Biography

Samuel Barron was an officer in the United States Navy, who later served in the Confederate States Navy. In spring 1861, he was sent by Secretary of the Navy Gideon Wells to mediate between local secessionists and military personnel at the Pensacola Navy Base. Accompnying him on this trip was Senator Stephen R. Mallory of Florida, who later served as the Confederate Secretary of the Navy. Barron resigned from the U.S. Navy in 1861 after his home state of Virginia seceded, and became an officer in the Confederate Navy.