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{{Short description|American judge (1830–1915)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Benjamin Tracy
|image = BFTracy.jpg
|office = 32nd [[United States Secretary of the Navy]]
|president = [[Benjamin Harrison]]
|term_start = March 6, 1889
|term_end = March 4, 1893
|predecessor = [[William Collins Whitney|William Whitney]]
|successor = [[Hilary A. Herbert]]
|office1 = Judge of the New York Court of Appeals
|term_start1 = December 1881
|term_end1 = December 1882
|appointer = [[Alonzo B. Cornell]]
|predecessor1 = [[Charles Andrews (New York judge)|Charles Andrews]]
|successor1 = Charles Andrews
|office2 = [[United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York]]
|president2 = [[Andrew Johnson]] [[Ulysses S. Grant]]
|term_start2 = 1866
|term_end2 = 1877
|predecessor2 = [[Benjamin D. Silliman]]
|successor2 = [[Asa Wentworth Tenney|Asa W. Tenney]]
|state_assembly3 = New York
|district3 = [[Tioga County, New York|Tioga County]]
|term_start3 = January 1, 1862
|term_end3 = December 31, 1862
|predecessor3 = Cero Barber
|successor3 = Nathaniel Davis
|birth_name = Benjamin Franklin Tracy
|birth_date = {{birth date|1830|4|26}}
|birth_place = [[Apalachin, New York]], U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|1915|8|6|1830|4|26}}
|death_place = [[New York City]], New York, U.S.
|party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|allegiance = {{flag|United States}} {{*}}[[Union (American Civil War)|Union]]
|branch = {{army|United States}} {{*}}[[Union Army]]
|rank = [[File:Union Army colonel rank insignia.png|border|23px]] [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] [[File:Union Army brigadier general rank insignia.svg|border|23px]] [[Brevet (military)|Brevet]] [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier General]]
|serviceyears = 1862–1865
|commands = [[109th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment|109th New York Infantry Regiment]]
|battles = [[American Civil War]] {{*}}[[Battle of the Wilderness]]
|mawards = [[Medal of Honor]]
|signature = Signature of Benjamin Franklin Tracy (1830–1915).png
}}
[[File:BFTracy2.jpg|thumb|Tracy in his office (c. 1890)]]'''Benjamin Franklin Tracy''' (April 26, 1830{{snd}}August 6, 1915) was a [[United States]] [[Politician|political figure]] who served as [[United States Secretary of the Navy|Secretary of the Navy]] from 1889 through 1893, during the [[Presidency of Benjamin Harrison|administration]] of [[U.S. President]] [[Benjamin Harrison]].<ref name="obit" /><ref name="wsjobit" />

==Biography==
He was born in the hamlet of [[Apalachin, New York|Apalachin]] located in the Town of [[Owego, New York]], on April 26, 1830.<ref name="obit" />

Tracy was a lawyer active in [[United States Republican Party|Republican Party]] politics during the 1850s. He was a member of the [[New York State Assembly]] (Tioga Co.) in [[85th New York State Legislature|1862]].{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}

He served in the Union Army during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], and commanded the 109th New York Infantry Regiment. At the [[Battle of the Wilderness]] in May, 1864, he was able to rally his men and hold the Union line. For his actions he subsequently was awarded the [[Medal of Honor]]. His citation reads: Tracy "seized the colors and led the regiment when other regiments had retired and then reformed his line and held it."<ref>{{cite web
|access-date = January 6, 2010
|url = http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwarmz.html
|title = Medal of Honor recipients
|publisher = [[United States Army Center of Military History]]
|date = August 3, 2009
|archive-date = September 1, 2011
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110901223002/http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwarmz.html
|url-status = dead
}}</ref> Later that year, he became commandant of the [[Elmira Prison|Elmira]] prisoner of war camp, before being appointed Colonel of the 127th Infantry, U.S. Colored Troops, on August 23, 1864.<ref>[http://www.ranger95.com/civil_war_us/us_color_troops/infantry/127th_us_color_troop_inf.htm 127th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry: Roster], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308154014/http://www.ranger95.com/civil_war_us/us_color_troops/infantry/127th_us_color_troop_inf.htm |date=March 8, 2013 }}.</ref> Tracy was discharged from the volunteer service on June 13, 1865.<ref>Eicher, John H., and [[David J. Eicher]], ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. {{ISBN|0-8047-3641-3}}. p. 535</ref> On January 18, 1867, [[President of the United States|President]] [[Andrew Johnson]] nominated Tracy for appointment to the [[Brevet (military)|brevet]] grade of [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]] of volunteers, to rank from March 13, 1865, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on February 21, 1867.<ref>Eicher, 2001, p. 759</ref>

