John C. Watson
Encyclopedia
John Crittenden Watson was an admiral
of the United States Navy
.
on August 24, 1842, the grandson of renowned Kentucky politician John J. Crittenden
. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy
on 15 June 1860. After tours in Susquehanna
and Richmond
, Watson was promoted to master on 19 September 1861 and joined Sabine
. He distinguished himself in this ship when she went to the aid of the chartered government transport Governor off the coast of South Carolina
on the night of 2–3 November 1861. Watson managed the cable
s and hawser
s which held the two ships together in spite of a violent gale
, allowing some 500 men—Marines
and crew—to clamber from the foundering Governor to safety in Sabine. His commanding officer, Captain Cadwalader Ringgold
, praised Watson for his "indefatigable exertions" and "utmost skill and efficiency" in keeping the two ships lashed together.
Promoted to lieutenant in July 1862, Watson later served as flag lieutenant to Rear Admiral David Farragut
, who flew his flag in the steam sloop Hartford
, and participated in the Battle of Mobile Bay
. He was later wounded by a shell fragment during an engagement with a Confederate
battery at Warrington, Florida
.
Watson served in a number of sea and shore billets into the 1880s, including duty as executive officer of the steam sloop Alaska
; the post of inspector of ordnance at the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California
; command of Wyoming
when that warship carried the American exhibit to the Paris Exposition of 1878
; and governor of the Naval Home at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
.
As a commodore
, he hoisted his broad pennant
in Newark
(Cruiser
No. 1) as Commander, Eastern Fleet, on 10 June 1898, shifting later to Oregon
(Battleship
No. 3). The battleship served as his flagship
during the subsequent Battle of Santiago, Cuba
, on 3 July 1898, in which the Spanish squadron
under Admiral Pascual Cervera
was destroyed. Promoted to Rear Admiral in 1899, he served as Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet, from 20 June 1899 into 1900 before returning to the United States to serve as President of the Naval Examining Board. Watson represented the United States at the coronation of King Edward VII of England in 1902.
Placed on the retired list in 1904, Rear Admiral Watson lived in retirement until he died at Washington, D.C.
, on 14 December 1923.
, destroyer
DD-482
was planned to be named "USS Watson", in honor of R. Adm. Watson.
However, due to more pressing wartime destroyer construction programs, the ship was never laid down, and her construction was canceled on 7 January 1946.
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
.
Biography
Watson was born in Frankfort, KentuckyFrankfort, Kentucky
Frankfort is a city in Kentucky that serves as the state capital and the county seat of Franklin County. The population was 27,741 at the 2000 census; by population it is the 5th smallest state capital in the United States...
on August 24, 1842, the grandson of renowned Kentucky politician John J. Crittenden
John J. Crittenden
John Jordan Crittenden was a politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. He represented the state in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and twice served as United States Attorney General in the administrations of William Henry Harrison and Millard Fillmore...
. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
on 15 June 1860. After tours in Susquehanna
USS Susquehanna (1847)
USS Susquehanna, a sidewheel steam frigate, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for a river which rises in Lake Otsego in central New York and flows across Pennsylvania and the northeast corner of Maryland to empty into the Chesapeake Bay.Her keel was laid down by the New York...
and Richmond
USS Richmond (1860)
The USS Richmond was a wooden steam sloop in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.-Service in the Caribbean :Richmond was launched on 26 January 1860 by the Norfolk Navy Yard; sponsored by a Miss Robb. Richmond, commanded by Captain D. N. Ingraham, departed Norfolk, Virginia 13...
, Watson was promoted to master on 19 September 1861 and joined Sabine
USS Sabine (1855)
The first USS Sabine was a sailing frigate built by the United States Navy in 1855. The ship was among the first ships to see action in the American Civil War. In 1862, a large portion of the crew were volunteers from the Sabine....
. He distinguished himself in this ship when she went to the aid of the chartered government transport Governor off the coast of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
on the night of 2–3 November 1861. Watson managed the cable
Cable
A cable is two or more wires running side by side and bonded, twisted or braided together to form a single assembly. In mechanics cables, otherwise known as wire ropes, are used for lifting, hauling and towing or conveying force through tension. In electrical engineering cables are used to carry...
s and hawser
Hawser
Hawser is a nautical term for a thick cable or rope used in mooring or towing a ship. A hawser passes through a hawsehole, also known as a cat hole, located on the hawse....
s which held the two ships together in spite of a violent gale
Gale
A gale is a very strong wind. There are conflicting definitions of how strong a wind must be to be considered a gale. The U.S. government's National Weather Service defines a gale as 34–47 knots of sustained surface winds. Forecasters typically issue gale warnings when winds of this strength are...
, allowing some 500 men—Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
and crew—to clamber from the foundering Governor to safety in Sabine. His commanding officer, Captain Cadwalader Ringgold
Cadwalader Ringgold
Cadwalader Ringgold was an officer in the United States Navy who served in the United States Exploring Expedition, later headed an expedition to the Northwest and, after initially retiring, returned to service during the Civil War....
