and was promoted to captain on July 25. In May 1866, Augusta embarked Gustavus Fox, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and sailed on a cruise, accompanied by the monitor and the gunboat . The purpose of the cruise was threefold; firstly to convey Fox to Russia as President Andrew Johnson's personal representative to Tsar Alexander II, secondly to demonstrate the monitor's ability to operate in the open sea, and thirdly to cultivate friendly international relations. After the three ships arrived at Queenstown, Ireland, Ashuelot sailed independently to the Far East, and Augusta and Miantonomoh then visited England, before finally arriving at Kronstadt in August. After a month's stay in Russia, during which the Tsar and members of the royal family visited the ships, they called at Stockholm, Sweden, Kiel, Germany, and ports in France, Portugal, and Spain. After transiting the Strait of Gibraltar, the ships spent Christmas at Málaga, Spain, before spending the next four and a half months visiting ports in the Mediterranean Sea. They returned home via the Canary Islands, the Cape Verdes, Barbados, and the Bahamas, finally arriving at Philadelphia on 22 July 1867. Murray then served as commandant of the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1869. He was promoted to commodore on June 19, 1871, and to rear admiral, on April 26, 1876, and served on the Lighthouse Board, and commanded the Pacific Station. Murray was placed on the Retired List on April 30, 1878. Murray was a companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. Murray died on November 10, 1884, in Washington, D.C. Namesakes Three ships, , and () were named for him and his grandfather, Commodore Alexander Murray. References 1816 births 1884 deaths Union Navy officers United States Navy admirals People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War