Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Gleaves graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1877.

While serving at the Naval Ordnance Proving Ground, Admiral Gleaves made outstanding contributions in the field of gunnery and torpedoes.

The gear which he tested in Cushing provided the imprints which made the torpedo the "terrible weapon" of World War I.

[1] In spite of a life of constant action in war and peace, he found time to write a biography of Captain James Lawrence; A History of the Transport Service, and The Life of an American Sailor: Rear Admiral William Hemsley Emory, United States Navy, from His Letters and Memoirs.

[1] He has been quoted as saying, "To seamen a ship becomes endowed with human virtues and faults; she ceases to be a mere inanimate thing."