William S. Benson

For other people named William Benson, see William Benson (disambiguation).

William Shepherd Benson
Born	September 25, 1855(1855-09-25) Bibb County, Georgia
Died	May 20, 1932(1932-05-20) (aged 76) Washington, D.C.
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1877-1919
Rank	Admiral
Unit	Dolphin
Commands held	Utah (BB-31), Philadelphia Navy Yard
Battles/wars	World War I

William Shepherd Benson (25 September 1855 – 20 May 1932) was an Admiral in the United States Navy and the first Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), holding the post throughout World War I.

Biography

Born in Bibb County, Georgia, Benson graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1877. His early years of sea duty included cruise around the World in Dolphin during the 1880s. He was also active in coast survey and hydrographic duties, was an instructor at the Naval Academy, commanded the cruiser Albany (CL-23) and served as a flag aide, in addition to other assignments.

In 1909, Benson was promoted to Captain and became Chief of Staff of the US Pacific Fleet. In 1911, Benson became the first Commanding Officer of the battleship Utah (BB-31). He was Commandant of the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1913-15.

Chief of Naval Operations

In 1915 he was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral and became the Navy's first Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), functionally replacing Rear Admiral Bradley A. Fiske, the last Aide for Naval Operations.

Benson was heavily involved in defining the functions of the new CNO position and strengthening the Navy during a period marked by internal Navy Department tensions, U.S. interventions in the Caribbean and Central America, and the world war. Promoted to the rank of Admiral in 1916, his responsibilities greatly expanded when the United States entered the First World War in April 1917. Over the next year and a half, he oversaw a huge expansion of the Navy, the extension of its operations to European waters and the transportation of the Army's American Expeditionary Forces to [France. After the November 1918 Armistice, he was an active participant in the lengthy peace negotiations held in France.

Aviation

In World War I the Navy explored aviation, both land-based and carrier based. However the Navy nearly abolished aviation in 1919 when Benson could not "conceive of any use the fleet will ever have for aviation" and he secretly tried to abolish the Navy's Aviation Division. However Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt reversed the decision because he believed aviation might someday be "the principal factor" at sea with missions to bomb enemy warships, scout enemy fleets, map mine fields, and escort convoys. Grudgingly allowing it a minor mission, the Navy slowly built up its aviation.

Retirement

Benson retired from the Naval service in September 1919. Over the next decade, he was active in the leadership of the U.S. Shipping Board. Admiral William S. Benson died in Washington, D.C.

His mother, Catherine Brewer Benson, was the first woman to receive a degree from a chartered college, Georgia Female College (now Wesleyan College).

His Son Commodore Howard Hartwell James Benson, also a career Navy Officer, received the Navy Cross and Legio of Merit. (Commodore Benson Arlington National Cemetery Biography)

Obituary by Rita H. Delorme, a volunteer for the Diocesan Archives for The Southern Cross

He was, he said, “a good (1888-1889) and the USS Chicago Methodist, the son of pious Georgia parents.” His mother, Catherine Brewer, was the first graduate of Wesleyan Female College at Macon. On his conversion to Catholicism, William Shepherd Benson observed that his entrance into the Catholic Church was due largely to the training of his good Methodist parents and the influence of his good Catholic wife. (1898). He became the first commander of the USS Utah in 1911. Threaded in with Benson’s duties at sea were land-based appointments which included teaching and supervisory positions at the Naval Academy, command of the Philadelphia Navy Yard and his designation as Chief of Naval Operations, a brand-new post, in 1915. In May of that year, Benson became a Rear Admiral and, by the following year, was wearing the insignia of a full Admiral. His task in this high-ranking position was challenging. He was to improve Born in Macon on September 25, 1855, to Aaron and Catherine Benson, William S. Benson was graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1877. While serving as a midshipman, the restless young man came across some Catholic literature which sparked an interest in the Church. His marriage to Mary Augusta Wyse, member of a well-known Catholic family of Baltimore, confirmed this interest. Following his reception into the Church, Benson—true to character—became an outstanding Catholic, practicing a high-profile Catholicism at a time when antipathy toward Catholics was rampant. His naval career, equally dedicated, saw him travel steadily through the ranks: Ensign (1881), Lieutenant (1893), Lieutenant Commander (1900), Commander (1905) and Captain (1909). His geographic progression was equally steady. His first stint at sea was on the USS Hartford, followed by service on the Old Constitution and the USS Yantic in the Arctic; then, aboard the USS Dolphin the efficiency and preparedness of the Navy and, moving on technologically, he was to develop naval aircraft and submarine forces. During ensuing wartime operations, Admiral Benson oversaw the most extensive United States fleet ever. The four million American troops who crossed the Atlantic headed for combat duty made that danger-frought journey in ships under Admiral Benson’s command. At the close of the “Great War,” William Benson was recognized by former Secretary of War Newton Benton as: “one of perhaps five men who did the most to win the World War.” The United States government and those of at least three foreign powers heaped honors on Benson for his wartime service and valuable post-war participation in lengthy peace negotiatons in Europe. Though Admiral Benson officially retired in 1919, he continued to be active on the U.S. Shipping Board in Washington throughout the 1920s. During his years of semi-retirement, Admiral Benson assumed leadership roles in many Catholic organizations. He was the first president of the National Council of Catholic Men (1920-1925), became a Fourth Degree member of the Knights of Columbus, was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Gregory (military class) by Pope Benedict, became honorary vice president of the Catholic Laymen’s Association of Georgia, and was inducted into the Order of the Knights of Malta. Admiral Benson spoke to Catholic groups throughout the country, rallying their members to civic action. He returned to his native Georgia to address the convention of the Catholic Laymen’s Association in Atlanta in 1921 and the convention of the group in Savannah a decade later. Charitable organizations which benefited from Benson’s directorial involvement included—among others—the Board of Trustees of the Catholic Charities of Washington and the Board of Incorporation of the American Red Cross. Admiral Benson was founder and first vice president of the Cardinal Gibbons Institute established in Maryland “for the education of colored youths,” a cause he fervently espoused. In August 1929, Admiral and Mrs. Benson celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary. As of the early 1930s, all three of their children had ties to the United States Navy: sons Howard Benson as a Commander and Francis Benson as Lieutenant Commander, and daughter, Mrs. Herman F. Krafft, as wife of the curator of the Naval Museum at Annapolis. In a 1925 editorial, The Bulletin of the Catholic Laymen’s Association joined other publications in a national salute to William Benson on his 70th birthday. “We are proud of Admiral Benson as an American, as a Catholic and as a Georgian,” said the editorial writer, who added: “It gives us untold pleasure to be able to record that he is a member of the Catholic Laymen’s Association of Georgia and a reader of The Bulletin.” Admiral William S. Benson died on May 20, 1932, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. In 1939, Mary W. Benson christened the destroyer USS Benson in her late husband’s memory—a seaworthy tribute to a Catholic from Georgia whose ideals of loyalty to God, country and fellow man were instilled early in life by his “good Methodist parents.”

Namesake

USS Benson (DD-421) and USS Admiral W. S. Benson (AP-120) were named in his honor.

References

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

External links

• William Shepherd Benson, Admiral, United States Navy at www.arlingtoncemetery.net

Military offices
Preceded by (None)	United States Chief of Naval Operations 1915-1919	Succeeded by Robert E. Coontz