Albert Gleaves was an admiral

Admiral

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

 in the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

, also notable as a naval historian

Naval historian

A naval historian is a student of maritime history, who specialises in the sub-discipline of naval history.-References:*Julian Corbett, 'The Teaching of Naval and Military History,' History, New Series, vol. 1 , pp. 12–19....

.
Born in Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

, Gleaves graduated from the United States Naval Academy

United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

 in 1877. After serving on board and Trenton

USS Trenton (1876)

|...

, he was appointed an Ensign in 1881. Assigned to many ships and stations, he commanded Cushing

USS Cushing (TB-1)

USS Cushing was a torpedo boat in the United States Navy during the Spanish-American War. She was named for William B. Cushing....

 during the Spanish-American War

Spanish-American War

The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...

 and later the battleship North Dakota

USS North Dakota (BB-29)

USS North Dakota , a Delaware-class battleship, was the first ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the U.S. state of North Dakota....

. Promoted to Rear Admiral in 1915, in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 he commanded the Cruiser and Transport Force

Cruiser and Transport Force

The Cruiser and Transport Service was a unit of the United States Navy's Atlantic Fleet during World War I that was responsible for transporting American men and materiel to France.- Composition :...

. For his outstanding contribution he was awarded the Army and Navy Distinguished Service Medal

Distinguished Service Medal (United States)

The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest non-valorous military and civilian decoration of the United States military which is issued for exceptionally meritorious service to the government of the United States in either a senior government service position or as a senior officer of the United...

s.

In 1919 he was promoted to Admiral and commanded the Asiatic Fleet.