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Benjamin McCandlish

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Commodore
Benjamin McCandlish
36th Naval Governor of Guam
In office
March 27, 1936 – February 8, 1938
Preceded byGeorge A. Alexander
Succeeded byJames Thomas Alexander
Personal details
Born
Benjamin Vaughan McCandlish

(1886-06-03)June 3, 1886
Petersburg, Virginia
DiedOctober 16, 1975(1975-10-16) (aged 89)
Darlington, South Carolina
Resting placeBlandford Cemetery, Petersburg, Virginia
Nationality United States
Spouse(s)Margherita Wood McCandlish, Louise Sligh Brown
Military career
Allegiance United States
Service / branchUnited States Navy Seal United States Navy
RankU.S. Navy Commodore
AwardsNavy Cross, Legion of Merit

Benjamin Vaughan McCandlish (June 3, 1886 – October 16, 1975) was a United States Navy flag officer who served as the 36th Naval Governor of Guam and was a recipient of the Navy Cross.

Early life

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On June 3, 1886, McCandlish was born in Petersburg, Virginia. McCandlish was the fifth of six children of James Gray McCandlish (1854-1899) and Lelia Jane (nee Vaughan) McCandlish (1856-1937). McCandlish's siblings include, Elsie Gray McCandlish, Walter Taliaferro McCandlish, Lelia Vaughan 'Dee Dee' McCandlish, James Gray McCandlish, Jr. and Sarah Ellen 'Sadie' McCandlish.[1]

Education

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In 1909, McCandlish earned a degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1909.[2]

Career

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As an ensign, McCandlish served aboard USS New York, an armored cruiser that was renamed USS Saratoga in 1911.[3]

During World War I, on August 25, 1918, McCandlish commanded USS Davis, a Sampson-class destroyer, during its mission to escort troops to Europe through waters infested by German U-boats, until August 6, 1919. For his actions, he received the Navy Cross as a lieutenant commander.[4] McCandlish commanded a number of different-class vessels during the 1920s and 1930s until 12 August 1938, when he assumed his last seagoing command. On August 12, 1938, McCandlish became the first captain of USS Boise, a Brooklyn-class cruiser. In February 1939, following a shakedown cruise to Monrovia, Liberia; and Cape Town, Union of South Africa, McCandlish's Boise joined Division 9, Cruisers, Battle Force, at San Pedro, California. On December 4, 1941, Boise arrived at Manila, Philippine Islands.[5][6]

Governor of Guam

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McCandlish served as Naval Governor of Guam from March 27, 1936, to February 8, 1938.[7] Along with others in the U.S. Naval Command, he placed emphasis on basic hygiene education for the island's children, often in a dictatorial manner resented by some Chamorro.[8] He discouraged a mission of the Guam Congress to the federal government, instead instructing them to look toward the numerous welfare agencies he had set up on the island. The Congress sent the mission regardless, and ceased to accept funds from the Navy.[9]

World War II service

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In 1940, prior to World War II, Capt. McCandlish was selected to serve as Captain of the Norfolk Navy Yard in Portsmouth, Virginia, was promoted to flag rank as Commodore (pay grade 0-7) in April 1943, and commanded the Moroccan Sea Frontier from October 13, 1943, to August 1, 1945.[10]

Personal life

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On June 12, 1914, in Manila, Philippine Islands, McCandlish married Margarita Wilson Wood (1892–1954).[11][12]

On August 25, 1954, McCandlish's wife Margherita Wood McCandlish died in a hospital in Hartsville, South Carolina. McCandlish is interred at Blandford Cemetery in Petersburg, Virginia.[11]

In Darlington, South Carolina, McCandlish married Louise Sligh Brown (Maiden, 1904–1988), former wife of Gustave Waldeck Sligh [13] He retired as a commodore,[2] settled in Darlington, became a well-known society figure.

On 16 October 1975, McCandlish died in Darlington, South Carolina. McCandlish is interred at Blandford Cemetery in Petersburg, Virginia.[14][15]

McCandlish's sister Elsie Gray McCandlish married F.A. Miller.[16]

Awards

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"The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Vaughan McCandlish, United States Navy, for distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. DAVIS. engaged in the important, exacting, and hazardous duty of patrolling the waters infested with enemy submarines and mines, in escorting and protecting vitally important convoys of troops, and supplies through these waters, and in offensive and defensive action, vigorously and unremittingly prosecuted against all forms of enemy naval activity during World War I."[17]

References

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  1. ^ Friedman, Ofir (November 22, 2014). "Benjamin Vaughan McCandlish". geni.com. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Benjamin Vaughan McCandlish". Military Times. Gannett Government Media. 2011. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  3. ^ Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps. Vol. 1914. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1914. p. 50. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  4. ^ "Davis II (Destroyer No. 65) 1916-1934". navy.mil. 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  5. ^ "NavSource Online: Cruiser Photo Archive - USS BOISE (CL 47)". navsource.org. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  6. ^ "Boise I (CL-47)". navy.mil. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  7. ^ "Naval Era Governors of Guam". Guampedia. Guam: University of Guam. 10 August 2010. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  8. ^ Hattori, Anne Perez (2004). Colonial Dis-ease: US Navy Health Policies and the Chamorros of Guam, 1898-1941. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. p. 178. ISBN 9780824828080. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  9. ^ Maga, Timothy (July 1985). "Democracy and Defence: The Case of Guam, U.S.A., 1918-1941". The Journal of Pacific History. 20 (3). Taylor & Francis: 167–168. doi:10.1080/00223348508572517.
  10. ^ Cressman, Robert (2000). The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. p. 349. ISBN 1-55750-149-1. Retrieved 18 May 2011. mccandlish.
  11. ^ a b "Mrs. M. W. McCandlish". The Progress-Index. August 26, 1954. p. 13. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  12. ^ "Personal Matters". Army and Navy Register. June 13, 1914. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  13. ^ "Louise Sligh in the 1940 Census". ancestry.com. 1940. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  14. ^ "Deceased: BENJAMIN MCCANDLISH (COMMODORE)". archive.is petersburg-va.org. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  15. ^ "Blandford Cemetery, Petersburg, Virginia". interment.net. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  16. ^ Lineage Book - National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Volumes 61-62. Daughters of the American Revolution. 1922. p. 47. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  17. ^ "Benjamin Vaughan McCandlish". militarytimes.com. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
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Military offices
Preceded by Naval Governor of Guam
1936–1938 		Succeeded by
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