Gustavus Vasa Fox

Gustavus Vasa Fox 1821-83, American naval officer, b. Saugus, Mass. Appointed a midshipman in 1838, he resigned from the navy in 1856 but in Apr., 1861, at the beginning of the Civil War, commanded the expedition that attempted to relieve the garrison at Fort Sumter. Fox was chief clerk of the Dept. of the Navy from May to Aug., 1861, when the post of Assistant Secretary of the Navy was created for him. He held that office until May, 1866. His honesty, efficiency, and wide knowledge of naval affairs were of incalculable benefit to the Union cause.

Bibliography: See his Confidential Correspondence (1918-19).

Fox, Gustavus Vasa (1821–83) Union naval officer, born in Saugus, Maryland. Fox, as assistant to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, was de facto chief of naval operations during the Civil War. He advocated the construction of armored vessels, and ignored the seniority system for promotion in order to secure able commanders. Fox is largely credited with the successes at Port Royal (1861), New Orleans (1862), and Mobile Bay (1864), but is also blamed for squandering resources in the attempt to capture Charleston (1861).