Return to
Naval Historical Center home
page.
Return to
Online Library
listing
Uriah Phillips Levy was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 22 April 1792. After several years as a shipowner and civilian mariner, he became a U.S. Navy officer in October 1812. He was a prisoner of war during the latter part of the War of 1812, but his career thereafter was active and fruitful. During the 1850s, he was an important figure in abolishing flogging as a Navy punishment. Levy commanded USS Vandalia in 1838-39, USS Macedonian in 1858 and was Flag Officer of the Mediterranean Squadron in 1860. He is also noted for his ownership and preservation of Thomas Jefferson's home Monticello. Commodore Levy died in New York City on 22 March 1862.
USS Levy (DE-162) was named in honor of Commodore Levy.
This page features a portrait of Uriah Phillips Levy.
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the Online Library's digital images, see "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: NH 48113 Commodore Uriah Phillips Levy, USN Nineteenth-century albumin print of a painted portrait. It depicts Commodore Levy holding a scroll inscribed "Author of the Abolition of Flogging in the Navy of the United States". The uniform seen in this image features four sleeve stripes, signifying the rank of Captain. Levy died in 1862, several years prior to the adoption of this element, indicating that the portrait was painted posthumously, possibly in the 1870s or 1880s. Donation of Mrs. Charles Mayhoff. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 75KB; 460 x 765 pixels |
Return to
Naval Historical Center home
page.
10 March 1999