Templin Morris Potts (November 1, 1855 – March 22, 1927) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and the 11th Naval

Governor of Guam The governor of Guam ( ch, I Maga'låhen / ) is the head of government of Guam and the commander-in-chief of the Guam National Guard, whose responsibilities also include making the annual State of the Island (formerly the State of the Territo ...

. He held many important posts during his time in the Navy, including Director of 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 serve ...

Naval attaché A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It inclu ...

Kaiser ''Kaiser'' is the German word for " emperor" (female Kaiserin). In general, the German title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (''König''). In English, the (untranslated) word ''Kaiser'' is mainly a ...

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and List of monarchs of Prussia, King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication on 9 ...

, and aid for naval personnel. During the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cl ...

, he participated in the

Battle of Santiago de Cuba The Battle of Santiago de Cuba was a decisive naval engagement that occurred on July 3, 1898 between an American fleet, led by William T. Sampson and Winfield Scott Schley, against a Spanish fleet led by Pascual Cervera y Topete, which occur ...

, after which he commanded a number of ships. In 1913, he was forced into retirement after not having spent a large enough portion of his service at sea. This forced retirement sparked outrage from many, and led to letters and marches of protest. A

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and p ...

even introduced a bill in Congress to have him re-instated. Though these efforts all ultimately failed, they led to greater scrutiny of the retirement board. As governor, he forbade the men under his command to marry native Chamorro women and increased funding to fight disease on

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic ce ...

Early life

Potts was born on November 1, 1855 in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Potts' father was John F. C. Potts. Potts mother was Louisa Elizabeth (nee Rose) Potts. Potts received his education in the Washington area private school system.

Education

On June 20, 1876, Potts graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) 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 Secretary of ...

Career

Naval

In 1877, Potts served aboard as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Af ...

. He also served aboard in 1879 and from 1879 to 1892. During the

, he served aboard , where he participated in the

. From 1885 to 1887, he served on . On October 1, 1902, as

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

, Potts served as

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria, and

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

, Germany, until December 30, 1904. He served as

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latit ...

of and of in 1908. That same year, he obtained the rank of

. On December 17, 1909, Potts became the Director of the

, until January 25, 1912. In 1911, he acted as the official United States representative for the reception of

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Admiral

Tōgō Heihachirō Marshal-Admiral Marquis , served as a '' gensui'' or admiral of the fleet in the Imperial Japanese Navy and became one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. He claimed descent from Samurai Shijo Kingo, and he was an integral part of preserving ...

. Soon after, he became Navy aid for personnel. On May 3, 1913, Potts commanded , until July 2, 1913. After this command, Potts was forced into retirement. The Captain had passed his examination for

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

, but had been let go nonetheless, as he had not spent at least half of his time as captain at sea. His case drew national attention after he saved ''Louisiana'' from flooding following a valve blowout in the ship's

starboard Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front). Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which a ...

engine room that left a hole in the ship's hull. He consulted his lawyers about the possibility of reinstatement, and a group of sailors protested the forced retirement through demonstrations and letter-writing, and a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

even introduced a bill in Congress to reinstate him with the rank of Rear Admiral. Despite the criticism, the Navy did not reinstate him.

Governorship

Potts served as

from December 3, 1906 to October 3, 1907. Potts sought to separate whites from the native Chamorro population by denouncing interracial marriage, calling it "degenerating to the whites", and threatened to forcibly discharge any military man who married a native Guamanian woman. He successfully obtained additional funding from

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

to combat outbreaks of

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria '' Mycobacterium leprae'' or '' Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve da ...

and

yaws Yaws is a tropical infection of the skin, bones, and joints caused by the spirochete bacterium ''Treponema pallidum pertenue''. The disease begins with a round, hard swelling of the skin, in diameter. The center may break open and form an ul ...

on the island.

Personal life

On February 6, 1883, Potts married Anna Powers Cash. They had a son, Templin Morris Powers Potts. On May 10, 1902, Potts married Mrs. Marie Alden Brown (nee Charlier) (maiden), in a civil ceremony, in

, Germany. On November 21, 1918, Potts' wife, Marie Charlier Potts (died 1937), became a ship sponsor of USS Farragut (DD-300). On March 22, 1927, Potts died in Pasadena, California. Potts is interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Potts, Templin Morris 1855 births 1927 deaths Governors of Guam People from Washington, D.C. United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy personnel of the Spanish–American War Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Directors of the Office of Naval Intelligence American expatriates in Germany