He resumed the practice of law after the war, and became active in New York state politics. He was [[United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York]] from 1866 to 1877. In December 1881, he was appointed by Governor [[Alonzo B. Cornell]] to the [[New York Court of Appeals]] to fill the vacancy caused by the appointment of Judge [[Charles Andrews (New York judge)|Charles Andrews]] as [[List of chief judges of the New York Court of Appeals|Chief Judge]] after the resignation of [[Charles J. Folger]]. Tracy remained on the bench until the end of 1882 when Andrews resumed his seat after being defeated by [[William C. Ruger]] in the [[1882 New York state election|election for Chief Judge]].{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}

In 1875, Tracy defended the well-known preacher [[Henry Ward Beecher]] during his highly publicized trial for adultery.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Tracy|first1=Benjamin|title=The Case of Henry Ward Beecher: Opening Address|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Lk8AAAAYAAJ&q=Henry+Beecher:++Opening+for+the+Defense&pg=PA1|website=Google Books|year=1875|access-date=10 April 2017}}</ref>

On March 5, 1889, Tracy was nominated by President [[Benjamin Harrison]] to become [[United States Secretary of the Navy|Secretary of the Navy]] and was confirmed by the [[United States Senate|Senate]] in a ten-minute session without objection.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 March 1889 |title=HARRISON'S CABINET. |pages=1 |work=[[The Washington Star|The Evening Star]] |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1889-03-05/ed-1/seq-1/ |access-date=18 May 2023}}</ref> He formally took office on March 6.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 March 1889 |title=THE NEW CABINET. |pages=5 |work=[[The Washington Star|The Evening Star]] |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1889-03-06/ed-1/seq-5/ |access-date=18 May 2023}}</ref>

On February 3, 1890, Tracy's wife and younger daughter died in a fire at their residence in [[Washington, D.C.]] His wife, Belinda, died by falling out a window in an attempt to escape the building, and his daughter, Mary, died from [[smoke inhalation]]. Tracy himself lost consciousness due to the smoke but was rescued by Chief Joseph Parris of the [[District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department|D.C. Fire Department]]. The secretary's elder daughter, Emma, and his granddaughter, Alice, sustained injuries from jumping out a window, but both survived. After regaining consciousness some time later, Tracy learned of the deaths of his loved ones from President Harrison.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 February 1890 |title=FIRE AND DEATH. |pages=1 |work=[[The Washington Star|The Evening Star]] |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1890-02-03/ed-1/seq-1/ |access-date=18 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=3 February 1890 |title=TRACY TRAGEDY |pages=5 |work=The Washington Critic |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn2008058169/1890-02-03/ed-1/seq-5/ |access-date=18 May 2023}}</ref> A funeral was held at the [[White House]] several days later, and the bodies of the dead were buried in [[Rock Creek Cemetery]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 February 1890 |title=THE DEAD LAID TO REST. |pages=5 |work=[[The Washington Star|The Evening Star]] |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1890-02-05/ed-1/seq-5/ |access-date=18 May 2023}}</ref> Following a brief period of mourning, during which he received many messages of condolences from heads of state and other prominent individuals, Tracy returned to his official duties.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dautel |first=S. |title=Benjamin Franklin Tracy |url=https://history.nycourts.gov/biography/benjamin-franklin-tracy/ |access-date=18 May 2023 |website=Historical Society of the New York Courts}}</ref>

