Commander Washburn Maynard, son of Horace Maynard, commanding the gunboat Nashville, gave the order to fire the first shot of the Spanish-American War. On the morning of April 22, 1898, Maynard’s crew sighted a steamer that hoisted the Spanish colors. A Nashville gun fired a blank shot and then a live warning shot across the bow of the ship. The merchant vessel Buena Ventura stopped, and Maynard and his crew captured it as a prize of war. In all, the Nashville captured four Spanish ships during the brief war. Maynard was a UT student from 1860 to 1862, after which he attended the US Naval Academy, graduating in 1866. His first service was as an ensign aboard the gunboat Franklin when she was making the cruise that carried Admiral David Farragut around the world. Maynard later gave the dedicatory address at the unveiling of the monument to Admiral Farragut in Washington, DC.
He retired from the navy with the rank of rear admiral. Maynard Glacier in Hoonah Angoon (CA) County, Alaska, is named for him, and a volume containing his reminiscences and letters has been published.