Mallory, << MAL uh ree, >> Stephen Russell (1813?-1873), was secretary of the Confederate Navy during the Civil War (1861-1865). He was born on the Caribbean island of Trinidad but grew up in Key West, Florida, where his family settled in 1820.
Mallory was appointed inspector of customs (import taxes) in Key West in 1833, and he studied law while holding that position. In 1845, United States President James K. Polk appointed him collector of customs in Key West. In 1850, Mallory was elected to the U.S. Senate from Florida.
Florida seceded (withdrew) from the Union in 1861, and Mallory resigned from the Senate. Confederate President Jefferson Davis appointed him secretary of the Navy, which was then almost nonexistent. Mallory had to organize the Navy and direct it. He also had to build and equip ships from what little material he found available. Mallory attacked his task with great ability. He succeeded in building a small but efficient Navy and showed much foresight in ordering ironclads built instead of the older type of wooden warships. His naval experts developed deadly torpedoes and underwater devices which kept the Union Navy out of the great rivers of Virginia until late in the war.
After the fall of Richmond, Virginia, in 1865, Mallory fled south with President Davis and was captured in Georgia. He was held prisoner for nearly a year but was pardoned by U.S. President Andrew Johnson in 1867. He then practiced law in Pensacola, Florida. He died on Nov. 9, 1873.