Tracy was noted for his role in the creation of the "New Navy", a major reform of the [[United States Navy|service]], which had fallen into obsolescence after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. Like President Harrison, he supported a naval strategy focused more on offense, rather than on coastal defense and commerce raiding. A major ally in this effort was naval theorist Captain [[Alfred Thayer Mahan]], who had served as a professor at the new [[Naval War College]] (founded 1884). In 1890, Mahan published his major work, ''The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660–1783''—a book that achieved an international readership. Drawing on historical examples, Mahan supported the construction of a "blue-water Navy" that could do battle on the high seas.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}

Tracy also supported the construction of modern warships. On June 30, 1890, Congress passed the Naval Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1891 (also known as the Battleship Act of 1890), a measure which authorized the construction of three [[battleship]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.visitthecapitol.gov/exhibitions/artifact/naval-appropriations-act-fiscal-year-1891-battleship-act-1890-june-30-1890|title=Naval Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1891 (Battleship Act of 1890), June 30, 1890|website=U.S. Capitol Visitor Center|language=en|access-date=2019-02-14|archive-date=February 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214174327/https://www.visitthecapitol.gov/exhibitions/artifact/naval-appropriations-act-fiscal-year-1891-battleship-act-1890-june-30-1890|url-status=dead}}</ref> The first three were later named {{USS|Indiana|BB-1}}, {{USS|Massachusetts|BB-2}}, and {{USS|Oregon|BB-3}}. The battleship {{USS|Iowa|BB-4}} was authorized two years later.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}

In the [[1896 United States presidential election in New York|1896 presidential election]], Tracy was a [[United States Electoral College|presidential elector]] for [[William McKinley]] and [[Garret Hobart]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nnc1.cu54374480|title=Proceedings of the Electoral College of the State of New York, January 11th, 1897|year=1897|location=Albany|pages=29|hdl=2027/nnc1.cu54374480}}</ref>

After leaving the Navy Department, Tracy again took up his legal practice. In 1896 he defended New York City Police commissioner Andrew Parker from accusations of negligence and incompetence by fellow commissioner [[Theodore Roosevelt]] in a performance that significantly embarrassed Roosevelt.<ref>Edmund Morris, ''The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt'', p. 555</ref> He also helped end the [[Venezuela Crisis of 1895]] by assisting [[Venezuela]] in negotiating a settlement to their boundary dispute with [[Great Britain]].

Tracy was the Republican candidate to be the first Mayor of [[History of New York City (1898–1945)|Greater New York City]] when the [[Boroughs of New York City|five boroughs]] consolidated in 1898. He came in third behind Democrat [[Robert Anderson Van Wyck|Robert A. Van Wyck]] and [[Seth Low]] of the [[Citizens Union|Citizens' Union]], winning 101,863 of the 523,560 votes cast in the [[New York City mayoral elections#1897 to 1913|election of 1897]]. Tracy was the president of the [[New York State Agricultural Society]] in 1897 and 1898, during which time he invited Van Wyck to attend the society's annual fair.<ref>{{Cite web|title=NYS Agricultural Society|url=https://www.nysagsociety.org/history/|access-date=September 19, 2020|website=www.nysagsociety.org|at=NYSAS Past Presidents (2019)|archive-date=October 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019013419/https://www.nysagsociety.org/history/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=STATE AGRICULTURAL FAIR.; Mayor Van Wyck Lays Aside His Declared Rule and Accepts an Invitation.| work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/06/17/102563493.html?zoom=16|access-date=2020-10-18|language=en}}</ref>

On April 3, 1900, seven men from the International Banking and Trust Company were elected as directors of the [[North American Trust Company]]. They included president [[Oakleigh Thorne]] of the International, as well as Tracy.<ref name="nyt-combine">{{cite news |author= |title=Trust Companies Combine; International Banking and Trust to Unite with North American. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1900/04/04/archives/trust-companies-combine-international-banking-and-trust-to-unite.html | work=[[The New York Times]] |location=New York City, New York, United States |date=April 4, 1900|pages=11|access-date=July 12, 2017}}</ref>

