Hilary Abner Herbert was Secretary of the Navy under President Grover Cleveland. Herbert was born in Laurensville, S.C., in 1834, was educated at the University of Alabama and the University of Virginia. He was admitted to the South Carolina bar in 1856 and practiced law in Greenville until the Civil War.

Herbert entered the Confederate Army as a second lieutenant. He served as captain of the Greenville Guards, and was later promoted to the rank of colonel of the Eighth Regiment, Alabama Infantry. Herbert was wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness May 6, 1864.

After the war, Herbert returned to his law practice in Greenville, Alabama. He was elected to Congress in 1877 from Montgomery, Alabama as a Democrat. He served eight terms in this office. During his tenure as Congressman, Herbert was chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs and was largely responsible for the increased appropriations which led to the revival of the American Navy.

In 1893, President Grover Cleveland appointed Herbert as Secretary of the Navy. Herbert was able to muster support for an enlarged navy, despite the Depression of 1893 , and brought the fleet to some level of preparedness for the Spanish-American War. From 1897 to his death 6 March 1919 Herbert practiced law in Washington, D.C.

USS Herbert (DD-160) was named in honor of Secretary Herbert.

References:

• Hammett, Hugh B. Hilary Abner Herbert: A Southerner Returns to the Union. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1976
• Herbert, Hilary Abner. The Abolition Crusade and its Consequences; Four Periods of American History. New York: Scribner’s Sons, 1912.

This article contains public domain text from the Naval Historical Center.