William Thomas Sampson (February 9, 1840 – May 6, 1902) was aUnited States Navyrear admiral known for his victory in theBattle of Santiago de Cuba during theSpanish–American War.

William Thomas Sampson
William Thomas Sampson
Born	(1840-02-09)February 9, 1840 Palmyra, New York, U.S.
Died	May 6, 1902(1902-05-06) (aged 62) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Buried	Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, U.S.
Allegiance	United States
Service/ branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1857–1902
Rank	Rear admiral
Commands	Alert Mayflower Swatara San Francisco Iowa North Atlantic Station
Battles / wars	American Civil War Blockade of the South Sinking of USSPatapsco Spanish–American War Puerto Rico campaign Bombardment of San Juan Santiago campaign Battle of Santiago de Cuba

He was born inPalmyra, New York, and entered theUnited States Naval Academy on September 24, 1857. After graduating first in his class four years later, he served as an instructor at the academy, teaching physics.^[1] In 1864, he became theexecutive officer of themonitorPatapsco of theSouth Atlantic Blockading Squadron and engaged in sweepingtorpedoes offCharleston, South Carolina. He survived the loss of that ironclad on January 15, 1865, when she struck a torpedo, exploded, and sank with a loss of 75 lives.

Following duty on thesteam frigateColorado with theEuropean Squadron, another tour as instructor at the Naval Academy, and in theBureau of Navigation of theNavy Department, he served in thescrew sloopCongress. He then commanded theAlert, the training shipMayflower, and theSwatara while on duty at the Naval Academy.

During the next years, he was Assistant to the Superintendent of theUnited States Naval Observatory, then Officer-in-Charge of theNaval Torpedo Station atNewport, Rhode Island. On September 9, 1886, he became Superintendent of the Naval Academy. He was promoted tocaptain on April 9, 1889, reported to theMare Island Navy Yard to fit out theprotected cruiserSan Francisco, and assumed command when she was commissioned on November 15, 1889. He was detached in June 1892 to serve as Inspector of Ordnance in theWashington Navy Yard and was appointed Chief of theBureau of Ordnance on January 28, 1893. He assumed command of thebattleshipIowa on June 15, 1897. On February 17, 1898, he was made President of the Board of Inquiry to investigate the destruction of theMaine. On March 26, 1898, he assumed command of theNorth Atlantic Squadron, with the temporary rank ofrear admiral.

The United States declared war against Spain on April 25, 1898; and, eight days later, AdmiralPascual Cervera's fleet sailed from theCape Verde Islands for an uncertain destination. Rear Admiral Sampson, inflagshipNew York, put to sea fromKey West. Sampson's early involvement in the conflict included his supervision of the Cuban blockade, which lasted for the duration of the war, as well as the bombardment of the city of San Juan on May 12, 1898. After initially being sent to blockade Havana itself, Sampson was given orders to intercept Admiral Cervera's squadron, but with only a vague notion of Cervera's current location, he was unable to actively pursue. Awaiting further information on Cervera's whereabouts, Sampson sailed east to San Juan and carried out a bombardment on May 12 that lasted several hours, dealing minor infrastructural damage to the city. After this preliminary bombardment, Sampson helped lead a land-sea attack onSan Juan Hill, along with GeneralWilliam Shafter, taking the city ofSantiago de Cuba. On July 1, following the successful invasion, Sampson returned to Puerto Rico, reinforcing the blockade in San Juan.

On May 29, elements of Sampson's command spotted Admiral Cervera's squadron moving into Santiago harbor and the naval presence there was greatly increased to prevent Cervera's escape. On the morning of July 3, 1898, Cervera's fleet came out of the harbor. Sampson was ashore at a conference with General Shafter, making plans for a coordinated attack on Santiago.^[1] Rear AdmiralWinfield Scott Schley was in command of theFlying Squadron in Sampson's absence and met the Spanish fleet, completely destroying every Spanish vessel in a running sea battle lasting five hours. The next day, Rear Admiral Sampson sent his famous message: "The Fleet under my command offers the nation as a Fourth of July present, the whole of Cervera's Fleet".

