With the Cruiser and Transport Force, Allen (Destroyer No. 66) escorts the Leviathan during World War I by Burnell Poole.
Admiral Albert Gleaves

Admiral Albert Gleaves.

Albert Gleaves was born on 1 January 1858 in Nashville, Tennessee and was graduated from the Naval Academy in 1877. After serving in Hartford and Trenton, he was appointed an ensign in 1881. Assigned to many ships and station, he commanded Cushing during the Spanish-American War and later North Dakota. Promoted to rear admiral in 1915, he commanded the Cruiser and Transport Force in World War I. For his outstanding contribution he was awarded the Army and Navy Distinguished Service Medals. In 1919, he was promoted to admiral.

While serving at the Naval Ordnance Proving Ground, Admiral Gleaves made outstanding contributions in the field of gunnery and torpedoes. While carrying out some tests on torpedo steering devices he changed these weapons from instruments of luck into instruments of precision. The gear which he tested in Cushing provided the imprints which made the torpedo the “terrible weapon” of World War I.

In spite of a life of constant action in war and peace, he found time to write a biography on Captain Lawrence; a History of the Cruiser and Transport Force, and the Life of an American Sailor, William Hensley Emory, Rear Admiral, USN. After a most distinguished career, he retired in 1921.

Admiral Gleaves died on 6 January 1937 at Haverford, Pennsylvania.