Benjamin F. Tracy

Benjamin Franklin Tracy
Benjamin Franklin Tracy
Born	Template:Birth date; Apalachin, New York, U.S.
Died	August 6, 1915 (aged 85); Tioga County, New York, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Statesman, lawyer, soldier
Years active	1850s–1915
Known for	Secretary of the Navy (1889–1893), Medal of Honor recipient

Benjamin Franklin Tracy (April 26, 1830 – August 6, 1915) was an American statesman who held the position of Secretary of the Navy from 1889 to 1893 during President Benjamin Harrison's administration.

Biography

Tracy was born in Apalachin, New York, and by the 1850s had established himself as a lawyer involved in Republican political circles. He represented Tioga County in the New York State Assembly in 1862.

Throughout the Civil War, he led the 109th New York Infantry Regiment. At the 1864 Battle of the Wilderness, he inspired his troops to maintain the Union defense line, an action for which he received the Medal of Honor. Later that year, he was appointed commandant of the Elmira prisoner of war camp and took command as Colonel of the 127th Infantry, U.S. Colored Troops. He was mustered out in 1865 and awarded a brevet promotion to Brigadier General of volunteers in 1867.

Following his military service, Tracy returned to his legal career and became active in New York politics. He served as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York from 1866 until 1877 and briefly held a seat on the New York Court of Appeals between 1881 and 1882. In 1875, he acted as defense counsel for preacher Henry Ward Beecher during a prominent adultery trial.

President Harrison appointed Tracy Secretary of the Navy in March 1889. In February 1890, a devastating fire at his Washington residence resulted in the deaths of his wife Belinda and their younger daughter Mary; Tracy and other family members survived but sustained injuries.

Tracy was instrumental in advancing the modernization of the U.S. Navy, endorsing an offensive maritime doctrine inspired by Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan’s concept of a dominant blue-water fleet. The Naval Appropriations Act passed in 1890 authorized building three battleships—later named Indiana, Massachusetts, and Oregon—signaling a major naval expansion.

During the 1896 presidential election, Tracy acted as an elector supporting William McKinley and Garret Hobart. After his tenure as Secretary ended, he returned to legal practice, notably defending New York City Police Commissioner Andrew Parker against allegations brought by Theodore Roosevelt. Additionally, he contributed to settling the Venezuela boundary dispute with Great Britain.

In New York City’s inaugural consolidated mayoral race in 1897, Tracy ran as the Republican nominee but placed third behind Robert A. Van Wyck and Seth Low. He also presided over the New York State Agricultural Society from 1897 to 1898.

In April 1900, following a merger between North American Trust Company and International Banking and Trust Company, Tracy was elected to serve on its board of directors.

Family and death

Benjamin Tracy married Belinda E. Catlin (1832–1890), sister to General Isaac S. Catlin, in 1851. The couple had four children: Frank Brodhead Tracy (1856–1945); Emma Eloise Tracy (1862–1934), who wed Ferdinand Suydam Wilmerding (1850–1877); Mary “Maisie” Farrington Tracy (1864–1890); and Benjamin Franklin Tracy III (died 1895). Tracy passed away on August 6, 1915, at approximately 3:30 pm at his daughter's residence on his farm located in Tioga County, New York, following a stroke. His funeral took place on August 9 at Trinity Church, after which he was interred in a family plot at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and unit: Colonel, 109th New York Infantry.

Location and date: Wilderness, Virginia, May 6, 1864.

Enlistment location: Owego, New York.

Date of birth: April 26, 1830, Owego, New York.

Award issued on: June 21, 1895.

Citation: Took hold of the colors and directed the regiment forward when other units had withdrawn; subsequently reorganized his formation and maintained its position.

Namesake

The town of Tracyton, Washington was named to honor him.

His name is also commemorated by Tracy Arm, a fjord located in Alaska.

Additionally, explorer Robert Peary designated the Tracy Glacier near the headwaters of Inglefield Gulf in northwestern Greenland after him.

References

Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. .

External links

Project Gutenberg link to Mahan's The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660–1783