William Swift (March 17, 1848 – June 30, 1919) was a

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

in 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 ...

, and briefly the

Naval Governor of Guam The governor of Guam ( / ) 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 Territory) addresses to t ...

in 1901. He was court-martialed in 1907 for the grounding of the battleship , and briefly suspended from duty. In 1910, he headed the aptly named Swift Board which reorganized the

Department of the Navy Navy Department or Department of the Navy may refer to: * United States Department of the Navy The United States Department of the Navy (DON) is one of the three military departments within the United States Department of Defense. It was esta ...

prior to

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 ...

Early life and career

Swift was born in

Windham, Connecticut Windham ( ) is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. It contains the former city of Willimantic, Connecticut, Willimantic as well as the communities of Windham Center, Connecticut, Windham Center, North Windham, and South Windha ...

, and entered the Navy with the rank of

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

on 25 September 1863, graduating from 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 June 1867. He was promoted to

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

on 18 December 1868, then to

master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

on 21 March 1870,

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 21 March 1871, lieutenant commander on 24 October 1889, and

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

on 6 April 1897. Swift served as Executive Officer aboard the battleship in 1896 under Robley "Fighting Bob" Evans. 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 ...

, he was the Inspector of Ordnance in the New York Naval Yard, with a rank of

. On May 28, 1900, he was given command of the

auxiliary cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

. On April 6, he was transferred to command of the gunboat . In May 1901, he was transferred again, this time to the gunboat , then transferred to command of in June. While commanding ''Yorktown'' in the Pacific, he was briefly appointed as Governor of Guam to allow then-Governor

Seaton Schroeder Seaton Schroeder (August 17, 1849 – October 19, 1922) was an admiral of the United States Navy. He contributed to the development of the Driggs-Schroeder rapid-fire gun. Biography Schroeder was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Francis Sc ...

to return to

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 ...

to testify in the Schley Inquiry. Swift served in this capacity from early August to early October 1901, before resuming command of ''Yorktown''. On June 25, 1902, Swift was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and subsequently assigned to the

General Board of the Navy A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. Ma ...

. In that role, he was responsible for inspecting naval yards and shipbuilding efforts on the Atlantic coast. He was also chairman of the Board's Committee on the Fleet. He subsequently was appointed to the Joint Board of the Army and Navy.

Grounding of USS ''Connecticut''

On September 30, 1906, Swift was given command of the battleship , then the largest warship in the fleet, on her maiden voyage. The ship sailed on its first mission to Cuba in January 1907, but was immediately recalled to New York after an outbreak of

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...

among the crew. Immediately after setting out again, the ''Connecticut'' ran aground at

Culebra, Puerto Rico Isla Culebra (, ''Snake Island'') is an island, town and municipality of Puerto Rico, and together with Vieques, it is geographically part of the Spanish Virgin Islands. It is located approximately east of the Puerto Rican mainland, west of ...

. According to ''The Washington Post'', Swift acted against the advice of his navigator and ordered the ship to pass on the wrong side of a navigational

buoy A buoy (; ) is a buoyancy, floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. History The ultimate origin of buoys is unknown, but by 1295 a seaman's manual referred to navig ...

and caused it to strike a shoal. (Also according to the ''Post'', he claimed that the "sun was in his eyes".) He was

court martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...

ed on March 26, 1907, and found guilty of

dereliction of duty Dereliction of duty is a specific offense under United States Code Title 10, Section 892, Article 92 and applies to all branches of the US military. A service member who is derelict has willfully refused to perform their duties (or follow a given ...

. He was suspended from duty for a year, later remitted to nine months, but was allowed to return to shore duty after six months. He was subsequently appointed as

Commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

of the

Charlestown Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

near

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

on November 8, 1907.

Later career

Swift was promoted to

on January 30, 1908. Swift retired due to his age on his 62nd birthday on March 17, 1908, but acted as an adviser to the Secretary on navy yard and industrial affairs. In December 1909, he was assigned to the Naval Bureau of Materials and was appointed by Secretary of the Navy

George von Lengerke Meyer George von Lengerke Meyer (June 24, 1858 – March 9, 1918) was a Massachusetts businessman and politician who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, as United States ambassador to Italy and Russia, as United States Postmaster Gener ...

to head the so-called "Swift Board" to reorganize the Department of the Navy. Admiral Swift died at the Naval Hospital 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 ...

on June 30, 1919, and was buried in the town of

Richfield Springs, New York Richfield Springs is a Village (New York), village located in the Richfield, New York, Town of Richfield, on the north-central border of Otsego County, New York, United States. The population was 1,050 at the 2020 census. The name is derived from ...

References

* "The United Service." ''New York Times''. New York, N.Y.: Apr 14, 1900. pg. 5, 1 pgs * "The United Service." ''New York Times''. New York, N.Y.: May 16, 1900. pg. 5, 1 pgs * "The United Service." ''New York Times''. New York, N.Y.: Feb 19, 1901. pg. 5, 1 pgs * "Army and Navy Notes." ''The Washington Post''. Washington, D.C.: May 29, 1901.. pg. 9, 1 pgs * "The United Service." ''New York Times''. New York, N.Y.: Jun 25, 1902. pg. 12, 1 pgs * "Naval Militia Work." ''The Washington Post''. Washington, D.C.: Jul 20, 1902. pg. 5, 1 pgs * "Navy Yard Investigation." ''Los Angeles Times''. Los Angeles, Calif.: Sep 8, 1903. pg. 6, 1 pgs * "Naval Board Conference." ''Los Angeles Times''. Los Angeles, Calif.: Dec 22, 1903. pg. 1, 1 pgs * "Swift to Succeed Pillsbury." ''The Washington Post''. Washington, D.C.: Mar 21, 1905. pg. 13, 1 pgs * "Typhoid on Warship Mild." ''The Washington Post''. Washington, D.C.: Mar 1, 1907. pg. 5, 1 pgs * "Court-marital for Swift." ''The Washington Post''. Washington, D.C.: Mar 12, 1907. pg. 2, 1 pgs * "Assigned to Battleships." ''The Washington Post''. Washington, D.C.: Oct 25, 1907. pg. 11, 1 pgs * "Orders to Naval Officers." ''The Washington Post''. Washington, D.C.: Jan 30, 1908. pg. 5, 1 pgs {{DEFAULTSORT:Swift, William 1848 births 1919 deaths Governors of Guam United States Navy admirals American military personnel of the Spanish–American War People from Windham, Connecticut