Bancroft Gherardi

Bancroft Gherardi (November 10, 1832–December 10, 1903) was a rear admiral of the United States Navy, who served during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War.

Biography
Gherardi was born in Jackson, Louisiana. He was appointed Acting Midshipman June 26, 1846 and served on the USS Ohio (1820) during the Mexican–American War. He entered the U.S. Naval Academy in 1851 and graduated the next year. Ordered to the USS St. Louis (1828), he cruised the Mediterranean, and after promotion to Lieutenant in 1855 he was ordered to the USS Saratoga (1842).

At the outbreak of the American Civil War he served in the steam sloop USS Lancaster (1858) and later became the executive officer of the USS Chippewa (1861) in the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. He commanded the gunboats USS Chocura (1861) and USS Port Royal (1862), and was commended for his conduct in the Battle of Mobile Bay under Admiral David Farragut on August 5, 1864.

In later years he commanded receiving ships USS Colorado (1856) and USS Lancaster (1858), and was present at the bombardment of Alexandria, Egypt, in 1882. He served as President of the Naval Examining Board, as Governor of the Philadelphia Naval Asylum, and as Commandant of the New York Navy Yard. He was promoted to Rear Admiral on August 25, 1887. In 1893 he was made Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Review Fleet on the Hudson River and then Commandant of the New York Navy Yard. He retired on November 10, 1894 and died at his home in Stratford, Connecticut, on December 10, 1903.

Gherardi's son, Bancroft Gherardi, Jr., was a noted electrical engineer.

Namesake
The destroyer USS Gherardi (DD-637), launched in 1942, was named in his honor.