William H. Hunt

William Henry Hunt
29th United States Secretary of the Navy
In office March 7, 1881 – April 16, 1882
President	James A. Garfield Chester A. Arthur
Preceded by	Nathan Goff, Jr.
Succeeded by	William E. Chandler
Attorney General of Louisiana
In office 1876
Preceded by	Alexander Pope Field
Succeeded by	Hiram R. Steele
Personal details
Born	(1823-06-12)June 12, 1823 Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
Died	February 27, 1884(1884-02-27) (aged 60) Saint Petersburg, Russia
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	Yale College
Profession	Politician, Lawyer
Military service
Allegiance	Confederate States of America
Service/branch	Confederate States Army
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Battles/wars	American Civil War

William Henry Hunt (June 12, 1823 – February 27, 1884) was the United States Secretary of the Navy under President James Garfield and briefly under President Chester A. Arthur.

Biography

Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Hunt studied law at Yale. He finished his professional training in his brothers' office in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he was admitted to the bar in 1844. Hunt opposed secession and favored the Union cause. He was nevertheless drafted into the Confederate Army and commissioned lieutenant colonel. However, he managed to avoid involvement in military operations until Admiral David Farragut captured New Orleans.

In March 1876, Hunt was appointed Attorney-General of Louisiana, and in July of that year he was the Republican candidate for this office. Both parties claimed victory in the election, but Hunt lost the position when President Rutherford B. Hayes recognized the Democratic government of the State. As compensation, the President appointed him Associate Judge of the United States Court of Claims, May 15, 1878. He served in this capacity until he became President Garfield's Secretary of the Navy in 1881.

Secretary Hunt rendered invaluable service by reporting that the Navy, grossly neglected after the Civil War, was no longer able to protect Americans abroad. He appointed the first Naval Advisory Board which undertook the work of rebuilding the Navy, emasculated by public apathy and lack of funds. After Vice President Arthur succeeded Garfield in the presidency, he retired Hunt from the cabinet by appointing him Minister to Russia on April 7, 1882.

Hunt died February 27, 1884, while representing the United States in Saint Petersburg, and is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

Namesakes

Two ships in the United States Navy have been named USS Hunt for him.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

• The United States Court of Claims : a history / pt. 1. The judges, 1855-1976 / by Marion T. Bennett / pt. 2. Origin, development, jurisdiction, 1855-1978 / W. Cowen, P. Nichols, M.T. Bennett. Washington, D.C.: Committee on the Bicentennial of Independence and the Constitution of the Judicial Conference of the United States. 1976. 

United States Department of the Navy
Secretaries	Cabinet level Stoddert Smith Hamilton Jones Crowninshield S Thompson Southard Branch L. Woodbury Dickerson Paulding Badger Upshur Henshaw Gilmer Mason Bancroft Mason Preston Graham Kennedy Dobbin Toucey Welles Borie Robeson R Thompson Goff Hunt Chandler Whitney Tracy Herbert Long Moody Morton Bonaparte Metcalf Newberry Meyer Daniels Denby Wilbur Adams Swanson Edison Knox Forrestal Dept. of Defense Sullivan Matthews Kimball Anderson Thomas T. Gates Franke Connally Korth Nitze Ignatius Chafee Warner Middendorf Claytor Hidalgo Lehman Webb Ball Garrett O'Keefe Dalton Danzig England Winter Mabus
Under Secretaries	Forrestal Bard A. Gates Sullivan Kenney Kimball Whitehair Thomas T. Gates Franke Bantz Fay BeLieu Baldwin Baird Warner Sanders Middendorf Potter Macdonald Woolsey Murray Goodrich Garrett Howard Danzig Hultin Pirie Livingstone Aviles Work
Assistant Secretaries	Pre-1954 Fox Faxon Soley McAdoo T. Roosevelt Sr. Allen Hackett Darling Newberry Satterlee Winthrop F. Roosevelt G. Woodbury T. Roosevelt Jr. Robinson Jahncke H. Roosevelt Edison Compton Bard Hensel Kenney Andrews Koehler Askins Fogler Post-1954 Financial Management and Comptroller Installations and Environment Manpower and Reserve Affairs Research, Development and Acquisitions General Counsel of the Navy defunct: Air Installations and Logistics Material Research and Development Research, Engineering and Systems Shipbuilding and Logistics

Attorneys General of Louisiana
Martin Mazureau Moreau-Lislet Robertson Mazureau Preston Morphy Eustis Mazureau Roselius Preston Elmore Johnson Morse Moïse Semmes Goode Herron Lynch Beldon Field Hunt Steele Ogden Egan Cunningham Rogers Cunningham Guion Pleasant Coco Saint Porterlie Ellison Gardiner Stanley LeBlanc Kemp LeBlanc Gremillion Guste Ieyoub Foti Caldwell Landry