Foote, Andrew Hull (1806-1863), was a Union Navy officer during the American Civil War (1861-1865). He became the first American naval officer to command a flotilla of ironclad gunboats in battle. His fleet joined the Army in attacks on Fort Henry on the Tennessee River and on Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River in February 1862. He helped break the Confederate line of defense in the surrounding area. He became a rear admiral in July 1862. A wound he received in the attack on Fort Donelson led to his death on June 26, 1863.
Foote was born on Sept. 12, 1806, in New Haven, Connecticut. He studied briefly at the United States Military Academy. Foote joined the Navy at the age of 16. From 1849 to 1851, he commanded the USS Perry along the coast of Africa in operations against the African slave trade.
