Hispanic Admirals in the United States Navy Hispanic Admirals in the United States Navy can trace their tradition of naval military service to the Hispanic sailors , who have served in the Navy during every war and conflict since the American Revolution . Prior to the Civil War , the highest rank reached by a Hispanic - American in the U . S . Navy was Commodore . Such was the case of Commodore Uriah Phillips Levy ( 1792 – 1862 ) , a Sephardic Jew of Hispanic descent and great grandson of Dr . Samuel Nunez , who served in the War of 1812 . During the American Civil War , the government of the United States recognized that the rapid expanding Navy was in need of admirals therefore , Congress proceeded to authorize the appointment of nine officers the rank of rear admiral . On July 16 , 1862 , Flag Officer David Glasgow Farragut became the first Hispanic - American to be appointed to the rank of rear admiral . Two years later ( 1864 ) , Farragut became a vice admiral and in 1866 the Navy ' s first full admiral . During World War I , Robert Lopez , the first Hispanic graduate of the United States Naval Academy , served with the rank of Commodore in command of the Mare Island Naval Shipyard and during World War II five Hispanics served with the ranks of Rear Admiral or above in either the European or Pacific Theater ' s of the war . As of April 2007 , twenty two Hispanic - Americans have reached the rank of Admiral and of this number thirteen were graduates of the USNA . Terminology . Admiral , a word that stems from the Arabic term Amir - al - bahr ( commander of the sea ) , is the rank , or part of the name of the ranks , of the highest naval officer s . Admirals are the highest - ranking officers in the U . S . Navy . However , through the American Revolution until 1862 , the U . S . Navy had no admiral rank . Hispanic American is an ethnic term employed to categorize any citizen or resident of the United States , of any racial background , of any country , and of any religion , who has at least one ancestor from the people of Spain or is of non - Hispanic origin , but has an ancestor from Mexico , Puerto Rico , Cuba , Central or South America , or some other Hispanic origin . The three largest Hispanic groups in the United States are the Mexican - Americans , Puerto Ricans and Cubans . David Glasgow Farragut . Born on July 5 , 1801 at Campbell ' s Station , near Knoxville , Tennessee , David Glasgow Farragut ( born James Farragut ) was the second son of Elizabeth Farragut and her husband Jorge Farragut Mesquida , a Spanish – Catalan by descent and a Minorquin by birth , who had emigrated to America in 1776 . Jorge Farragut Mesquida served during the American Revolution . In 1808 , Farragut ' s mother died from yellow fever and his father then gave him up for adoption . He was adopted by future - U . S . Navy Captain David Porter . Farragut entered the Navy as a midshipman on December 17 , 1810 . His first naval combat experience came in the War of 1812 , when the ship to which he was assigned , the , captured an enemy vessel and , at the age of 12 years old he was given the assignment to bring the ship safely to port . Civil War . In April 1862 , Farragut was the " flag officer " in command of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron . With his flagship , the , he ran past Fort Jackson and Fort St . Philip and the Chalmette , Louisiana , batteries to take the city and port of New Orleans , Louisiana . This victory was an influential factor when in 1862 , Congress created the rank of Admiral and named Farragut and eight other naval officers ( which also included his foster brother David Dixon Porter ) as rear admiral s . Thus , Farragut became the first Hispanic - American admiral in the United States Navy . Farragut ' s greatest victory was the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5 , 1864 . Mobile , Alabama at the time was the Confederacy ' s last major port open on the Gulf of Mexico . The bay was heavily mined with tethered naval mine s , also known as " torpedoes " . When the , one of the ships under his command , struck a mine and went down , Farragut shouted through a trumpet from his flagship to the , " What ' s the trouble ? " " Torpedoes ! " was the reply . Farragut then shouted his now famous words " " Damn the torpedoes ! Full speed ahead ! " " The fleet succeeded in entering the bay . Farragut then triumphed over the opposition of heavy batteries in Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines to defeat the squadron of Admiral Franklin Buchanan . Farragut was promoted to vice admiral on December 21 , 1864 , and to full admiral on July 25 , 1866 , after the war , thereby becoming the first person to be named full admiral in the Navy ' s history . United States Naval Academy . The United States Naval Academy ( USNA ) is an institution for the undergraduate education of officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps . The institution was founded as the Naval School in 1845 by Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft . The first Hispanic - American to graduate from the academy to reach the rank of admiral was Robert F . Lopez , class of 1879 . Lopez was a Commodore during World War I , which technically made him the first Hispanic alumnus to become an admiral . Commodore is an official flag rank when used during wartime and is equivalent to today ' s one - star admiral — rear admiral ( lower half ) . Many rank systems only use this rank during wartime . The first Hispanic alumnus , born outside of the United States mainland , to graduate from the academy and to reach the rank of admiral was Rear Admiral Frederick Lois Riefkohl , a Puerto Rican who graduated in the class of 1911 . Other Hispanic Admirals . There are also some members of the Navy who reached the rank of Admiral and who were not graduates of the Naval Academy . These were men who had earned specialized degrees and then chose to serve in the Navy . The following are the Hispanic Admirals who are not alumni of the Academy . Currently . , there are four Admirals in the Navy of Hispanic descent . They are :