==Family and death==
In 1851 Benjamin Tracy married Belinda E. Catlin (1832–1890), a sister of General [[Isaac S. Catlin]]. They had four children: “Frank” Brodhead Tracy (1856–1945); Emma Eloise Tracy (1862–1934) who married Ferdinand Suydam Wilmerding (1850–1877) (their daughter Alys christened the [[USS Maine]]); Mary “Maisie” Farrington Tracy (1864–1890); and Benjamin Franklin Tracy III (d. 1895);
[[File:Benjamin F. Tracy's body carried from Trinity Church.jpg|thumb|Tracy's body carried from Trinity Church]]Tracy died at his farm in [[Tioga County, New York]], on August 6, 1915, at 3:30 pm at the home of his daughter following a [[stroke]].<ref name="obit">{{cite news |date=August 7, 1915 |title=Gen. Benj. F. Tracy Dies In 86th Year. Soldier, Statesman, Jurist Had Been in Coma Since Paralytic Stroke. Father Of Fighting Navy. As Secretary Under Harrison He Took the Department Out of Politics. Funeral Monday. |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1915/08/07/archives/gen-benj-f-tracy-dies-in-86th-year-soldier-statesman-jurist-had.html |access-date=2010-10-04 |quote=General Benjamin Franklin Tracy, Secretary of the Navy under President Harrison, died at 3:30 yesterday afternoon at the home of his daughter, ...}}</ref><ref name="wsjobit">{{cite news |title=Gen. Benjamin F. Tracy Dead |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/djreprints/access/108965266.html?dids=108965266:108965266&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:AI&type=historic&date=Aug+07,+1915&author=&pub=Wall+Street+Journal&desc=Gen.+Benjamin+F.+Tracy+Dead&pqatl=google |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104014604/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/djreprints/access/108965266.html?dids=108965266:108965266&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:AI&type=historic&date=Aug+07,+1915&author=&pub=Wall+Street+Journal&desc=Gen.+Benjamin+F.+Tracy+Dead&pqatl=google |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 4, 2012 |quote=General Tracy was born in Owego, NY, April 28, 1830. He was admitted to the Bar in 18... and was elected to the New York Assembly in 18.2. ...|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=August 6, 1915 |access-date=2010-10-04 }}</ref> A funeral was held at [[Trinity Church (Manhattan)|Trinity Church]] in [[Manhattan]] on August 9, and he was buried in a family plot in [[Green-Wood Cemetery]] in [[Brooklyn]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 August 1915 |title=MILITARY HONORS FOR GEN. B. F. TRACY |pages=11 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1915/08/10/archives/military-honors-for-geh-b-f-tragy-detachment-of-soldiers-and.html |access-date=18 May 2023}}</ref>

==Medal of Honor citation==
[[File:medal of honor old.jpg|80px|left]]
Rank and organization: Colonel, 109th New York Infantry.

Place and date: At Wilderness, Va., 6 May 1864.

Entered service at: Owego, N.Y.

Born: 26 April 1830, Owego, N.Y.

Date of issue: 21 June 1895.

'''Citation:'''
Seized the colors and led the regiment when other regiments had retired and then reformed his line and held it.<ref>{{cite web
|access-date=November 13, 2013
|url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwarmz.html
|title=Medal of Honor recipients
|publisher=[[United States Army Center of Military History]]
|archive-date=September 1, 2011
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110901223002/http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwarmz.html
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>
{{clear}}

==Namesake==
{{USS|Tracy|DD-214}} was named for him, as was the town of [[Tracyton, Washington]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Meany|first=Edmond S.|title=Origin of Washington geographic names|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015027074981;view=1up;seq=331|year=1923|publisher=University of Washington Press|location=Seattle|page=315}}</ref>

[[Tracy Arm]] is a fjord in the U.S. state of [[Alaska]] that bears his name.

The [[Tracy Glacier (Greenland)|Tracy Glacier]], having its terminus near the head of the [[Inglefield Gulf|Inglefield Fjord]] in northwestern Greenland, was named after him by [[Robert Peary]].