Sampson's message omitted any mention of Schley's leadership in the battle, leading to a controversy as to who was responsible for the victory. While Sampson also arguably played a significant role in the victory, having laid down the strategic framework and determining the favorable positions of his own forces, it was of course Schley who had actually commanded the fleet during the battle.^[1] Schley appealed for a court of inquiry, which he got in 1901. In the Navy, the quarrel was so divisive that the rank-and-file identified themselves as either a "Schley man" or a "Sampson man." The court of inquiry heard testimony in support of Schley by his own men and, despite some criticism of Schley, exonerated the commander of the Flying Squadron.

After the Battle of Santiago Bay, Sampson was appointed Cuban Commissioner on August 20, 1898, but resumed command of theNorth Atlantic Fleet in December. He became Commandant of theBoston Navy Yard in October 1899 and transferred to the Retired List on February 9, 1902.

Sampson was a companion of theMilitary Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and theMilitary Order of Foreign Wars. He was awarded anhonorary doctorate (LL.D.) byYale University in October 1901, during celebrations for the bicentenary of the university.^[2]

• Civil War Campaign Medal
• Sampson Medal
• Spanish Campaign Medal

• Acting Midshipman – September 24, 1857
• Midshipman – June 1, 1861
• Lieutenant – July 16, 1862
• Lieutenant Commander – July 25, 1866
• Commander – August 9, 1874
• Captain – March 26, 1889
• Temporary Rear Admiral – March 26, 1898
• Commodore – July 3, 1898
• Rear Admiral – March 3, 1899
• Retired List – February 9, 1902

• Fourdestroyers of the Navy have been namedUSS Sampson in his honor.
• TheUnited States Naval Academy's Sampson Hall, which houses the English and History departments, is named in his honor.
• The United States Navy also authorized a service medal, officially named the West Indies Naval Campaign Medal but better known as theSampson Medal, to recognize those who had served under his command during the Spanish–American War. The obverse of the medal bears Sampson's image and, thus, Sampson was one of only four Americans in history entitled to wear an official medal with their own image on it. (The others were AdmiralGeorge Dewey, GeneralJohn J. Pershing and AdmiralRichard E. Byrd.)
• The former Sampson Naval Training Base, that became theSampson Air Force Base and is now a New York State Park on the eastern shore of Seneca Lake were named in his honor. Approved by President Roosevelt in 1942, 498 buildings were constructed on 2,500 acres (10 km²) of farmland in the Finger Lakes near Palmyra, New York by 15,500 workers in 270 days so that 411,000 sailors could be trained before the facility closed in 1946. The facility was converted to the Sampson Air Force Base for theKorean War and between 1950 and 1956 over 300,000 airmen had their basic training there. Even though the facility is now theSampson State Park, known for its herd of white deer, it has returned to military duty now that the Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery has been completed.
• ABrooklyn, New York elementary school,PS 160, was named in his honor.
• The steamshipSS Admiral Sampson was named in his honor. It was built in 1898 and sank inPuget Sound in 1914.
• W.T. Sampson Elementary/High School atNaval Station Guantanamo Bay is named in his honor.^[3]
• Detroit Public Schools has a school that bears the name William T. Sampson Elementary School, located at 6075 Begole Street, Detroit, MI 48210. It is no longer used and has been shuttered.
• The Wisconsin town ofSampson is named in his honor.^[4]

In 1863, Sampson married Margaret Sexton Aldrich (1842–1878). On January 16, 1878, Sampson's first wife Margaret died.^[5][6]

In 1882, Sampson married Elizabeth Susan Burling.^[5]

In 1916, Sampson's daughterMargaret Aldrich Smith became theFirst Lady of Guam until 1918.

Sampson's granddaughter Marjorie Sampson Smith became a sponsor ofUSSSampson on March 4, 1916.^[7]

Admiral Sampson died of acerebral hemorrhage on May 6, 1902, inWashington, D.C., and is buried inArlington National Cemetery.^[8][9]

• List of superintendents of the United States Naval Academy
• Puerto Rico campaign

•   This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.

• William Thomas Sampson at Arlington National Cemetery
• Works by or about William T. Sampson at theInternet Archive
•   Works by or aboutWilliam Thomas Sampson atWikisource
• William T. Sampson in 'Miscellaneous Limerick People' file at Limerick City Library, Ireland
• W.T. Sampson Elementary/High School