William M . Folger Rear Admiral William Mayhew Folger ( 19 May 1844 – 22 July 1928 ) was an officer in the United States Navy . He served in the American Civil War , Spanish - American War , and Philippine - American War , and briefly was Commander - in - Chief of the United States Asiatic Fleet . Naval career . Folger was born in Massillon , Ohio , on 19 May 1844 , the son of Robert H . Folger and grandson of the famed whaling captain Mayhew Folger . He was appointed a midshipman from Ohio on 21 September 1861 , shortly after the April 1861 outbreak of the American Civil War . He entered the United States Naval Academy , which moved from Annapolis , Maryland , to Newport , Rhode Island , for the duration of the war , as a member of the class of 1865 . He graduated early from the Academy , on 22 November 1864 , because of the pressing need for officers in the greatly expanded wartime U . S . Navy , and reported for duty on 6 February 1865 aboard the receiving ship at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn , New York . He then served on the training ship , where he remained through the end of the war in April 1865 and until 25 July 1865 . Folger served aboard the flagship of the Asiatic Squadron , the sloop - of - war , from 25 July 1865 to 6 August 1868 , and while aboard was commissioned as an ensign on 1 November 1866 and promoted to master on 1 December 1866 and to lieutenant on 12 March 1868 . After leaving " Hartford " , he had duty at the Norfolk Navy Yard in Portsmouth , Virginia , for a time in 1868 before reporting aboard the screw frigate , the flagship of the European Squadron , in October 1868 . He was promoted to lieutenant commander on 27 April 1869 while aboard " Franklin " . He served on the staff of the European Squadron during 1872 . Folger had ordnance duty from 1873 to 1874 , then took leave to travel in Europe from 1875 to 1876 . He reported for duty aboard the screw sloop - of - war in the European Squadron in 1877 , then transferred to the staff of the U . S . Naval Academy for duty from 1877 to 1879 . He was aboard the screw sloop - of - war in the Asiatic Squadron from 1879 to 1882 , then served in the Bureau of Ordnance in 1882 before performing ordnance duty at Annapolis , Maryland , from 1882 to 1885 . He was promoted to commander on 1 March 1885 . Folger returned to sea as the commanding officer of the screw corvette in the European Squadron . He then was Inspector of Ordnance at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington , D . C . , from 1888 to 1890 , and from February 1890 to January 1893 was Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance with the temporary rank of commodore . He commanded the gunboat in operations in the Bering Sea and in the Asiatic Squadron from 1894 to 1895 . He was a lighthouse inspector from 1896 to 1897 , and was promoted to captain on 6 February 1898 . At the outbreak of the Spanish - American War in April 1898 , Folger took command of the protected cruiser in the North Atlantic Squadron , leading her through the end of war in August 1898 , seeing service in the Flying Squadron off Cuba and in bombardments of Santiago de Cuba on 6 and 16 June 1898 . He detached from " New Orleans " in February 1899 , and then was commander of the Philippine Squadron of the Asiatic Squadron from April to September 1899 , during which time the squadron saw action in the Philippine - American War . He next was general inspector on the new battleship , still fitting out prior to commissioning , and became her first commanding officer when she was commissioned on 20 February 1900 . He detached from " Kearsarge " in May 1901 and again became a lighthouse inspector , carrying out this duty in the Third District until late 1903 or early in 1904 . Folger became commander of the Philippine Squadron of the United States Asiatic Fleet in early 1904 and was soon promoted to rear admiral , on 1 June 1904 . Later in 1904 , he took command of the fleets Cruiser Squadron . He served briefly as commander - in - Chief of the Asiatic Fleet from 23 March 1905 to 30 March 1905 . Folger retired from the Navy on 30 June 1905 . Personal life . Folger was an Original Companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States . Folger House , his home of many years in Cornish , New Hampshire , is on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States . Death . Folger died in Cornish on the evening of Sunday , 22 July 1928 , after an illness of three weeks . He is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge and Watertown , Massachusetts .