Joshua Ratoon Sands (May 13, 1795 – October 2, 1883) was an officer in the United States Navy who rose to the rank of rear admiral.
[3] He entered the United States Navy as acting midshipman in the Lake Ontario squadron under Commodore Isaac Chauncey.
He was transferred to the Madison in April 1813 and took part in the capture of Toronto and Fort George.
He was involved with laying the transatlantic telegraph cable in 1857, as well as the engagement against the filibusters of William Walker at Nicaragua.
He continued active duty, serving as Union lighthouse inspector on Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River during the Civil War, and as port admiral at Norfolk, Virginia from 1869 to 1872.
At the time of his death he was senior officer of the Navy on the retired list.