Before the Civil War, the United States had preferred the temporary language of flag officers to a permanent admiral hierarchy. A much larger wartime navy needed several officers empowered to coordinate fleets and theaters. Farragut consequently became one of the service's first rear admirals and then one of its first vice admirals. His promotions show rank structure catching up with responsibilities that the peacetime institution had already needed but refused to formalize.
Notable Point · 56:26-57:25
The Civil War forced the US Navy to create admiral ranks
Wartime expansion made the US Navy's avoidance of admiral ranks untenable and finally placed Farragut's accumulated experience at an appropriate command level.