Louis McCoy Nulton was a four-star admiral

Admiral

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

 in the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 who was superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy from 1925 to 1928 and commander of the Battle Fleet

Battle Fleet

The United States Battle Fleet or Battle Force was part of the organization of the United States Navy from 1922 to 1941.The General Order of 6 December 1922 organized the United States Fleet, with the Battle Fleet as the Pacific presence. This fleet comprised the main body of ships in the Navy,...

 from 1929 to 1930.

Early career

He was born in Winchester, Virginia

Winchester, Virginia

Winchester is an independent city located in the northwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the USA. The city's population was 26,203 according to the 2010 Census...

 to Annie Clark and Colonel Joseph Nulton, a prominent Virginian who commanded Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 troops during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 and subsequently commanded for many years the Old Second Virginia Regiment

116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (United States)

The 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team was formerly known as the 1st Brigade, 29th Infantry Division. It is currently assigned to the Virginia Army National Guard. The Brigade is headquartered in Staunton, Virginia, at the Thomas Howie Memorial Armory....

, National Guard. Appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy

United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

 in 1885 at the age of 16, he graduated seventh in the class of 1889 and served his initial sea duty as a passed cadet aboard the protected cruiser Chicago

USS Chicago (1885)

The first USS Chicago was a protected cruiser of the United States Navy, the largest of the original three authorized by Congress for the "New Navy"....

.

His early assignments included service aboard the battleship Texas

USS Texas (1892)

USS Texas was a second-class pre-dreadnought battleship built by the United States in the early 1890s. She was the first American battleship and the first ship named in honor of the state of Texas to be built by the United States...

, followed by duty as executive officer of the auxiliary cruiser Panther

USS Panther (1889)

The first USS Panther , the former SS Venezuela, was an auxiliary cruiser and naval troop transport in the United States Navy.Panther was built by William Cramp and Sons, Philadelphia, Pa. in 1889. As the SS Venezuela, a merchant steamship, it was used for several years as a cargo freighter...

, as ordnance officer of the battleship Ohio

USS Ohio (BB-12)

USS Ohio , a Maine-class battleship, was the third ship of the United States Navy named for the 17th state.Ohio was laid down on 22 April 1899 by Union Iron Works, San Francisco, California. She was launched on 18 May 1901 sponsored by Miss Helen Deschler, a relative of Governor George K. Nash of...

, and as executive officer of the battleship Wisconsin

USS Wisconsin (BB-9)

USS Wisconsin , an Illinois-class battleship, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the 30th state.The keel of Battleship No. 9 was laid down on 9 February 1897 at San Francisco, California, by the Union Iron Works...

. He served two tours as an instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy and a third tour as commandant of midshipmen, and compiled one of the technical dictionaries used at the Academy.

His first command was the gunboat Nashville

USS Nashville (PG-7)

USS Nashville , a gunboat, was the only ship of its class. It was the third ship of the United States Navy to hold the name Nashville....

 in 1913, followed by the armored cruiser Montana

USS Montana (ACR-13)

The first USS Montana , also referred to as "Armored Cruiser No. 13", later renamed Missoula and designated CA-13, was a Tennessee-class armored cruiser of the United States Navy, a sister ship of ....

. In 1914, while commanding Montana, he led landing parties ashore during the United States occupation of Veracruz. In 1918 he was given command of the Atlantic Fleet battleship Pennsylvania

USS Pennsylvania (BB-38)

USS Pennsylvania was a United States Navy super-dreadnought battleship. She was the third Navy ship named for the state of Pennsylvania....

, and served as Pennsylvanias captain when it escorted President Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...

 to and from the Paris Peace Conference.

Flag officer

He became commandant of the Philadelphia Navy Yard on September 22, 1920 and was promoted to rear admiral the following year. In late 1921, he unsuccessfully tried to save the partially completed battlecruiser Constitution from being scrapped by accelerating its construction schedule using funds he had illegally transferred from the construction and repair of other vessels, and by lobbying for Constitutions conversion into an aircraft carrier.

