Lyman A. Cotten

Lyman Atkinson Cotten (December 18, 1874 – January 12, 1926) was an officer of the United States Navy.

Biography Cotten was born 18 December 1874 in Wilson, N.C. to Robert Randolph Cotten and Sallie Sims Southall Cotten. His father was a Confederate States Army Colonel and later served as both state representative and state senator.

Cotten studied at Bronson's School in Warrenton and Horner's School in Oxford. He entered the United States Naval Academy in 1894, graduating with the class of 1898. His graduation occurred two months early due to the impending Spanish–American War, in which he also participated.

Further service in command at sea, on staff duty, and again as naval attaché in Tokyo preceded important duties in Washington, D.C. He wrote several articles for the United States Naval Institute's Proceedings, one of which, "Commerce Destroying in War", won the Institute's Gold Medal in 1917. He also wrote a number of songs that proved popular among Navy sailors.

While at sea commanding Richmond (CL-9) he collapsed with a high fever. He was put ashore at the Naval Hospital at Norfolk, Virginia, where he died of pneumonia on 12 January 1926. His body was transferred to Arlington National Cemetery, where he is buried in Section 4, Plot 3331.

Legacy In 1943, the destroyer USS Cotten (DD-669) was named in his honor.