William T. Sampson

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Rear Admiral William Thomas Sampson

William Thomas Sampson (9 February 1840 – 6 May 1902) was a United States Navy admiral known for his victory in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish-American War.

He was born in Palmyra, New York, and entered the United States Naval Academy on 24 September 1857. After graduating first in his class four years later, he served as an instructor at the Academy. In 1864, he became the executive officer of the monitor Patapsco of the South Atlantic Blockading Station and engaged in sweeping torpedoes off Charleston, South Carolina. He survived the loss of that ironclad on 15 January 1865, when she struck a torpedo, exploded, and sank with a loss of 75 lives.

Following duty in the steam frigate Colorado on the European Station, another tour as instructor at the Naval Academy, and in the Bureau of Navigation of the Navy Department, he served in the screw sloop Congress. He then commanded Alert, practice ship Mayflower, and Swatara while on duty at the Naval Academy.

During the next years, he was Assistant to the Superintendent of the United States Naval Observatory, then Officer-in-Charge of the Naval Torpedo Station at Newport, Rhode Island. On 9 September 1886, he became Superintendent of the Naval Academy. He was promoted to Captain on 9 April 1889, reported to the Mare Island Navy Yard to fit out San Francisco, and assumed command when that protected cruiser was commissioned on 15 November 1889. He was detached in June 1892 to serve as Inspector of Ordnance in the Washington Navy Yard and was appointed Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance on 28 January 1893. He assumed command of the battleship Iowa on 15 June 1897. On 17 February 1898, he was made President of the Board of Inquiry to investigate the destruction of the Maine. On 26 March 1898, he assumed command of the North Atlantic Station, with the temporary rank of Rear Admiral.

The United States declared war against Spain on 21 April 1898; and, eight days later, Admiral Cervera's fleet sailed from the Cape Verde Islands for an uncertain destination. Admiral Sampson, in flagship New York, put to sea from Key West in search of the Spanish Fleet and established a close and efficient blockade on that fleet in the harbor of Santiago on 1 June 1898. On the morning of 3 July 1898, Cervera's fleet came out of the harbor. Sampson was ashore and could do nothing. Admiral Winfield Scott Schley was in command of the Flying Squadron and met the Spanish fleet, completely destroying every Spanish vessel in a running sea battle lasting five hours. The next day, Rear Admiral Sampson sent his famous message: "The Fleet under my command offers the nation as a Fourth of July present, the whole of Cervera's Fleet". This disingenuous message left out any mention of Schley's leadership in the battle. As Schley's role became known through the press, Sampson attempted to destroy his subordinate via his own press accounts. Schley appealed for a court of inquiry, which he got in 1901. This disgraceful affair, despite some criticism of Schley, exonerated the commander of the Flying Squadron and elevated him to the status of a national hero. For his part, Sampson was publicly discredited. At the court of inquiry, moreover, Schley was supported and exonerated by the testimony of his own men. In the Navy, the procedure was so divisive that the rank-and-file identified themselves as either a "Schley man" or a "Sampson man". Schley clearly had the best of this contest. Accordingly, it was no surprise that Sampson retired in 1902, and died shortly thereafter.

After the Battle of Santiago Bay, Sampson was appointed Cuban Commissioner on 20 August 1898 but resumed command of the North Atlantic Fleet in December. He became Commandant of the Boston Navy Yard in October 1899 and transferred to the Retired List on 9 February 1902. Rear Admiral Sampson died in Washington, D.C. a few months later and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Four destroyers of the Navy have been named USS Sampson in his honor. The United States Naval Academy's Sampson Hall, which houses the English and History departments, is named in his honor. The United States Navy also authorized a service medal, known as the Sampson Medal, to recognize those who had served under his command during the Spanish-American War.

This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.