Sims, William Sowden, 1858-1936

Gunnery Lecture No. III.

Captain Percy Scott introduces a paper about training ranges and long-range firing by Lieutenant Commander William Sowden Sims. Scott believes the paper should be studied by officers interested in gunnery training and in towing targets. In the extracts from Sims’s paper, he addresses current misconceptions in teaching men to aim, as well as examining the proper methods of training. Sims believes it is important to train with firearms that are accurate, as well as to train men under circumstances that will test their skills and nerve. Sims concludes his paper with a summary of his points. He says, “You must first train your pointers always to aim accurately, then train your ‘ship’ to get the maximum results from their skill.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-21

Creator(s)

Scott, Percy, Sir, Bart., 1853-1924

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William H. Taft

President Roosevelt tells Secretary of War Taft of a recent report comparing army and navy fire control. He is concerned by the army’s “backwardness,” as evidenced by the report. Until recently, the navy showed a similar deficiency but has since improved, as can the army. Roosevelt requests Taft take up the issue.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-21

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Leslie M. Shaw

President Roosevelt is always pleased to hear from Leslie M. Shaw, and finds what the Japanese Vice Admiral says to be important. Roosevelt will have the navy look in to the matter again, but cannot do anything further: for one, the Admiral has not accepted any of the torpedoes, but also Roosevelt does not wish to “upset” naval personnel by continuously appealing to them on behalf of others.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-03

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Eugene Hale

President Roosevelt argues for the construction of two first-class battleships, describing the ways in which they are economically and tactically superior to other types of Navy vessels.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-11

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to George Edmund Foss

President Roosevelt argues for the construction of two first-class battleships, describing the ways in which they are economically and tactically superior to other types of Navy vessels.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-11

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Truman Handy Newberry

President Roosevelt writes to recognize the work of Commander William Sowden Sims, who has improved naval gunnery and military training in the course of his work as Inspector of Target Practice. Roosevelt makes clear that he will not seek to promote Sims against Navy regulation, however.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-27

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Cameron McRae Winslow

President Roosevelt is glad that Captain Winslow approves of him putting Admiral William Sowden Sims in command of a battleship, as Roosevelt feels that Sims has earned it. Roosevelt is interested in what Winslow says about the way he got his ammunition hoist in good shape.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-16

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Truman Handy Newberry

President Roosevelt directs Secretary of the Navy Newberry to attach to Admiral William Sowden Sims’s officer record a statement of all “the essential facts concerning the value of his services.” Roosevelt believes that Sims has done more than any other man for the improvements of the Navy’s efficiency in target practice, and wishes that his contributions to gunnery, ordnance, and construction be recorded.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-16

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Truman Handy Newberry

President Roosevelt thought over what Secretary of the Navy Newberry said about Admiral William Sowden Sims, and is obliged for the suggestion. When the captain of the Minnesota comes, Roosevelt will speak on the lines that Newberry suggests. Roosevelt encloses a letter that he thinks should be put in Sims’s record.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-16

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Truman Handy Newberry

President Roosevelt sends Secretary of the Navy Newberry an enclosed letter from Commander William Sowden Sims that commends Arthur Wallace Dunn’s account of the Navy’s target practice. Roosevelt would like this letter kept for reference in case Dunn wishes to observe the target practice again, as he was particularly good at giving an accurate description of it.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-11

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Truman Handy Newberry

President Roosevelt instructs Secretary of the Navy Newberry to assign Commander William Sowden Sims to the USS Minnesota.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-01-18

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Albert L. Key

President Roosevelt is confused and angered by the message Commander Key is trying to send about his opinion on the administration of the Navy, and cautions Key against disobeying his order. He takes exception with Key’s previous claim that Roosevelt has been misinformed regarding the Newport conference, and points out that the opinions of those Key identifies with are often proven to be wrong. Roosevelt is not yet certain whether there should be a court-martial placed on Key, but he claims it may be necessary to reduce any harm he may cause the Navy. Roosevelt also discusses the construction of a new type of naval ship he has been overseeing.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-01-08

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Truman Handy Newberry

President Roosevelt asks Acting Secretary of the Navy Newberry to send him reports from seagoing officers in addition to reports from W. L. Capps and the Bureau of Construction. While Roosevelt was convinced that William Sowden Sims, Albert L. Key, and Cameron McRae Winslow exaggerated the defects of battleships, Roosevelt is worried that there may still be some merit to their complaints.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-07-01

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Albert L. Key

President Roosevelt has read Lieutenant Commander Key’s reports with interest and thinks that Key, Cameron McRae Winslow, and William Sowden Sims have served well by calling attention to defects in the naval administration of the United States. In spite of this, however, Roosevelt thinks that some of the criticisms have been exaggerated and that the solutions Key has proposed may not work as well as he thinks. Roosevelt discusses the placement of armor belts on ships as one example of this. He also speaks about a proposed shift within the Navy that will give line officers more authority than they currently have and says that the suggested balance will actually accomplish very little and that what is required is more along the lines of a change in staff.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-26

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Victor Howard Metcalf

Following Secretary of the Navy Metcalf’s advice that he sent via William S. Cowles, President Roosevelt met with William Sowden Sims, and thinks it will be all right now. Roosevelt asks if Metcalf would keep Albert L. Key in town for several days, as there are some things Roosevelt would like to discuss with him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-09

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Elihu Root

President Roosevelt asks Secretary of State Root to review an enclosed memorandum from William Sowden Sims on the topic of Brazilian battleships. It looks as though the battleships may not go to Brazil, and Roosevelt wants to make sure that if that is the case they do not go to Japan.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-15

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frederick Dent Grant

Theodore Roosevelt thanks Frederick Dent Grant for his records, which he has forwarded on to William Sowden Sims. Roosevelt thanks Grant for sending him a demonstration of his troops ability.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-13

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Arthur Hamilton Lee

President Roosevelt sends a note from Captain William Sowden Sims. He asks that it be returned. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10-17

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Ethan Allen Hitchcock

President Roosevelt was thrilled by Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock’s telegram. While he is disappointed Winston Churchill was not nominated, he counts the narrow loss as a victory of “moral effect.” He has been reviewing the documents regarding the charges against Governor of Oklahoma Territory Frank C. Frantz and comments on the case’s various aspects.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-19

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte

President Roosevelt would like Secretary of the Navy Bonaparte to call the attention of anyone who has “made a special study of gunnery” to the enclosed article. The article, from Russian sources, gives an account of the battle of the Sea of Japan which suggests that the main cause of Russian defeat was Japan’s superiority in secondary battery fire.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-12-20

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919