Maryland's two Rebel admirals; Northern state yields the only top Confederate naval officers.(TRAVEL)(THE CIVIL WAR)

Byline: Richard P. Cox, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES

It is somewhat ironic that Maryland, a state with strong Southern sympathies, did not secede from the Union yet produced the only Confederate naval officers to attain the rank of admiral. Franklin Buchanan became the Confederacy's highest-ranking naval officer, while Raphael Semmes became its most famous naval hero.

The Confederate navy was top-heavy with Marylanders. In addition to the only two admirals, Maryland furnished one commodore, seven captains, four commanders, seven lieutenants commanding vessels or shore batteries and 15 other lieutenants. In all, 163 documented Marylanders served as officers in the relatively small Confederate navy.

Franklin Buchanan was one of the most illustrious officers in the Federal Navy. He was born in Baltimore in 1800 and joined the Navy as a midshipman in 1815. Over the 41/2 decades of his U.S. naval service, Buchanan saw extensive and worldwide sea duty. He then became the first superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, served notably during the Mexican War and accompanied Adm. Matthew C. Perry on his groundbreaking expedition to Japan. Just …