William E. Le Roy

William Edgar Le Roy (March 24, 1818 – December 10, 1888) was an officer in the United States Navy who served in the Mexican War, on the African Slave Trade Patrol, and in the American Civil War. He rose to the rank of rear admiral and late in his career was consecutively commander-in-chief of the South Atlantic Squadron, the North Atlantic Squadron, and the European Squadron.

Early life Le Roy was born in New York City on March 24, 1818.

Naval career Early career Le Roy was appointed as a midshipman on January 11, 1832. His first tour of duty was aboard the ship-of-the-line in the Mediterranean Squadron from 1833 to 1836. He next served aboard the new brig in the Brazil Squadron from 1837 to 1838. Promoted to passed midshipman on June 23, 1838, he was aboard the frigate in the Pacific Squadron from 1839 to 1840 and the store ship from 1842 to 1843. He was promoted to lieutenant on July 13, 1843. In 1847 he served aboard the Home Squadron steamer off Mexico, and took part in an engagement with Mexican troops at Rio Aribiqua while ashore to collect drinking water for Princeton.

Between the wars After the conclusion of the Mexican War, Le Roy served aboard the frigate in the Pacific Squadron from 1849 to 1851. He spent 1852 awaiting orders, but from 1853 to 1855 he was again aboard Savannah, this time operating in the Brazil Squadron. He had duty at Naval Station Sackets Harbor in Sackets Harbor, New York, from 1857 to 1858, then returned to sea for a tour aboard the frigate in the Brazil Squadron in 1859. He took part in the African Slave Trade Patrol as commanding officer of the steamer in the Africa Squadron in 1861.

American Civil War The American Civil War broke out in April 1861. Promoted to commander on July 1, 1861,

On January 31, 1863, Keystone State opened fire on a ship off Charleston. It returned fire, scoring hits on Keystone State, one of which struck her steam drum, rupturing it and scalding 20 men to death and injuring 20 others. After repairs, Keystone State took up a blockading station off St. Simons Sound, Georgia. Le Roy remained in command of Ossipee on blockade duty through the end of the war in April 1865. Upon assuming command, he received orders from the United States Department of the Navy to concentrate his ships at the Navy's new naval depot at Port Royal, South Carolina, from which both Le Roy and the Department of the Navy hoped that during his tenure as commander-in-chief the North Atlantic Squadron would operate together as a cohesive, tactical unit, rather than scatter its ships on individual operations as generally had been the case since the squadron's creation in 1865. Accordingly, Le Roy organized the squadron into four divisions – with wooden cruising ships in three divisions and its support ships and monitors in a reserve division – and made plans to exercise the squadron off Port Royal and then conduct a Caribbean cruise as a combined squadron, conducting tactical exercises at sea as it voyaged from port to port. However, a month after he assumed command, unrest in Haiti threatened American interests there, and on March 14, 1876, the Department of the Navy directed Le Roy to send two ships to Port-au-Prince. Only two days later, on March 16, 1876, unrest in Mexico prompted the Department of the Navy to order him to send four other ships – the steam sloops-of-war , , and , and the gunboat – to Tampico and from there to distribute them individually among Mexican ports as needed to protect American interests, with at least one of them stationed at the mouth of the Rio Grande. On April 1, 1876, the Department of the Navy ordered Le Roy to send a fifth ship – it suggested the new gunboat – to visit ports on the east coast of Mexico. With the squadron's ships thus scattered, Le Roy and the Department of the Navy dropped their plans for tactical exercises and a squadron cruise.

Relinquishing command of the North Atlantic Squadron on August 31, 1876, Le Roy served as commander-in-chief of the European Squadron from October 5, 1877, to January 23, 1879. He retired from the Navy upon reaching the statutory retirement age of 62 on March 24, 1880.

Death Le Roy died of apoplexy at his residence in the Victoria Hotel in New York City on December 10, 1888.