Uriel Sebree

Commandant

Uriel Sebree
Rear Admiral Uriel Sebree
Born(1848-02-20)February 20, 1848
Fayette, Missouri, U.S.
DiedAugust 6, 1922(1922-08-06) (aged 74)
Coronado, California, U.S.
AllegianceUnited States
Branch United States Navy
Years of service1863–1910
RankRear admiral
CommandsUSC&GS Silliman
USC&GS Thomas R. Gedney
USS Pinta
USS Wheeling (PG-14)
USS Thetis
USS Abarenda (AC-13)
USS Wisconsin (BB-9)
U.S. Naval Station Tutuila
Pathfinder Squadron
2nd Division, U.S. Pacific Fleet
United States Pacific Fleet
RelationsFrank P. Sebree (brother)
Naval administrator of American Samoa
In office
November 27, 1901 – December 16, 1902
Preceded byBenjamin Franklin Tilley
Succeeded byHenry Minett

Uriel Sebree (February 20, 1848 – August 6, 1922) was a career officer in the United States Navy. He entered the Naval Academy during the Civil War and served until 1910, retiring as a rear admiral. He is best remembered for his two expeditions into the Arctic and for serving as acting governor of American Samoa. He was also commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet.

After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1867, Sebree was posted to a number of vessels before being assigned to a rescue mission to find the remaining crew of the missing Polaris expedition in the Navy's first mission to the Arctic. This attempt was only a partial success—the Polaris crew was rescued by a British ship rather than the US Navy—but this led to Sebree's selection eleven years later for a second expedition to the Arctic. That mission to rescue Adolphus Greely and the survivors of the Lady Franklin Bay expedition was a success. Sebree was subsequently appointed as the second acting governor of American Samoa. He served in this position for only a year before returning to the United States. In 1907, he was promoted to rear admiral and given command of the Pathfinder Expedition around the South American coast before being appointed commander of the 2nd Division of the Pacific Fleet and then commander-in-chief of the entire fleet. He retired in 1910 and died in Coronado, California, in 1922. Two geographical features in AlaskaSebree Peak and Sebree Island—are named for Admiral Sebree.