William Swift

William Swift (March 17, 1848—June 30, 1919) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy and briefly the Naval Governor of Guam in 1901. He was court-martialed in 1907 for the grounding of the battleship USS Connecticut (BB-18), but was later restored to high positions. In 1910, he headed the aptly-named Swift Board which reorganized the Department of the Navy prior to World War I.

Early life and career

Swift was born in Windham, Connecticut. He entered the US Naval Academy as a midshipman in September 1863 at age 15 1/2. He graduated in 1867, ranking 31st in his class of 87. Ninety-nine others, who entered in 1863, failed to graduate, according to records at the Naval Academy library.

In 1872, he married Grace Virginia Ransom, daughter of Jane Sybilline Manley Ransom and Commodore George Marcellus Ransom who, as a Naval Lieutenant serving under Admiral David Farragut, commanded the Union gunboat USS Kineo during Civil War battles along the Mississippi River in 1862-63. The Swifts had two sons and five daughters, two of whom died during childhood. Grace Ransom Swift died in 1906.

During the Spanish-American War, he was the Inspector of Ordnance in the New York Naval Yard, with a rank of Commander. On May 28, 1900, he was given command of the Prairie. On April 6, he was transferred to command of Concord. In May 1901, he was transferred again, this time to Yorktown

While commanding Yorktown in the Pacific, he was briefly appointed as Governor of Guam to allow then-Governor Seaton Schroeder to return to Washington, DC to testify in the Schley Inquiry. Swift served in this capacity from early August to early October 1901, before resuming command on Yorktown.

On June 25, 1902, Commander Swift was promoted to Captain and subsequently assigned to the General Board of the Navy. 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 USS Connecticut, 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 among the crew. Immediately after setting out again, the Connecticut ran aground at Culebra, Puerto Rico.

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 and caused it to strike a shoal. (Also according to the Post, he claimed that the "sun was in his eyes".) He was court martialed on March 26, 1907 and found guilty of dereliction of duty. He was relieved of duty for nine-months on half-pay, but was subsequently appointed as Commandant of the Charlestown Navy Yard near Boston, Massachusetts on November 8, 1907.

Later career

Despite his court martial, Swift was promoted to Rear Admiral on January 30, 1908. In December 1909, he was assigned to the Naval Bureau of Materials and was appointed by Secretary of the Navy George von Lengerke Meyer to head the so-called "Swift Board" to reorganize the Department of the Navy.

Swift retired on March 17, 1908, but was given special duty as an advisor to the Secretary. He died at the US Naval Hospital, Newport, RI, on June 30, 1919, following a long illness and was buried in a family plot at Richfield Springs, NY. Swift was a member of the Mayflower Society and traced his American ancestry back to Pilgrim ancestors who arrived aboard the Mayflower in November 1620, specifically to William Bradford, the longtime governor of Plymouth Colony (in what would come to be known as Massachusetts).

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
• "The United Service." New York Times. New York, N.Y.: May 23, 1901. pg. 6, 1 pgs
• "Army and Navy Notes." The Washington Post. Washington, D.C.: May 29, 1901.. pg. 9, 1 pgs
• "New Governor of Guam." New York Times. New York, N.Y.: Aug 7, 1901. pg. 3, 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
• "Our Largest Warship Put in Commission." New York Times. New York, N.Y.: Sep 30, 1906. pg. 22, 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
• "Swift's Trial Ordered." The Washington Post. Washington, D.C.: Mar 21, 1907. pg. 12, 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
• "Admiral Swift Arrives." The Washington Post. Washington, D.C.: Dec 21, 1909. pg. 12, 1 pgs
• "The United Service." New York Times. New York, N.Y.: Mar 11, 1910. pg. 14, 1 pgs
• "Admiral Swift Dead." New York Times. New York, N.Y.: Jul 1, 1919. pg. 11, 1 pgs