Sampson, William Thomas, 1840-1902

President Roosevelt will appoint Admiral Sampson’s son, Ralph E. Sampson, and the alternate. He has the highest regard for S. Weir Mitchell, but Roosevelt does not think it fair that the sons of naval men should be passed over for Mitchell’s grandnephew. He desires that one or two Southerners be appointed to the military academies, and, in these exceptional cases, they may have to be the sons of men not in the United States Army or Navy.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-10-01

The Roosevelt administration is attempting to end the “nonsensical controversy” surrounding the Battle of Santiago. Admiral Sampson’s request for a hearing was rejected and General Miles was rebuked for publicly criticizing the naval court.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902

Two women lean out windows. On the left is an Irish domestic representing the “Dem. Party” and on the right is a well-dressed matron representing the “Rep. Party.” Between them hangs a balance scale labeled “Party Politics” with Rear Admiral Winfield Scott Schley on the left, trying to upset the balance by pulling on the chains, causing the scale to swing wildly, and with Rear Admiral William Thomas Sampson on the right, struggling to hang on.

comments and context

Comments and Context

At the time of this cartoon there was an intense national debate over conflicting claims about the destruction of the Spanish fleet in Cuba in the Spanish-American War. Despite the partisan figures in Keppler’s windows, the controversy was more about personalities than parties. Acting Rear-Admiral William T. Sampson had command of the American fleet and designed a battle plan to blockade the Spanish fleet in Santiago Harbor. He even decided which Americans ships would pursue in case of a breakout. His inferior officer, Rear-Admiral Winfield Scott Schley, commanded the fleet whilst Sampson was ashore conferring with General William Shafter. Indeed the Spanish ships, commanded by Admiral Pascual Cervera, broke out, and after naval scrambles and chases, sometimes hampered by artillery smoke, all were destroyed or grounded. Sampson’s ships arrived after the fighting, yet the tactician of the battle cabled Washington, “The Fleet under my command offers the nation, as a Fourth of July present, the whole of Cervera’s fleet.” Schley, who managed the victory, had nevertheless displayed occasional vacillation, if not insubordination, and independence that left other officers confused at times. Both officers were celebrated after the war — as were other heroes like Theodore Roosevelt and Admiral George T Dewey — and each had their fervent partisans. After release of a book that criticized Schley in the extreme, he requested a Board of Inquiry. Its hearings and findings (generally supporting Sampson, supported on appeal by President Theodore Roosevelt) were a national sensation.

An oversized Abraham Lincoln, holding an ax, addresses a diminutive Rear Admiral William T. Sampson regarding the case of Gunner Charles Morgan’s efforts toward advancement in rank in the U.S. Navy. Caption: “Don’t you think, Sonny, that your ‘five o’clock tea’ rule might shut out some good men?”

comments and context

Comments and Context

The background of this cartoon was a colorful clash, coming to a head on the floor of the United States Senate, when Senator William V. Allen of Nebraska upbraided Admiral William T. Sampson, who had recommended against the promotion of a Naval Gunner, Charles Morgan. Sampson granted that Morgan had technical and professional ability, but that warrant officers should not advance to ensign grades because they had not enjoyed social advantages perviously. He urged the Secretary of the Navy to deny such promotions. Senator Allen’s Senate speech, represented in the cartoon in milder terms by the figure of Abraham Lincoln, used terms of approbation like “snobbish aristocracy,” “disgrace,” “conceited ass,” “a class of bejeweled aristocrats,” and “arrant coward”… all directed at the Naval hero Sampson. The “tea” reference in the cartoon suggests that men in Sampson’s class were effete. 

President Roosevelt kicks a “Sampson Schley controversy” toward the United States Capitol building. An alarmed “Miles fuss” cat looks on.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-04-10

George B. Cortelyou writes to Admiral Taylor and Commander Wainwright to inform them that President Roosevelt would like to know Admiral Sampson’s signal flag custom when leaving the blockading fleet and whether the New York was within signal distance when the Battle of Santiago de Cuba began.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-02-10

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt discusses battleship design elements and naval gunnery options with Richard Henry Dana and makes comparisons to British ships.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1897-05-08

President Roosevelt is looking into a dispute over the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish-American War. Credit for the victory is disputed and President Roosevelt believes that William Thomas Sampson was technically in command. Roosevelt thanks General Tracy for his assistance with the matter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-02-17

