Regarded as one of the Navy's outstanding officers in many fields, including strategy, seamanship, education, and professional development, he founded and served as the first president of the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

Their children included daughter Caroline (1857–1933), who became the wife of Montgomery M. Macomb, later a brigadier general in the United States Army.

[1] Luce served with the Atlantic Ocean / East Coast blockade squadron during the American Civil War (1861-1865), and commanded the ironclad monitor Nantucket at the siege of Charleston, South Carolina.

After the Civil War, Luce organized the Navy's apprentice training program to prepare naval seamen and petty officers for fleet duty.

From June 1886 to February 1889, Luce again commanded the North Atlantic Squadron with the USS Richmond this time as his flagship.

The program ended when the United States entered the First World War in April 1917 and began to train sailors far more rapidly as the Navy expanded.

Based on Luce's urgings and exhaustive reports, the Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island, was established on October 6, 1884.

In 1885, he was promoted to rear admiral, and the next year handed off the presidency to Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan.

Luce died on July 28, 1917[2] and was buried in the churchyard of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.

The auditorium at the erstwhile Naval Training Center, constructed in 1941 in San Diego, California, was named for Luce.

There is a descriptive historical plaque in honor of Luce at the corner of Kay Street and Rhode Island Avenue in Newport.