Kautz, Albert 1839-
Naval officer; born in Georgetown, O., Jan. 29, 1839; entered the navy as acting midshipman in 1854; graduated at the Naval Academy in 1859: promoted to passed midshipman, master, and lieutenant, in 1861; and was a prisoner of war in North Carolina, and at Richmond. Va., in June—October, 1861. In 1862 he was flag-lieutenant to Farragut, on the Hartford, and, after the surrender of New Orleans, he entered the city, removed the “Lone Star” flag from the city hall, and raised the stars and stripes over the custom-house. He was also on the Hartford when that ship took part in the engagement with the batteries of Vicksburg. He was promoted to lieutenant-commander in 1865; commander in 1872; captain in 1885; commodore in 1897: and rear-admiral in 1898; and in the latter year was placed in command of the Pacific station. In 1899 Admiral Kautz figured prominently in settling the troubles at Samoa. In March of that year, after he arrived at the scene of the trouble, on board the Philadelphia, he spent two days in making inquiries, and then called a meeting of all the consuls and the senior officers of the English and German war-ships in the harbor. After this meeting he issued a proclamation in which he declared that the so-called provisional government under Mataafa was without legal status, according to the terms of the Berlin treaty. He, therefore, ordered Mataafa and his followers to lay down their arms and return to their homes. The German consul, however, would not agree to this proclamation, and issued a counter one, which was translated into the Samoan language, and circulated among the supporters of Mataafa. This proclamation was as follows:This notice resulted in hostilities which lasted for several days. About 175 sailors were landed from the American and British war-ships. Before order was restored, several American and British officers and sailors were killed, and others wounded. The loss of the natives was supposed to have been very heavy. Admiral Kautz was retired in January, 1901.
