| Henry Erben | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 5, 1832 New York City |
| Died | October 23, 1909 (aged 77) New York City |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1848–1894, 1898 |
| Rank | Rear Admiral |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War Spanish–American War |
Henry Erben (5 September 1832 – 23 October 1909) was a rear admiral of the United States Navy, who served in the American Civil War and the Spanish–American War.
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Erben was born in New York City. He entered the Navy as a midshipman on 17 June 1848. He gave distinguished service in the Civil War, commanding the ironclads St. Louis and Sumter in the Mississippi River, and Pinola in the Gulf of Mexico, and with the naval howitzer battery which served with the Army during the Antietam campaign.
He retired 6 September 1894, but returned to duty during the Spanish–American War, commanding the Patrol Fleet which guarded the coast of the United States from Galveston, Texas to Bar Harbor, Maine.
Rear Admiral Erben died in New York City in 1909.
In 1943, the Fletcher-class destroyer USS Erben (DD-631) was named in his honor.
His father, also named Henry Erben (born in New York City in 1801; died there in May 1883), was an organ builder, apprenticed in 1818 to Thomas Hall, an organ builder. His grandfather Peter Erben (born in Philadelphia in 1771; died in New York City in 1863) was an organist. After the death of his father, who was one of the early German settlers in Pennsylvania, Peter moved to New York City, where he became an organ builder, and was also organist in Trinity parish from 1807 until 1839.