Eugene Henry Cozzens – Leutze Rear Admiral, United States Navy

Eugene Henry Cozzens Leutze (16 November 1847 – 1 September 1931) was a Rear Admiral of the United States Navy.

Eugene Leutze, son of Emanuel Leutze (1816–1868), the noted painter of American Revolutionary War scenes, was born in Düsseldorf, Prussia, 16 November 1847. Appointed to the United States Naval Academy by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, he witnessed part of the Civil War on board blockade ship Monticello the following summer.

His early career brought Leutze various surveying assignments, especially in Central America. In 1897, as commanding officer of Alert, he helped promote the peace when representatives from Costa Rica and Nicaragua met and signed a treaty of peace aboard his ship. As captain of Monterey during the Spanish-American War, he sailed to reinforce Admiral George Dewey’s fleet at Manila, and was present when the city capitulated.

A fine administrator, he was promoted to rear admiral in 1907 while Superintendent of the Naval Gun Factory and Commandant of the Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C. Admiral Leutze ended his active career as Commandant of both the 3rd Naval District and the New York Navy Yard on 6 June 1912. He died at Brooklyn Naval Hospital 1 September 1931.

In 1942, the destroyer USS Leutze (DD-481) was named in his honor.

BURIAL IN ARLINGTON FOR ADMIRAL LEUTZE

Services Tomorrow to be Without ‘Pomp and Ritual’ at His Request

NEW YORK, New York, September 6, 1931 – Rear Admiral Eugene H. C. Leutze, USN, retired, who died early yesterday morning of a complication of diseases at the age of 83 in the Naval Hospital at Brooklyn after an illness of several months, will be buried tomorrow in Arlington Cemetery, Washington.  The Admiral, was appointed to the Naval Academy at Annapolis by President Lincoln and served in some of the most famous battles in American history, will be buried with simple ceremonies, in compliance with his request that the “pomp and ritual” of burial befitting his rank be eliminated.

In the course of his naval career of nearly fifty years, Rear Admiral Leutze commanded some of the better known vessels of the navy, including the Monitor, called the “cheese-box on a raft,” and the Alert, in whose cabin the Cuban treaty was signed.

He was born in Prussia, appointed to Annapolis in 1863, and served in the navy in 1909, when he reached the compulsory retirement age.  He was made Captain in 1901 and Rear Admiral in 1907, and was commandant of the New York Navy Yard from March 1910 to March 1912.

The Navy Department commended him for his work as commander of the USS Monterey in aiding Admiral Dewey at Manila Bay.

A son, Captain Trevor W. Leutze, USN, and a daughter, Mrs. G. J. Rowtliff, wife of Captain Rowtliff, USN, survive.  The admiral was a member of the Loyal Legion, the Metropolitan Club and Chevy Chase Clubs of Washington and the New York Yacht Club.

LEUTZE, EUGENE H C

• REAR ADMIRAL USN RET
• DATE OF DEATH: 09/15/1931
• BURIED AT: SECTION N  SITE LOT 1137
• ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard