Horatio Bridge Commodore Horatio Bridge ( 1806 — March 1893 ) was an officer of the United States Navy who , as Chief of the Bureau of Provisions , served for many years as head of the Navy ' s supply organization . Appointed by his former college mate , President Franklin Pierce , Bridge held this post under various administrations , including the whole period of the Civil War . He also had the distinction of being the first man in the Navy to employ the idea of comprehensive fleet supply . Under his direction , the systematic supply of Navy vessels on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts during the Civil War was established and carried out with conspicuous success . Early life and education . The son of a judge , Bridge was born at Augusta , Maine . He received his early education in private schools and at Hallowell Academy . Bridge was graduated from Bowdoin College in the class of 1825 , which included among its members Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow . According to a newspaper item of 1893 , it was Horatio Bridge ’ s appreciation of Hawthorne ’ s early writings , and his faith in this man of genius , that , to use Hawthorne ’ s own words , " was responsible for my being an author " . One of his earliest books , " The Snow Image " , was dedicated to his friend and benefactor , Horatio Bridge . The Commodore himself wielded a graceful pen , and besides contributions to periodicals was the author of " The Journal of an African Cruiser " , which was edited by Hawthorne , and " Personal Recollections of Nathaniel Hawthorne " . Legal and naval careers . After graduation from Bowdoin College , he studied law at Northampton Law School ; was admitted to the bar , and practiced his profession at Augusta and Skowhegan ( then Milburn ) , Maine . After ten years of practice , he found law distasteful to him and entered the U . S . Navy as a purser in 1838 . After several long cruises in African , European , and Pacific waters , he was called to Washington and appointed Chief of the Navy ' s Bureau of Provisions and Clothing . He handled with great skill the responsible duties of this office . Of the skill and ability which he showed in its management , Senator James Grimes testified in a debate in 1865 : " No Bureau of this government has been more admirably and accurately managed then the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing . " To this , Senator John P . Hale , added ; " I think a great reason , and a very important one , is because there is at the head of that Bureau an honest , vigilant , and faithful man " . During Bridge ' s tenure as head of the Bureau , he made many significant innovations in the Navy ' s supply system . Some of the more important ones were : According to a Navy press notice , Bridge resigned his position as Chief of the Bureau in 1869 . However , shortly thereafter he accepted the position as the first Chief Inspector of Clothing , which he held until the passage of the law debarring all Navy officers from active duty after reaching the age of sixty - two . He was detached from duty after serving afloat and ashore for fifty - five years . Family life . Commodore Bridge was married to Charlotte Marshall of Boston when he was forty years old . They had one daughter who died at the age of five . To appease his sorrow , his friend Hawthorne wrote him : " . . . I trust you will be able to feel that though it is good to have a dear child on earth , it is likewise good to have one safe in heaven . She will await you there and it will seem like home to you now . Affectionately , Nath " . While he seldom visited his home town , he kept the affection and respect of his townspeople to a most unusual degree . His friends there remembered him as a remarkable old man , whose clear mind and strong memory would have done credit to a man in the prime of life . He was also noted for his military bearing and elastic step . Concerning his fine character , the " Kennebec Journal " said : " Commodore Bridge was a man of sterling principles and rugged honesty , with a strong mind and a warm heart ; a gentleman of the old school in all that means , of broad culture and with a genial polished manner " . Last years and legacy . Upon final retirement , on March 1 , 1871 , he went to his country home , " The Moorings " , at Athens , Pennsylvania , where he spent the rest of his life . Here , according to " The Athens News " , he was an exemplary Christian and for many years had been an earnest and devout member of the Episcopal Church . Following Bridge ’ s death in March 1893 , he was buried in Athens . Namesakes . Two US Navy ships have been named in his honor : USS " Bridge " ( AF - 1 ) and USS " Bridge " ( AOE - 10 ) .