Hilary A. Herbert

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Hilary A. Herbert

Hilary Abner Herbert (born March 12, 1834 in Laurens , Laurens County , South Carolina , † March 6, 1919 in Tampa , Florida ) was an American politician ( Democratic Party ), who belonged to the cabinet of President Grover Cleveland as Secretary of the Navy .

Born in South Carolina, Herbert moved with his parents to Alabama in 1846 , where the family settled in Butler County . He attended the University of Alabama and the University of Virginia between 1853 and 1856 , studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1857, after which he began practicing in Greenville .

Herbert joined the Confederate Army during the American Civil War . He reached the rank of Colonel in the 8th Alabama Infantry Regiment and was wounded in the Battle of the Wilderness on May 6, 1864.

After the war, Hilary Herbert worked as a lawyer in Greenville again until he moved to Montgomery in 1872 . His political career began in 1876 when he was elected to the US House of Representatives , to which he was a member after being re-elected seven times from March 4, 1877 to March 3, 1893. During this time he was chairman of the naval committee and was largely responsible for increasing the donations to the US Navy , which helped them regain their former strength.

When President Cleveland began his second term after a four-year hiatus in March 1893, he appointed Hilary A. Herbert to his cabinet as Secretary of the Navy . As a minister, he managed to win support for an expansion of the Navy despite an interim economic crisis, so that the fleet was ultimately equipped for the Spanish-American War that began in 1898 .

After leaving the government in March 1897, Herbert stayed in Washington and continued to work there as a lawyer. He died in Florida in March 1919. In memory of their former minister, the Navy named the destroyer USS Herbert (DD-160) after him. Herbert Island , an island of the Aleutians, is named after him.

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personal data
SURNAME Herbert, Hilary A.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Herbert, Hilary Abner (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH March 12, 1834
PLACE OF BIRTH Laurens , South Carolina
DATE OF DEATH March 6, 1919
Place of death Tampa , Florida