Franklin Buchanan (September 13, 1800-May 11, 1874) was an officer in the United States Navy who became an admiral in the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War, and commanded the ironclad CSS Virginia. Buchanan was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He became a midshipman in 1815, was promoted to Lieutenant in 1825, Commander in 1841 and Captain in 1855. Over the four and a half decades of his U.S. Navy service, Buchanan had extensive and worldwide sea duty.

Joseph B. Smith (1826 - 8 March 1862) was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. Born in Belfast, Maine, Smith was appointed midshipman on 19 October 1841. After graduating with the Class of 1847, he served at the Washington Navy Yard, in "Mississippi" and with the U.S. Coast Survey. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in 1855, and soon afterwards was assigned to the steam frigate "Merrimack", his station until 1857.

Joshua Humphreys (June 17, 1751 - January 12, 1838) was an influential and successful ship builder in the United States. Humphreys was born in Haverford, Pennsylvania and died in the same place. His residence, Pont Reading remains occupied as a private residence. As a youth Humphreys was apprenticed to a shipbuilder in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the American Revolutionary War he was active as a designer, and played a major part in planning "Randolph", …

William Thomas Sampson (9 February 1840 - 6 May 1902) was a United States Navy admiral known for his victory in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish-American War. He was born in Palmyra, New York, and entered the United States Naval Academy on 24 September 1857. After graduating first in his class four years later, he served as an instructor at the Academy.

Elie A. F. La Vallette (3 May 1790 - 18 November 1862) was one of the first rear admirals appointed in the United States Navy when President Abraham Lincoln created the rank in July 1862. Born in Alexandria, Virginia, at age 10 La Vallette accompanied his father, a chaplain, on a cruise in "Philadelphia", commanded by Stephen Decatur, Sr.. After merchant marine service, be entered the Navy during the War of 1812.

Lewis Warrington (3 November 1782 - 12 October 1851) was an officer in the United States Navy during the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812. He temporarily served as the Secretary of the Navy. Born at Williamsburg, Virginia, Warrington attended the College of William and Mary briefly before accepting an appointment as a midshipman in the Navy on 6 January 1800.

John Baptist Smith (1843-1923) is believed by some to have provided the most lasting contribution made by either side during the American Civil War. In 1862 he invented and helped build a lantern system of naval signaling. He was born September 19, 1843, at Hycotee in Caswell County, North Carolina, the son of Richard Ivy Smith (1800-1871) and Mary Amis Goodwin Smith (1815-1889). At seventeen, he joined the Milton Blues to fight in the Civil War.

Commodore William M. Crane (1776-18 March 1846) was an officer in the United States Navy during the First Barbary War and the War of 1812. Crane was born in 1776 at Elizabethtown, New Jersey and appointed midshipman in 1799 and captain in 1814. Serving as a lieutenant in "Congress", he won honors for his gallant fighting in the attacks on Tripoli in 1804.

Napoleon B. Harrison (19 February 1823 - 27 October 1870) was an officer of the United States Navy who served during the Mexican-American and Civil Wars. Harrison was born in Martinsburg, Va. (now West Virginia), 19 February 1823 and was appointed Midshipman 26 February 1838. Serving in California during the Mexican War in "Portsmouth", he was a volunteer in the expedition to rescue General Philip Kearny's command, …

Brigadier General Jacob A. Zeilin (July 16, 1806 - November 18, 1880) was the first United States Marine Corps general. He served as the seventh Commandant of the United States Marine Corps from 1864 to 1876. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Zeilin entered the Marine Corps as a Second Lieutenant on October 1, 1831 after several years of study at the United States Military Academy. By 1836, he reached the rank of First Lieutenant.

John Guest (7 March 1822 - 12 January 1879) was a Commodore of the United States Navy, whose active-duty career lasted from the late 1830s through the Civil War. Guest was born in Missouri on 7 March, 1822. He was appointed Midshipman 16 December 1837, served in the frigate "Congress" during the Mexican-American War, and protected foreign residents from Chinese Imperial forces at Shanghai in April 1854.

Rear Admiral Charles H. Baldwin (September 3, 1822-November 17, 1888) was an officer in the United States Navy, who served during the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War. Born in New York City, he entered the Navy in 1839. He served through the Mexican-American War on the frigate "Congress". During the Civil War he commanded the steamer "Clifton" of the mortar flotilla at the passage of Forts Jackson and St. Philip below New Orleans, Louisiana, …