Montgomery Meigs Taylor (13 October 1869 – 21 October 1952) was an admiral in the United States Navy. He served in the Navy from 1890 to 1933, fought in the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War in 1898, and later commanded the Control Fleet and the Scouting Fleet. He served as commander-in-chief of the United States Asiatic Fleet from 1931 to 1933.
Early life Taylor was born on October 13, 1869, in Washington, D.C., to Joseph Hancock and Mary Meigs Taylor."Meigs, Montgomery Taylor", in The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, p. 533. He was born in the house of his grandfather, Montgomery C. Meigs, Quartermaster General of the United States Army during the American Civil War, for whom he was also named. His grand-uncle was President Zachary Taylor."Admiral M. Taylor Dies of Stroke." New York Times. October 22, 1952. His brother was John R. M. Taylor, an officer in the United States Army during the Philippine–American War.
Taylor grew up in Washington, D.C., where he attended public school."Adm. Taylor Dies; Served With Dewey." Washington Post. October 22, 1952.
Naval career Early assignments
Taylor was appointed in 1886 to the United States Naval Academy, where he was an outstanding halfback on the first football team the school fielded."Quick Thinking Won Taylor Asiatic Post." Daily Boston Globe. February 1, 1932, p. 5. He graduated in 1890, and was to have trained aboard the armed steamer , but she was wrecked before he could join her. He spent the next two years aboard the screw sloop , the screw sloop , and finally the protected cruiser . He was appointed an ensign in 1892, and his first assignment was aboard the protected cruiser . He also served short stints aboard the screw sloops and and the steamer .
Taylor was next assigned to the gunboat . He traveled to Shanghai, China, via commercial steamer and joined the ship in the summer of 1900. Yorktown was ordered back to the United States on 10 September 1900. Taylor disembarked at Nagasaki, Japan, and joined the protected cruiser , Admiral George Dewey's flagship, in September 1897.
During the Spanish–American War of 1898, Taylor served as a battery commander aboard OlympiaRentfrow, Frank H. "Admiral Taylor Served on Dewey's Ship at Manila Bay." Washington Post. April 7, 1935.Meigs, p. 308. and took part in the Battle of Manila Bay on 1 May 1898. Taylor received a promotion to lieutenant after Olympia returned to the United States in 1899.
Taylor was assigned to the full-rigged ship USS Chesapeake in November 1899 for the ship's sea trials, but after a month was ordered to leave the ship and proceed to Washington, D.C., for coursework in modern armament. In February 1900, he successfully applied for sea duty in the Pacific. Over the next few years, Taylor served on several ships:
Commanding officer, from March 1900 to 1902 during the Philippine–American War.Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers..., 1902, p. 28, accessed 2013-01-20. Commanding officer, gunboat , from 1903 to 1905. Commanding officer, tender Commanding officer, 2nd Torpedo Flotilla, United States Atlantic Fleet, from 1905 to 1906. Commanding officer, receiving ship , from 1906 to 1908. Executive officer, scout cruiser , from 1908 to 1909. Executive officer, protected cruiser , from 1909 to 1910. Commanding officer, gunboat , from 1910 to 1911.
Talor was promoted to lieutenant commander on 1 July 1905 and to commander on 4 March 1911.
Rise in the ranks
After 21 years at sea, Taylor received his first land assignment. He was appointed aide to the commandant of the Brooklyn Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, in 1911, and served there until 1913. He was given command of the auxiliary cruiser in 1913, serving until 1915."Taylor, Montgomery Meigs", in Who Was Who in American History, the Military, p. 577. Buffalo cruised through the Caribbean Sea and along the west coast of Central America before being ordered to Alaska. While in port at Kodiak, Alaska, Taylor learned that World War I had broken out in Europe in 1914.
From 1915 to 1916, Taylor attended the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, with orders to report to the armored cruiser to serve as her commanding officer in the event of a national emergency."Roster of Officers Aids Preparedness." New York Times. February 27, 1916. After graduating in 1916, he was promoted to captain on 16 August 1916 and given command of the battleship .
After the United States entered World War I in 1917, Taylor was assigned duties in the Office of Naval Operations at the United States Department of the Navy."Adm. Montgomery Meigs Taylor, USN-Ret." Army, Navy, Air Force Journal. 90:245 (November 1, 1952). He took command of the battleship in 1918. Florida operated in cooperation with the British Grand Fleet during the war, and Taylor received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for this service.
Taylor was assigned to the staff of the Naval War College from 1919General Register of the Navy and Marine Corps of the United States, 1920, p. 12, accessed 2013-01-20. to 1921. In June 1922Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and of the Marine Corps to January 1, 1922, 1922, p. 12–13, accessed 2013-01-20. he became commander of the 15th Naval District and of the Naval Operating Base at Coco Solo in the Panama Canal Zone.
Taylor returned to the United States in 1923 and was appointed a member of the Naval Examining and Retiring Board in the Department of the Navy. In June 1923,"Scout Fleet Head Ordered to Hawaii." New York Times. April 18, 1923. he was appointed commander of the Control Fleet, a unit consisting of submarines, destroyers, and Marine Corps units designed to control sea lanes after they had been cleared of enemy forces by the Navy Battle Fleet.Felker, p. 98; Nofi, p. 110.
