# The Admiral — Roughing It character guide

> The Admiral in Roughing It by Mark Twain.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Admiral

**First appearance:** 0001-roughing-it

## Snapshot

A blustering old sailor who invents history on demand, he clears smoking-rooms with his volcanic political arguments and manufactured facts.

## Who they are

Aboard the westward steamer, the Admiral is the passenger everyone dreads and no one can refute, since he simply creates the history he needs to win. His flaw is a temper that erupts within minutes, driving his audience away and leaving him roaring at empty chairs. He matters because his eventual rout by the quiet passenger Williams provides one of the book's finest comic set pieces and a lesson in the limits of bombast.

## In the story

### [L](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/roughing_it_se/chapters/l)

Not directly mentioned in this chapter; no appearance.

### [LXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/roughing_it_se/chapters/lxii)

A retired whaleman, seventy-two years old, profane and tenderhearted, a Union man turned secessionist, heavy drinker, inventor of false history.

### [LXXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/roughing_it_se/chapters/lxxviii)

Likely one of the three 'giants in stature' recruited to sit in the parquette and laugh loudly.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/roughing_it_se/characters/the_admiral
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/roughing_it_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/roughing_it_se/characters