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French Ensor Chadwick

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French Ensor Chadwick
Born(1844-02-29)February 29, 1844
Morgantown, West Virginia
DiedJanuary 27, 1919(1919-01-27) (aged 74)
Allegiance United States of America
Service / branch United States Navy
Rank Rear admiral
CommandsOffice of Naval Intelligence
Battles/incidentsAmerican Civil War
Spanish–American War
AwardsSampson Medal
Civil War Campaign Medal
West Indies Campaign Medal
An 1898 battle report from Captain Chadwick, regarding naval operations in support of the Battle of Santiago

Rear Admiral French Ensor Chadwick USN (February 29, 1844 – January 27, 1919) was a United States Navy officer who became prominent in the naval reform movement of the post-Civil War era. He was particularly noted for his contributions to naval education, and served as President of the Naval War College from 1900 to 1903.[1]

A native of Morgantown, West Virginia, he attended the United States Naval Academy from 1861 to 1864, then temporarily relocated from Annapolis, Maryland, to Newport, Rhode Island during the Civil War due to concerns about Maryland's secessionist sympathy as a border state. Graduating fourth in his class, his first sea assignment was to the gunboat USS Marblehead (1861).[2]

From 1865 to 1870, he served successively in four warships in the South Atlantic and Caribbean: the sidewheel steam frigate USS Susquehanna (1850) in which he was promoted to Ensign in 1866, the sloop of war USS Juniata, the frigate Sabine in which he was promoted to Lieutenant in 1868, and the screw sloop USS Tuscarora in which he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander a year later.[3] Following a brief assignment to the newly established Naval Torpedo Station in Newport, Rhode Island, during 1870, Chadwick served in the screw sloop of war USS Guerriere with the European Squadron until 1872. At that point, he was assigned to the U.S. Naval Academy as an instructor in mathematics. On leaving the academy in 1875, he reported to the sidewheel steam frigate USS Powhatan as the ship's executive officer. On his detachment from that ship, he took a leave of absence from the Navy. During this period, he married Cornelia Jones Miller, the daughter of a U.S. Consular official in 1878 and carried out a study on how sailors were trained in Britain, France, and Germany. This document proved useful to Captain Stephen B. Luce in developing a training squadron and station at Newport, Rhode Island.[4] In 1881, Lt Commander Chadwick led the investigation into the fog signals at Little Gull Island Light in Long Island Sound after the Galatea ran around in the fog during the evening of May 12, 1881.[5][6]

Major sea commands included the gunboat USS Yorktown, commissioned in 1889. He served in the Spanish–American War, fighting at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba.

As commander of the South Atlantic Squadron he played a major part in the Perdicaris incident of 1904 in Morocco.

He was also a noted historian who wrote several published books, including a noted work on The Causes of the Civil War.

In a 1917 speech, he complained that American women were not having enough children compared to immigrants, and that "soon the older American stock will be replaced completely." He also charged that boys were being made effeminate due to exposure of female public-school teachers.[7]

Portrayal

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Chadwick was portrayed by Roy Jenson in the 1975 film The Wind and the Lion.

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ "Naval War College Presidents". Archived from the original on 2010-11-30. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
  2. ^ Paolo E. Coletta, "Chadwick, French Ensor," in American National Biography (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999).
  3. ^ Evelyn Cherpak, Register of the French Ensor Chadwick Papers (Newport, RI: Naval War College, Naval Historical Collection, 2000, p. 3.)
  4. ^ Paolo E. Coletta, "Chadwick, French Ensor," in American National Biography (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999).
  5. ^ New York Times, "Don't Believe your Ears", Feb 22, 1891
  6. ^ History of American Steam Navigation, John H. Morrison, W. F. Sametz & CO., New York, 1908, pg 587
  7. ^ "American Women Letting Race Die, Says Rear Admiral," New York Herald, Feb. 18, 1917
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Preceded by Head of the Office of Naval Intelligence
(Chief Intelligence Officer)

September 1892 – June 1893
Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the Naval War College
1900–1903
Succeeded by