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|American Civil War}}
*[[List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: T–Z]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* Eicher, John H., and [[David J. Eicher]], ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. {{ISBN|0-8047-3641-3}}.
*{{ACMH}}
*{{NHC}}
*{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Tracy, Benjamin Franklin|volume=27|page=127}}

==Further reading==
*[[Benjamin Franklin Cooling|Cooling, Benjamin F.]] ''Benjamin Franklin Tracy, Father of the American Fighting Navy.'' Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books, 1973.
* Cooling, B. Franklin. "The Making of a Navalist: Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Franklin Tracy and Seapower." ''Naval War College Review'' (1972): 83–90. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/44641355 online]
* Mahon, John K. "Benjamin Franklin Tracy, Secretary of the Navy 1889 1893." ''New York Historical Society Quarterly'' 44.2 (1960): 179–201.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Benjamin F. Tracy}}
{{Wikisource|Harper's Weekly Editorials by Carl Schurz/The Blindness of Party Spirit|The Blindness of Party Spirit}}

* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Benjamin F. Tracy |sopt=t}}
*{{cite web |access-date=September 29, 2010 |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/biblio/biblio7/biblio7a.htm |title=The Spanish–American War: Historical Overview and Select Bibliography |author=Michael J. Crawford |author2=Mark L. Hayes |author3=Michael D. Sessions |date=November 30, 1998 |publisher=[[Naval Historical Center]] |archive-date=October 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111014233645/http://www.history.navy.mil/biblio/biblio7/biblio7a.htm |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite web |access-date=September 29, 2010 |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/history/history3.htm |title=The Navy: The Oceanic Period, 1890–1945 |author=Michael A. Palmer |publisher=[[Naval Historical Center]] |date=September 22, 2004 |archive-date=January 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150108203300/http://www.history.navy.mil/history/history3.htm |url-status=dead }} (Copyright notice from Naval Historical Center website: "Used by permission of Charles Scribner's Sons, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Macmillan from Encyclopedia of the American Military, John E. Jessup, Editor in Chief. Vol. I, pp. 365-380. Copyright c 1994, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1633 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. [The views expressed in this history are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy or the U.S. government.]")
*{{cite web |access-date=September 29, 2010 |url=http://www.americanpresident.org/history/benjaminharrison/cabinet/SecretaryoftheNavy/BenjaminFTracy/h_index.shtml |title=Secretary of the Navy: Benjamin F. Tracy (1889–1893) Brief biography from AmericanPresident.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001214116/http://www.americanpresident.org/history/benjaminharrison/cabinet/SecretaryoftheNavy/BenjaminFTracy/h_index.shtml |archive-date=October 1, 2006 |url-status=dead }}
{{Gutenberg|no=13529|name=The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 by A. T. Mahan}} Project Gutenberg link to Mahan's The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660–1783
*{{cite web |access-date=September 29, 2010 |url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/tracy.html |title=The Political Graveyard}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-par|us-ny-hs}}
{{succession box | title = [[New York State Assembly]] Tioga County | before = Cero F. Barber | years = 1862 | after = Nathaniel W. Davis}}
{{S-legal}}
{{Succession box | before = [[Benjamin D. Silliman]] | title = [[United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York|U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York]] | years = 1866–1877 | after = [[Asa W. Tenney]]}}
{{S-gov}}
{{Succession box |
before= [[William C. Whitney]] |
title= [[United States Secretary of the Navy]] |
years= 1889–1893 |
after= [[Hilary A. Herbert]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{USSecNavy}}
{{Benjamin Harrison cabinet}}
{{Republican NYC mayoral nominees}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tracy, Benjamin F}}
[[Category:1830 births]]
[[Category:1915 deaths]]
[[Category:Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery]]
[[Category:United States Army Medal of Honor recipients]]
[[Category:Union army generals]]
[[Category:United States secretaries of the navy]]
[[Category:People of New York (state) in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Judges of the New York Court of Appeals]]
[[Category:United States attorneys for the Eastern District of New York]]
[[Category:Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly]]
[[Category:People from Owego, New York]]
[[Category:Benjamin Harrison administration cabinet members]]
[[Category:American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor]]
[[Category:North American Trust Company people]]
[[Category:1896 United States presidential electors]]
[[Category:19th-century New York state court judges]]
[[Category:19th-century members of the New York State Legislature]]

Benjamin F. Tracy - Revision history

imported>InternetArchiveBot: Rescuing 2 sources and tagging 0 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5