Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Categories: 1818 births | 1894 deaths | American Civil War people | U.S. Navy admirals | Union Navy officers
Donald Fairfax
Donald McNeil Fairfax (10 March 1818 - 10 January 1894) was an officer in the United States Navy during the Civil War.
Born in Mount Eagle, Virginia , Fairfax entered the Navy as a midshipman 12 August 1837.
As executive officer in San Jacinto, he was a participant in the 1861 "Trent Affair," a diplomatic controversy involving the U.S. Navy's removal of Confederate commissioners from the British mail-steamer, RMS Trent . On 8 November 1861, Fairfax boarded Trent to remove Confederate commissioners James M. Mason and John Slidell, after the ship had been stopped by his captain, Charles Wilkes.
Fairfax's distinguished service in the Civil War included command of Cayuga, Nantucket, and Montauk .
Fairfax was later promoted to flag rank, retiring as a Rear Admiral on 30 September 1881. He died at Hagerstown, Maryland.
The destroyer USS Fairfax (DD-93) was named in his honor.
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