Alexander F. Warley

Alexander Fraser Warley (July 29, 1823 – January 12, 1895) was an American naval officer who served in the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the commander of the CSS Manassas and the CSS Albemarle.

Early life Alexander Fraser Warley was born on July 29, 1823, in Walterboro, South Carolina, to Sophia (née Fraser) and Jacob Warley. His grandfather Felix Warley served in the American Revolutionary War and was an original member of the Society of Cincinnati. His family moved to Pendleton in 1831. He was appointed to the United States Naval Academy by John C. Calhoun in 1840 and graduated in 1846. In 1844, while serving on the , writer John Stickney described Warley as "exceed[ing] his tolerance" of alcohol. Warley reportedly took off his clothes and challenged a shipmate to a duel. He was court martialed and found guilty following this encounter.

United States Navy Following graduation, Warley was assigned to the razee USS Independence of the United States Navy. In the same year, he wrote a letter of complaint about his skipper on the Jamestown and Warley was subsequently court martialed and found guilty again.

Warley was ordered to the CSS Chicora in Charleston harbor. He wrote a short passage entitled "Note on the Destruction of the 'Albemarle in the monthly magazine The Century in 1888 describing the loss of the Albemarle. He returned to Charleston and served there the remainder of the war. He married Isabella Johannes Middleton Huger, daughter of John M. Huger of New Orleans, on December 1, 1862. They had four children, including Sophia Maud and Allen Huger.

Following the war, Warley lived in Pendleton for about four years before living the remainder of his life in New Orleans. He died on January 12, 1895, at his mansion on the corner of Julia and St. Charles streets in New Orleans. He was buried in a family vault at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Pendleton.