Richard P. Leary

Richard Phillips Leary (3 November 1842 – 27 December 1901) was an admiral in the United States Navy who served from the American Civil War through the Spanish–American War.

Richard Phillips Leary
Late 1800s illustration of Leary
Born	November 3, 1842 Baltimore, Maryland
Died	December 27, 1901 (aged 59) Chelsea, Massachusetts
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1860–1901
Rank	Rear Admiral
Commands held	USS Adams USS San Francisco Naval Governor of Guam
Battles/wars	American Civil War Spanish–American War
Relations	VADM Herbert F. Leary (son)

Biography

Leary was born on 3 November 1842 in Baltimore, Maryland. He entered the United States Naval Academy in 1860. During the Civil War, he served in screw sloop Canandaigua and the monitor Sangamon assigned to the Atlantic blockade.

During tension with Germany over Samoa, Leary commanded Adams at Samoa from October to December 1888. In the Spanish–American War, he commanded San Francisco (C-5) off Havana, Cuba. From 1899 into 1900, Captain Leary served as Naval Governor of Guam. Retiring in 1901, Rear Admiral Leary died 27 December at Chelsea, Massachusetts.

Namesake

In 1943, the destroyer USS Richard P. Leary (DD-664) was named in his honor.

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

External links

• Richard P. Leary Papers, 1860–1905 MS 404 held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy