 62 , on 25 March 1889 . Despite being retired , Luce continued his interest in the improving the efficiency of the Navy . He returned to the War College in 1901 and served for nearly a decade as a faculty member . He finally retired in November 1910 at the age of 83 . Luce belonged to several hereditary and military societies . Luce joined the Aztec Club of 1847 , a military society of officers who had served during the Mexican War , in 1894 and served as its president from 1910 to 1911 . He was the founding commander of the Rhode Island Commandery of the Military Order of Foreign Wars in 1900 . He was also a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States , the Naval Order of the United States . In 1901 he was elected to the board of directors of the Redwood Library . Luce was a member of the Episcopal Church and in April 1899 he was listed as a vestryman of All Saints Memorial Chapel in Newport . There is a memorial window in his honor as St . John ' s Episcopal Church in Newport . Luce died on 28 July 1917 and is buried at St . Mary ' s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth , Rhode Island . Note – Much of the above information can be found in Luce ' s obituary in the " New York Times " on July 29 , 1917 . Another excellent source is " Dictionary of Admirals of the U . S . Navy . " Vol . 1 , 1862 - 1900 . pp . 100 – 101 . Publications . He published " Seamanship " ( new edition , 1905 ) , which was used as a textbook at the Naval Academy , and edited " The Patriotic and Naval Songster " ( 1883 ) . Dates of Rank . Reference – U . S . Navy Register , 1899 . p . 70 . Namesakes . Three ships have been named in his honor . The United States Naval Academy and the Naval War College both have buildings named Luce Hall in his honor . There is also an auditorium at the former Naval Training Center , San Diego , California named Luce Auditorium , constructed 1941 . The library at the State University of New York Maritime College is the Stephen B . Luce Library .