Admiralty Taylor was promoted to rear admiral on 1 October 1922. He was director of fleet training from 1925 to 1927, and afterward commanded the 3rd Battleship Division of the Battle Fleet, with the battleship as his flagship. During fleet exercises in August 1927, he received an informal reprimand from his superior, Admiral Henry A. Wiley, (Commander-in-Chief, United States Fleet), for launching planes from aircraft carriers after confronting an enemy rather than using his ships' superior speed to escape.Felker, p. 50. In September 1927, Taylor made Joseph J. Clark (later an admiral himself who played a significant role in the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944) his division chief of staff.Reynolds, p. 75.
Taylor was given command of the Scouting Fleet on 30 March 1926."De Steiguer Is Made Naval Chief Here." New York Times. March 31, 1928. The Scouting Fleet, based in the Atlantic Ocean, was an operational step down for Taylor. Although it contained two divisions of battleships, these were some of the Navy's oldest battleships, and the Scouting Fleet primarily consisted of cruiser and destroyer divisions. The old aircraft carrier was also attached to the Scouting Fleet for aircraft training purposes. Taylor's job was to train the Scouting Fleet for scouting missions.Coletta, p. 637. He was promoted to vice admiral in the summer of 1928.
Taylor's command of the Scouting Fleet ended on March 8, 1929. He was succeeded by Rear Admiral William Carey Cole. Taylor was named chief of the War Plans Division of the Office of Naval Operations."Pratt to Succeed to Fleet Command." New York Times. March 9, 1929. Although energetic, deeply interested in Asia and the Pacific region, and a student of blockades and invasions, Taylor contributed little to war planning in these crucial years. According to naval historian Edward S. Miller, Taylor believed that Japan (a rising naval power in the Pacific) "deserved" American friendship, and that Japanese attempts to control Manchuria were a positive development.Miller, p. 137. Naval historian Robert Love agrees, noting that Taylor deeply distrusted the Chinese and believed the Nationalist Government unwilling to defend its own territory.Love, p. 577. During this period, Taylor became good friends with Japanese Admiral Kichisaburo Nomura.Jordan, p. 91. While serving in the War Plans office, Taylor was appointed to the navy board assigned with selecting officers for promotion to admiral, commander, and captain."Selection Board Named." New York Times. March 22, 1929. He also was appointed to the board of inquiry into comments made by Major General Smedley Butler (USMC) about an alleged crime committed by Benito Mussolini."Butler 'Forgotten', Mussolini Cables." New York Times. January 31, 1931; Folliard, Edward T. "Six Admirals and Retired Major General to Hear Case." Washington Post. January 31, 1931. Butler retired before the board finished its work.
Command of the Asiatic Fleet
Taylor was promoted to admiral and appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Asiatic Fleet (CICAF) on April 2, 1931."Schofield Assigned to Command Fleet." New York Times. April 3, 1931; "Naval Officer Is to Take Admiral Chase's Place in September." Washington Post. April 3, 1931. His command became effective September 1, 1931.Kehn, p. 40."Taylor Takes Command of U.S. Asiatic Fleet." Washington Post. September 2, 1931. He won the position based on a reputation for quick thinking and making decisions without waiting for approval by superiors. His chief of staff was Captain Frank Jack Fletcher (a future admiral who would successfully lead fleets in the Battle of the Coral Sea and Battle of Midway).Lundstrom, p. 4. Admiral Taylor believed that the role of the United States Navy in the Far East was "sitting tight" and not getting involved. He openly counseled American non-intervention in the Japanese invasion of Manchuria (which began on September 19, 1931)Howarth, pp. 351-352. and believed that Japan could not be convinced to give up her war-won possessions on the mainland without coercion.Stein, p. 32. Nonetheless, he acted decisively to ensure that the United States was positioned to intervene if necessary. The Asiatic Fleet was based in Manila in the Philippines. After the Mukden Incident, Taylor dispatched four fast destroyers to Shanghai without orders. He then ordered (again without approval from superiors) a troop of U.S. Marines to board his remaining ships so that the Asiatic Fleet had a ground force to use as well. As he prepared to sail, only then did U.S. Fleet Admiral William V. Pratt order him to proceed to Shanghai."8 Warships Poised for Shanghai Dash." Washington Post. January 30, 1932; "3 Destroyers Quit Manila for China." Washington Post. February 1, 1932; "Chief of U.S. Asiatic Fleet Once Again Uses Initiative." Washington Post. February 1, 1932.
Taylor's tenure as commander-in-chief of the Asiatic Fleet was a tumultuous one. On February 24, 1932, Taylor helped Italy and China avoid an international incident. An artillery shell from the mainland hit the Italian Navy ship Libia, leading the Italians to threaten retaliation. Taylor convinced the Italians that, in the absence of any intentional shelling, they should consider the matter closed. His advice was taken, and Admiral Pratt publicly praised him for his quick thinking."Sino-Italian Incident Averted." New York Times. February 25, 1932. On March 5, 1932, Taylor joined a joint British, French, and Italian committee sponsored by the League of Nations to investigate the war between China and Japan."League War Inquiry Is Joined By Taylor." New York Times. March 6, 1932; Horan, Harold J.T. "U.S. to Cooperate in Shanghai Peace." Washington Post. March 6, 1932. The Asiatic Fleet returned to Manila in late March 1932."15 U.S. Craft Ordered Back From Shanghai." Washington Post. March 21, 1932. In May 1933, Taylor ordered the Asiatic Fleet to make a goodwill tour of Japan."Navy Good-Will Trip to Japan Is Planned." New York Times. May 17, 1933. He was cordially received by Emperor Hirohito."Japanese Emperor Receives Chief of Our Asiatic Fleet." New York Times. June 5, 1933.