The Spanish navy was defeated at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish-American War, but credit for the victory was disputed between Admiral Sampson, who was technically in command but absent during the battle, and Admiral Schley, who led the fleet during the battle and was de facto in command since Sampson had left the fleet to attend a meeting. President Roosevelt believes that Sampson remained technically in command but that credit for the victory does not entirely rest on the technical commander.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-02-07

President Roosevelt will nominate Charles E. Clark for an unnamed position and thanks Clark for his help with the Sampson-Schley matter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-01-22

President Roosevelt is frustrated with the controversy involving General Miles and Admiral Schley. He believes that individuals involved on both sides have behaved poorly, but especially the people who support Schley. They simply will not listen to reason. Roosevelt feels that instead of court-martialing several men an “effort was made to make things pleasant for everybody.” No good has come of the situation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-12-31

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt shares with Representative Wilson that he heard from a cadet who attended the drill last spring that President William McKinley reviewed, who reports that the engineer cadets were in line. However, there appears to be a misunderstanding, as engineer cadets do not participate in such drills. He found the explanation for what happened regarding the story of William Thomas Sampson and the two men.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1897-09-17

This exhaustively illustrated account of the Spanish-American war seeks to present the official history of the war according to the United States War Records Office. It encompasses the events leading up to the war, the war itself, as well as its resolution and aftermath. While it mentions the various engagements taking place during the war, most of the focus is on Cuba and the action of the United States Navy and Army in fighting Spanish forces there in support of Cuban rebels. It additionally includes general information on the theaters of war, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.

Collection

Smithsonian

Creation Date

1900

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt informs H. C. Taylor that he will write to Cyrus Edwin Lothrop. He thinks the USS Yantic can be promised to the Naval Militia of the Lakes if the treaty does not prohibit it. Roosevelt will take the matter to the United States Department of State. He is glad that Taylor shares his views of the naval militia, which should be built up. Roosevelt talked to Secretary of the Navy John Davis Long about having Taylor and William Thomas Sampson test the USS Indiana and Iowa.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1897-05-04

James B. Martin examines the tumultuous relationship between Lieutenant General Nelson A. Miles and President Theodore Roosevelt during the first two years of Roosevelt’s administration. Martin details Miles’s impressive record as a field officer, earning the Medal of Honor during the Civil War, and he shows how he was not as well prepared to fight bureaucratic battles in Washington, D.C., as the Commanding General of the Army. Martin looks at the issues that caused a breach between Miles and Roosevelt, including Miles’s criticism of American actions in the Philippines. Martin covers the role played by Secretaries of War Russell A. Alger and Elihu Root, and he lays most of the blame for the Miles-Roosevelt dispute at the feet of Miles, but he does note that Roosevelt’s large ego and decision not to forcibly retire Miles contributed to the feud.

Photographs of Miles and Root appear in the article. An article box on page eleven notes that this issue of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal is dedicated to Oliver R. Grace.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Collection of newspaper clippings of articles, photographs, and maps showing some of the actors, naval vessels, and events making up parts of the Spanish-American war. Includes some handwritten notes and hand-colored photographs.

Collection

Dickinson State University

Creation Date

1898

The author discusses the implications of the rumors that, based on the engineers’ examinations of the debris, the USS Maine was blown up from the inside, not by “Spanish bravos,” as initially believed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-01-14

An English translation of a flattering article about President Roosevelt published by the Danish magazine Varden. Berthold De Linde describes his first encounter with President Roosevelt as an infantryman in the Spanish-American War. He then details Roosevelt’s life and accomplishments, from his time at Harvard to his ascendance to the presidency. De Linde particularly emphasizes Roosevelt’s strong moral character and tireless battle against corruption.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-15

In this Danish magazine sent to President Roosevelt by Ambassador Maurice Francis Egan, a profile of Roosevelt by Berthold de Linde appears on pages 14-22. The article details President Roosevelt’s life and accomplishments from his time at Harvard through becoming President. It particularly focuses on his strong moral character and good qualities.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-15

Summary of thirteen letters addressing the question of the distribution of water line belt armor on battleships in the United States Navy. Summarized letters include discussions between admirals, government reports, letters from the Bureau of Construction, and information from international sources.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-03