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Contact Info
Home Town Washington DC
Last Address BURIED AT: SECTION 1 SITE 2 EH ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
Date of Passing Oct 21, 1952
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Montgomery Meigs Taylor
Admiral, United States Navy
The son of Joseph Hancock and Mary Meigs Taylor the brother of John Rodgers Meigs Taylor and the grandson of Montgomery Cunningham Meigs, he was born in Washington, D.C. on October 13, 1869. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1890.
He was appointed an Ensign, July 1, 1892; Lieutenant (jg), March 3, 1899 and thereafter promoted through the grades to Rear Admiral, October 1, 1922.
He served on the USS Olympia during the Spanish-American War in 1898; commanded the USS Hopkins, 1903-05; the 2nd Torpedo Flotilla, 1905-06; the receiving ship USS Wabash, 1906-08; