CS Exe Mallory, Stephen Russell Sr. - C.S. Secretary of Navy

Stephen Russell Mallory

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Born: 1812

Birthplace: Trinidad, British West Indies

Father:
Charles John Mallory 1780 – 1821

Mother: Ellen Russell 1792 – 1855
(Buried: Key West Cemetery, Key West, Florida)​

Wife: Angela Sylvania Moreno 1815 – 1901
(Buried: Saint Michael’s Cemetery, Pensacola, Florida)​

Married: July 24, 1838 in Pensacola, Florida

Signature:
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Children:

Ellen Josephine Mallory 1840 – 1843​
Margaret Maggie Mallory Bishop 1842 – 1887​
Francis Moreno Mallory 1844 – 1846​
(Buried: Key West Cemetery, Key West, Florida)​
U.S. Senator Stephen Russell Mallory Jr. 1848 – 1907​
(Buried: Saint Michael’s Cemetery, Pensacola, Florida)​
Charles Albert Mallory 1850 –​
Attila Fitzpatrick Mallory 1852 – 1907​
(Buried: Saint John’s Cemetery, Pensacola, Florida)​
Ruby Angela Mallory Kennedy 1855 – 1902​
(Buried: Saint Michael’s Cemetery, Pensacola, Florida)​
Nellie B. Mallory 1856 – 1858​

Political Party: Democratic Party

Education:


Attended Moravian Academy in Nazareth, Pennsylvania​

Occupation before War:
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1820: Immigrated to the United States from West Indies​
United States Inspector of Customs in Key West, Florida​
1832: Town Marshal​
1835 – 1837: Served in the Seminole Indian War in Florida.​
1837 – 1845: Monroe County Florida County Judge​
1845: Appointed United States Collector of Customs in Key West.​
1850: Alternate Delegate to Nashville Convention​
1851 – 1861: United States Senator from Florida​
His First Speech in Congress was in favor of returning flogging to Navy.​
With his sponsorship help pass a bill for Railroads in Florida.​
Sponsor of bill to sell off live Oak reservations for the U.S. Navy.​
Introduced bills that provided for marine hospitals in port Cities.​
1851 – 1855: Member of Senate Naval Affairs Committee​
1853 – 1855: Chairman of Senate Printing Committee​
1855 – 1861: Chairman of Senate Naval Affairs Committee​
1857: Persuaded the senate to authorize twelve sloops–of–war.​
1855 – 1857: Member of Senate Public Lands Committee​
He was not prominent in his role in the Secession Crisis in US Senate.​
1861: Delivered his farewell speech in the U.S. Senate on January 21st​.​

Civil War Career:
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Mallory's political opponents used his pro–Union stance as an excuse to attack his nomination as Secretary of Navy. Submitting his name to the Provisional Congress would draw opposition due to the Fort Pickens Incident, but he would be confirmed and serve the entire war.​
1861 – 1865: Confederate States Secretary of Navy​
He was chosen as Secretary of Navy for two reasons: 1st​ he had extensive experience with nautical affairs, and 2nd​ he was from the State of Florida.​
As Secretary of Navy, he set up the four bureaus of the Navy which were: Orders and Detail, Provisions and Clothing, Medicine and Surgery, Ordnance and Hydrography.​
Secretary Mallory would make a Naval Policy: 1. Send Out Commerce Raiders to destroy the enemy’s mercantile marine, 2. Build Ironclad vessels in Southern Shipyards for defensive purposes, 3. Obtain by purchase or construction abroad armored ships capable of fighting on the open seas, 4. Employ new weapons and techniques of warfare.​
Mallory was an advocate of the development of several new weapons.​
1865: Captured at La Grange Georgia by the Union Army.​
1865 – 1866: Prisoner of War held at Fort Lafayette, New York Harbor.​

Occupation after War:

1865 – 1866: Prisoner of War held at Fort Lafayette, New York Harbor.​
1866: Granted a partial parole by President Johnson on March 10th​.​
1866: Required to live with his daughter in Bridgeport, Connecticut until he could take oath of allegiance to the United States.​
1866: Mallory visited Washington, D.C. and got permission to return to Florida.​
1866 – 1873: Attorney in Florida​
He Urged acceptance of the Reconstituted Union.​
1871 – 1872: Suffered from Gout and heart issues​

Died:
November 9, 1873

Place of Death: Pensacola, Florida

Age at time of Death: 60 or 61 years old

Burial Place: Saint Michael’s Churchyard, Pensacola, Florida
 
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He did make mistakes. He refused to accept jurisdiction on the River Defense Fleet.And another was his fascination with Ironclads.The railroads suffered from lack of maintenence because Mallory wanted the scarce iron rails for his ships.
I'm not so sure I would characterize his fascination with ironclads as a mistake. At the start of the war, Mallory was a Naval Secretary who lacked a working navy. Knowing the limitations of the Confederacy and the Union advantage in warships, there were limited choices for developing an effective naval force to counteract the Union blockade and its construction of a riverine fleet of ironclads, timberclads, and rams. So aside from Mallory's development of commerce raiders and his experimentation with torpedoes and submarines, all of limited value, the most effective fighting tool on mostly inland waterways remained an ironclad fleet. Even though most of the southern ironclads were either never successfully completed, were completed but failed due to deficiencies in plating, armament, and mechanical systems, there were some that did give the Union navy trouble such as the CSS Virginia, Arkansas, Albermarle, and Tennessee. The railroads may have indeed suffered from lack of maintenance as scarce iron was diverted to naval construction. But there were no good solutions no matter the choice. Mallory was acting in the best interests of the Naval Service.
 
I'm not so sure I would characterize his fascination with ironclads as a mistake. At the start of the war, Mallory was a Naval Secretary who lacked a working navy. Knowing the limitations of the Confederacy and the Union advantage in warships, there were limited choices for developing an effective naval force to counteract the Union blockade and its construction of a riverine fleet of ironclads, timberclads, and rams. So aside from Mallory's development of commerce raiders and his experimentation with torpedoes and submarines, all of limited value, the most effective fighting tool on mostly inland waterways remained an ironclad fleet. Even though most of the southern ironclads were either never successfully completed, were completed but failed due to deficiencies in plating, armament, and mechanical systems, there were some that did give the Union navy trouble such as the CSS Virginia, Arkansas, Albermarle, and Tennessee. The railroads may have indeed suffered from lack of maintenance as scarce iron was diverted to naval construction. But there were no good solutions no matter the choice. Mallory was acting in the best interests of the Naval Service.
I pretty much agree that Mallory's fascination (not sure what you'd call it ,a fixation maybe) was not so much a mistake. He had to start from scratch and was way behind the Union in the naval department and the ironclad technology seemed to him the only possible road. In that case more power to him, it did put them on almost equal footing at times. But mistake or not, it still had the effect of letting the railroads fall into a state of disrepair.
 
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