Francis Munroe Ramsay
Admiral Francis Munroe Ramsay (April 5, 1835 – July 19, 1914) was an officer in the United States Navy who distinguished himself in the American Civil War, and who later served as Chief of the Navy's Bureau of Navigation. Early life and career. Born in the District of Columbia, Ramsay was appointed midshipman on October 5, 1850. After training in and in , he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1856. He subsequently served in with the Brazil Squadron; in with the Pacific Squadron; on ordnance duty at the Washington Navy Yard; and in when working with  the Royal Navy's Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope and West Africa. Civil War service. On March 23, 1863, he assumed command of , for duty in the Mississippi Squadron. In that gunboat, he participated in Yazoo River operations during April and May. Then on June 7, he supported a Union garrison at Milliken's Bend, Louisiana in holding off some 4,000 Confederate troops. Moving on to Vicksburg, he commanded a battery of heavy guns mounted on scows in exposed positions before the city, June 19 – July 4. After the capture of the river stronghold, he was given command  of the 3d Division, Mississippi Squadron. During February and March 1864, he led expeditions up the Black and Ouachita Rivers and from mid-March to early May participated in Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter's expedition up the Red River. On September 28, he was transferred to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron in command of . He participated in the amphibious assaults on Fort Fisher December 24, 1864 and on January 13, 1865, and in subsequent attacks against Fort Anderson and other forts along the Cape Fear River. In April, he assisted in removing torpedoes (mines) from the James River and  was present at the capture of Richmond. Post-Civil War service. After the Civil War, Ramsay served in many and varied positions afloat; as Fleet Captain, South Atlantic Squadron and as commanding officer of , , , , and . Ashore, he served at the Naval Academy, at Newport, in London as naval attaché, and at Boston and New York as commandant of the Navy Yards. In 1889 he became Chief of the Bureau of Navigation and remained in that post until his retirement April 5, 1897. He was promoted to rear admiral on April 5, 1894, and died in Washington, D.C. July 19, 1914 . Legacy. In 1918, the destroyer was named in his honor.