Louis McCoy Nulton
Louis McCoy Nulton (August 8, 1869 – November 10, 1954) was a four-star admiral in the U.S. Navy. He served as superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy from 1925 to 1928 and as commander of the Battle Fleet from 1929 to 1930.
Nulton was born in Winchester, Virginia, to Annie Clark and Colonel Joseph Nulton, a Confederate veteran who later led Virginia’s National Guard. He entered the U.S. Naval Academy in 1885 at age 16 and graduated seventh in the class of 1889. He began his career at sea on the protected cruiser Chicago and then served on several other ships, including the Texas, Ohio, and Wisconsin. He spent time as an instructor at the Naval Academy and was commandant of midshipmen, helping to compile technical dictionaries used there.
His first command was the gunboat Nashville in 1913, followed by the armored cruiser Montana. In 1914, while commanding Montana, he took part in the U.S. occupation of Veracruz. In 1918 he commanded the battleship Pennsylvania, which escorted President Woodrow Wilson to the Paris Peace Conference. He became commandant of the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1920 and was promoted to rear admiral in 1921.
In 1921 he attempted to speed up the unfinished battlecruiser Constitution by diverting funds from other projects, an act that was illegal. He later returned to sea in 1923 as commander of Battleship Division Three.
Nulton was superintendent of the Naval Academy from February 1925 to June 1928. In 1928–1929 he commanded Battleship Divisions, Battle Fleet (COMBATDIVS) with the temporary rank of vice admiral, flying his flag aboard the West Virginia. He was promoted to the temporary rank of full admiral as Commander Battle Fleet (COMBATFLT) on May 21, 1929, and chose the California as his flagship. In January 1930, he acted as Commander in Chief of the U.S. Fleet in Pratt’s absence during the London Naval Conference, and he commanded the combined fleets during the Caribbean winter maneuvers. He was relieved on May 24, 1930, and returned to the permanent rank of rear admiral, becoming commandant of the First Naval District. He retired on September 1, 1933, at age 64.
Nulton married Minnie Clark Evans on September 5, 1895, and they had two daughters. They lived in Winchester, Virginia after his retirement. He died in Maysville, Kentucky, in 1954 and was buried at the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, Maryland. His Navy Cross recognized his meritorious service as commandant of midshipmen and as commanding officer of Pennsylvania. President Herbert Hoover commended him in 1929 for the high battle efficiency of the battleship divisions he led. A collection of his family genealogical material and naval memorabilia is kept at the Handley Regional Library in Winchester.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 02:55 (CET).