David B. Harmony

David Butts Harmony (September 2, 1832 – November 2, 1917) was a rear admiral of the United States Navy, who served during the American Civil War.

Harmony was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, and entered the navy as a midshipman on April 7, 1847, was promoted to passed midshipman on June 10, 1852, became lieutenant in 1855, and lieutenant commander in 1862.

Promoted to commander in 1866, Harmony then served at the New York Navy Yard, and then in 1867–69 commanded the Frolic in the European Squadron, one of the vessels of Admiral Farragut's squadron.

Harmony returned to the New York Navy Yard in 1869–72, was promoted to captain in 1875, and commanded the sloops USS Portsmouth (1843), USS Kearsarge (1861) and USS Plymouth (1867), and the frigates USS Powhatan (1850), USS Tennessee (1865) and USS Colorado (1856), between 1878 and 1883. Harmony was a member of Navy Department's Examining and Retiring Boards 1883–84, was promoted to commodore in 1885, and served as Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, 1885–89, and was Chairman of the Lighthouse Board, 1889–91. He retired on June 26, 1893.

Harmony died on November 2, 1917, and was buried in Section 2 of Arlington National Cemetery.

Some of his letters from the 1870s, written while on active duty, are archived at the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C.

Papers from the Mixsell-Mathews Estate
A selection of David Harmony's official papers, from the estate of Isabel Mixsell-Mathews, can be viewed here:
 * David B. Harmony Papers 1847–1869
 * David B. Harmony Papers 1870–1877