He was sent to sea in 1923 as commander of Battleship Division Three (New York

USS New York (BB-34)

USS New York was a United States Navy battleship, the lead ship of her class of two . She was the fifth ship to carry her name....

, Texas

USS Texas (BB-35)

USS Texas , the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the U.S. state of Texas, is a . The ship was launched on 18 May 1912 and commissioned on 12 March 1914....

, Oklahoma

USS Oklahoma (BB-37)

USS Oklahoma , the only ship of the United States Navy to ever be named for the 46th state, was a World War I-era battleship and the second of two ships in her class; her sister ship was . She, along with her sister, were the first two U.S...

, Nevada

USS Nevada (BB-36)

USS Nevada , the second United States Navy ship to be named after the 36th state, was the lead ship of the two Nevada-class battleships; her sister ship was...

). He was superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy from February 1925 to June 1928. In spring 1928, he was again ordered to sea as Commander Battleship Divisions, Battle Fleet (COMBATDIVS), with the temporary rank of vice admiral, flying his three-star flag aboard the battleship West Virginia

USS West Virginia (BB-48)

USS West Virginia , a , was the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 35th state.Her keel was laid down on 12 April 1920 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company of Newport News, Virginia. She was launched on 17 November 1921 sponsored by Miss Alice Wright Mann,...

 from June 26, 1928 to May 20, 1929.

He was promoted to the temporary rank of full admiral as Commander Battle Fleet (COMBATFLT) on May 21, 1929, succeeding Admiral William V. Pratt, who had been elevated to Commander in Chief, United States Fleet

United States Fleet

The United States Fleet was an organization in the United States Navy from 1922 until after World War II. The abbreviation CINCUS, pronounced "sink us", was used for Commander-in-Chief, United States Fleet. This title was disposed of and officially replaced by COMINCH in December 1941 . This...

 (CINCUS). As COMBATFLT, Nulton was the second most senior officer afloat, and selected the battleship California

USS California (BB-44)

USS California , a Tennessee-class battleship, was the fifth ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 31st state. Beginning as the flagship of the Pacific Fleet, she served in the Pacific her entire career. She was sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor at her moorings in Battleship Row,...

 as his new flagship as a compliment to that state. On January 9, 1930, Pratt sailed from New York as a delegate to the London Naval Conference

London Naval Conference

There were three major international naval conferences in London, the first in 1908-09, the second in 1930 and the third in 1935. The latter two, together with the Washington Naval Conference in 1921-22 and the Geneva Conferences , resulted in agreements between the major powers on navy vessel...

, leaving Nulton to act in his stead from the date of Pratt's departure until his return in May 1930. As acting CINCUS, Nulton commanded the combined fleets during the winter maneuvers in the Caribbean. Relieved by Admiral Frank H. Schofield on May 24, 1930, Nulton reverted to his permanent rank of rear admiral and was assigned as commandant of the First Naval District. He retired from the Navy on September 1, 1933 upon reaching the statutory retirement age.

Personal life

He married the former Minnie Clark Evans on September 5, 1895 and they had two daughters. In retirement, he and his wife resided in Winchester, Virginia from 1933 to 1946. He died on November 11, 1954 at his home in Maysville, Kentucky

Maysville, Kentucky

Maysville is a city in and the county seat of Mason County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 8,993 at the 2000 census, making it the fiftieth largest city in Kentucky by population. Maysville is on the Ohio River, northeast of Lexington. It is the principal city of the Maysville...

, and was buried in the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, Maryland

Annapolis, Maryland

Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...

.

His decorations include the Navy Cross

Navy Cross

The Navy Cross is the highest decoration that may be bestowed by the Department of the Navy and the second highest decoration given for valor. It is normally only awarded to members of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard, but can be awarded to all...

, awarded for exceptionally meritorious service as commandant of midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy and later as commanding officer of Pennsylvania. As commander of the battleship divisions of the Pacific Fleet in 1929, he was commended in a letter from President Herbert Hoover

Herbert Hoover

Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...

 for "attain[ing] the highest merit in battle efficiency of any division of its class." A collection of Nulton family genealogical material and memorabilia from Nulton's naval career is archived at the Handley Regional Library in Winchester, Virginia.

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