Seaton Schroeder (August 17, 1849 – October 19, 1922) was an admiral of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. He contributed to the development of the

Driggs-Schroeder Driggs-Schroeder was the name of several naval artillery, naval guns designed by US Navy officers William H. Driggs and Seaton Schroeder for the United States Navy in the late 1880s, fitted on ships built in the 1890s. Some Driggs-Schroeder weapon ...

rapid-fire gun.

Biography

Schroeder was born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, the son of Francis Schroeder, the Resident Minister to Sweden. His mother was the daughter of

William Winston Seaton William Winston Seaton (January 11, 1785 – June 16, 1866) was an American journalist and the thirteenth mayor of Washington, D.C. Life William Winston Seaton was born in King William County, Virginia. His mother's maiden name was Winston and ...

, who, with his brother-in-law,

Joseph Gales Joseph Gales Jr. (June 15, 1786 – July 21, 1860) was an American journalist and the ninth mayor of Washington, D.C. The city's only mayor born outside of North America, Gales served from 1827 to 1830. Early life Joseph Gales Jr. was born in ...

, owned and edited the

National Intelligencer The ''National Intelligencer and Washington Advertiser'' was a newspaper published in Washington, D.C., from October 30, 1800 until 1870. It was the first newspaper published in the District, which was founded in 1790. It was originally a tri ...

. Seaton served as the Mayor of Washington, D.C., from 1840 to 1850. He entered the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

in 1864, which, because of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, was in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

. After graduating in June 1868 he served with the Pacific Fleet in 186869 under Admiral John Rodgers in

screw sloop A screw sloop is a propeller-driven sloop-of-war. They were popularized in the mid-19th century, during the introduction of the steam engine and the transition of fleets to this new technology. The sailing sloop The British sloop in the Age o ...

, , and fought in the Salt River near

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. His sea tours took him to

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

in , to the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

in , and on a world cruise on .

Marriage and family

Schroeder married Maria Campbell Bache Wainwright on January 16, 1879. The couple had five children. Maria Wainwright (born March 14, 1856,

), came from a family of several American statesmen. She was the great-great-granddaughter of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

, the great-granddaughter of

Treasury Secretary The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

Alexander J. Dallas, the granddaughter of Texas legislator Richard Bache, Jr., a niece of

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

George Mifflin Dallas, the daughter of naval officer Richard Wainwright, and the sister of Admiral Richard Wainwright. She died on July 12, 1926, aged 70 in Jamestown, Rhode Island.

Career

After specializing in hydrographic duties for 11 years, he spent two years in the

Office of Naval Intelligence The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) is the military intelligence agency of the United States Navy. Established in 1882 primarily to advance the Navy's modernization efforts, it is the oldest member of the U.S. Intelligence Community and serv ...

(ONI) where he helped develop the

rapid-fire gun in partnership with Navy Commander William H. Driggs. He returned to sea in 1890 as the Commanding Officer of . In 1893, he began a three-year tour as an ordnance officer for the Naval Gun Factory at the

Washington Navy Yard The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is a ceremonial and administrative center for the United States Navy, located in the federal national capital city of Washington, D.C. (federal District of Columbia). It is the oldest shore establishment / base of ...

and as the recorder of the

Board of Inspection and Survey The Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) is a United States Navy organization whose purpose is to inspect and assess the material condition of U.S. Navy vessels. The Board is currently headquartered at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Virg ...

, joining the Board as a member in 1894. Following his appointment as executive officer of the

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

, he participated in the American

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are ...

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

and was advanced three numbers in rank "for eminent and conspicuous conduct in battle" during five engagements between May 31 and July 4, 1898. He was appointed Naval governor of

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

on 19 July 1900, and there commanded and later, . On May 1, 1903, Schroeder became Chief Intelligence Officer of the Navy. He assumed command of upon her first commissioning on May 7, 1906 and afterwards commanded various divisions in the Atlantic Fleet. Promoted to rear admiral in 1908, he hoisted his flag on when he took command of the Atlantic Fleet on March 8, 1909. Two months later, Schroeder was assigned to the Navy General Board. Schroeder was placed on the retired list on August 17, 1911, and retired to his home in Jamestown, Rhode Island. Rear Admiral Schroeder was recalled to active duty in 1912 to prepare a new signal book, and again in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

to serve as Chief Hydrographer and the Navy representative on the United States Geographic Board. He died at the Naval Hospital,

, on October 19, 1922.

Legacy

*In 1942, the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

was named in his honor. *Seaton Blvd. in the capital city of Guam, Hagåtña, was named after him. *One of the 10 Southern Mountains of Guam was renamed from Finacresta to Mt. Schroeder (288m).

References

Notes Bibliography *Seaton Schroeder, ''A Half Century of Naval Service'' (New York and London: D. Appleton, 1922). *

External links

*
My Days on the Albatross
'' by Lt. Seaton Schroeder

(includes Driggs-Schroeder weapons) {{DEFAULTSORT:Schroeder, Seaton 1849 births 1922 deaths United States Navy World War I admirals United States Navy admirals American military personnel of the Spanish–American War United States Naval Academy alumni Military personnel from Washington, D.C. Governors of Guam Franklin family Directors of the Office of Naval Intelligence