Editing Stephen Luce (section)

==Early years and personal life==
Born in [[Albany, New York]], to Dr. Vinal Luce and Charlotte Bleecker, Luce entered the Navy on October 19, 1841, at the age of 14. He was instructed at the Naval School in Philadelphia until 1845, when the [[United States Naval Academy]] opened in [[Annapolis, Maryland|Annapolis]]. He graduated from the Academy in 1848 and was warranted as a passed [[midshipman]] to date from August 10, 1847. He was promoted to [[lieutenant (United States)|lieutenant]] on September 15, 1855. 

In 1854, Luce married Elizabeth Henley, a grand-niece of [[Martha Washington|Martha Dandridge Custis Washington]], wife of [[George Washington]]. Their children included daughter Caroline (1857–1933), who became the wife of [[Montgomery M. Macomb]], later a [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]] in the [[United States Army]].<ref>{{cite book |last=White |first=James Terry|author-link=James Terry White |title=The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography |publisher=J. T. White |volume=20 |date=1967 |location=New York |pages=212 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GiLYAAAAMAAJ&q=%22stephen+bleecker+luce%22}}</ref>

=== American Civil War ===
Luce served with the [[Atlantic Ocean]] / [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] blockade squadron during the [[American Civil War]] (1861-1865), and commanded the [[ironclad]] monitor {{USS|Nantucket|1862|2}} at the siege of [[Charleston, South Carolina]]. He was promoted to lieutenant commander in 1862. He was assigned to the U.S. Naval Academy, which was moved to [[Newport, Rhode Island]], from January 1862 to October 1863. In 1862, while serving as head of the Department of Seamanship, he prepared one of the first [[seamanship]] textbooks. During the war, he also commanded the naval vessels [[USS Sonoma (1862)|USS ''Sonoma'']], [[USS Canandaigua (1862)|USS ''Canadaigua'']], and [[USS Pontiac (1864)|USS ''Pontiac'']].<ref name="DANFS">{{cite DANFS |title=Luce |url= https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/library/research-guides/z-files/zb-files/zb-files-l/luce-stephen-b.html |accessdate=6 June 2024}}</ref>

He was promoted to full [[commander (United States)|commander]] in 1866.

=== Post-Civil War ===
After the Civil War, Luce organized the Navy's apprentice training program to prepare naval seamen and petty officers for fleet duty.  From 1869 to 1872, he commanded the sloop-of-war [[USS Juniata (1862)|USS ''Juniata'']] which was assigned to the [[Mediterranean Sea]] Fleet. He was promoted to [[captain (military)|captain]] in December 1872 and served as the captain of the yard at the [[Boston Navy Yard]] (at [[Charlestown, Massachusetts]], across the [[Charles River]] from [[Boston]]), until 1875. He commanded the [[USS Hartford (1858)|''USS Hartford'']] from November 1875 to August 1877. From August to December 1877, Luce was the Navy's inspector of training ships, then from January 1878 to February 1881, he commanded the training ship [[USS Minnesota (1855)|USS ''Minnesota'']].

From July to September 1884, Luce commanded the North Atlantic Squadron with the ''USS Tennessee'' as his flagship. From June 1886 to February 1889, Luce again commanded the North Atlantic Squadron with the ''USS Richmond'' this time as his flagship.

Luce helped start the [[United States Naval Institute]] in October 1873; he would serve as the Institute's president from 1887 to 1898.

==== Newport ====
In 1881, Luce was promoted to [[Commodore (United States)|commodore]], and commanded the U.S. Navy Training Squadron in Newport from April 1881 to June 1884.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Luce, Stephen B.|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/library/research-guides/z-files/zb-files/zb-files-l/luce-stephen-b.html|access-date=2020-06-25|website=NHHC|language=en-US}}</ref>

While in command of the Training Squadron, Luce developed and implemented the apprentice training program—the first formal program for training American enlisted sailors. Luce's plan was to have bright and healthy young men, 14 to 17 years old, serve a three-year apprenticeship with the Training Squadron during which they received an academic education and hands-on seamanship training.

The "boys" were typically enlisted around 14 or 15 and typically served until 21, when they could extend their service in the Navy. Previously, the Navy had taken recruits with no prior experience; all training of enlisted sailors was "on the job". Many recruits lacked the discipline and skills necessary to be useful. The program ended when the United States entered the [[First World War]] in April 1917 and began to train sailors far more rapidly as the Navy expanded.

Based on Luce's urgings and exhaustive reports, the [[Naval War College]] at [[Newport, Rhode Island]], was established on October 6, 1884. Luce served as its first president. In 1885, he was promoted to [[rear admiral (United States)|rear admiral]], and the next year handed off the presidency to Captain [[Alfred Thayer Mahan]].

=== Retirement ===
The wooden-hulled, steam-powered [[sloop-of-war]] ''[[USS Richmond (1860)|Richmond]]'', was Luce's last assignment at sea. Having reached the mandatory retirement age of 62, he retired from the Navy on March 25, 1889. 

Luce returned to the War College in 1901 and served for nearly a further decade as a faculty member. He retired in November 1910 at the age of 83.<ref name="DANFS" />