, praised Watson for his "indefatigable exertions" and "utmost skill and efficiency" in keeping the two ships lashed together.
Promoted to lieutenant in July 1862, Watson later served as flag lieutenant to Rear Admiral David Farragut
David Farragut
David Glasgow Farragut was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. He is remembered in popular culture for his order at the Battle of Mobile Bay, usually paraphrased: "Damn the...
, who flew his flag in the steam sloop Hartford
USS Hartford (1858)
USS Hartford, a sloop-of-war, was the first ship of the United States Navy named for Hartford, the capital of Connecticut.Hartford was launched 22 November 1858 at the Boston Navy Yard; sponsored by Miss Carrie Downes, Miss Lizzie Stringham, and Lieutenant G. J. H...
, and participated in the Battle of Mobile Bay
Battle of Mobile Bay
The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864, was an engagement of the American Civil War in which a Federal fleet commanded by Rear Adm. David G. Farragut, assisted by a contingent of soldiers, attacked a smaller Confederate fleet led by Adm...
. He was later wounded by a shell fragment during an engagement with a Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
battery at Warrington, Florida
Warrington, Florida
Warrington is a census-designated place in Escambia County, Florida, United States, and was once the westernmost incorporated town in Florida. Warrington is located between downtown Pensacola, Florida, and the state line with Alabama; it is six miles away from both.The population was 15,207 at...
.
Watson served in a number of sea and shore billets into the 1880s, including duty as executive officer of the steam sloop Alaska
USS Alaska (1868)
The first USS Alaska was a wooden-hulled screw sloop of war, built at the Boston Navy Yard. The ship was launched on 31 October 1868 and sponsored by Miss Grace Hull, the daughter of Mayor Hull of Boston. Alaska was commissioned on 8 December 1869, with Commander Homer C...
; the post of inspector of ordnance at the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California
Vallejo, California
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...
; command of Wyoming
USS Wyoming (1859)
The first USS Wyoming of the United States Navy was a wooden-hulled screw sloop that fought on the Union side during the American Civil War. Sent to the Pacific Ocean to search for the CSS Alabama, Wyoming eventually came upon the shores of Japan and engaged Japanese land and sea forces...
when that warship carried the American exhibit to the Paris Exposition of 1878
Exposition Universelle (1878)
The third Paris World's Fair, called an Exposition Universelle in French, was held from 1 May through to 10 November 1878. It celebrated the recovery of France after the 1870 Franco-Prussian War.-Construction:...
; and governor of the Naval Home at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
As a commodore
Commodore (rank)
Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...
, he hoisted his broad pennant
Broad pennant
A broad pennant is a swallow-tailed tapering flag flown from the masthead of a ship to indicate the presence of a commodore on board. It is so called because its dimensions are roughly 2:3....
in Newark
USS Newark (C-1)
The first USS Newark was a United States Navy protected cruiser, the first modern cruiser in the US fleet.She was laid down by William Cramp and Sons, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 12 June 1888, launched on 19 March 1890, sponsored by Miss Annie Boutelle, the daughter of Congressman Charles A...
(Cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
No. 1) as Commander, Eastern Fleet, on 10 June 1898, shifting later to Oregon
USS Oregon (BB-3)
USS Oregon was a pre-Dreadnought of the United States Navy. Her construction was authorized on 30 June 1890, and the contract to build her was awarded to Union Iron Works of San Francisco, California on 19 November 1890. Her keel was laid exactly one year later...
(Battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
No. 3). The battleship served as his flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
during the subsequent Battle of Santiago, Cuba
Battle of Santiago de Cuba
The Battle of Santiago de Cuba, fought between Spain and the United States on 3 July 1898, was the largest naval engagement of the Spanish-American War and resulted in the destruction of the Spanish Navy's Caribbean Squadron.-Spanish Fleet:...
, on 3 July 1898, in which the Spanish squadron
Squadron (naval)
A squadron, or naval squadron, is a unit of 3-4 major warships, transport ships, submarines, or sometimes small craft that may be part of a larger task force or a fleet...
under Admiral Pascual Cervera
Pascual Cervera y Topete
Pascual Cervera y Topete served as an admiral of the Spanish Caribbean Squadron during the Spanish-American War, and prior to this served his country in a variety of military and political roles....
was destroyed. Promoted to Rear Admiral in 1899, he served as Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet, from 20 June 1899 into 1900 before returning to the United States to serve as President of the Naval Examining Board. Watson represented the United States at the coronation of King Edward VII of England in 1902.
Placed on the retired list in 1904, Rear Admiral Watson lived in retirement until he died at Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, on 14 December 1923.
Namesake
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
DD-482
USS Watson (DD-482)
USS Watson was a United States Navy destroyer which was never laid down, her construction contract being cancelled in 1946.Watson was planned as a modified Fletcher-class destroyer to be built by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company at Kearny, New Jersey. She was to be powered by an...
was planned to be named "USS Watson", in honor of R. Adm. Watson.
However, due to more pressing wartime destroyer construction programs, the ship was never laid down, and her construction was canceled on 7 January 1946.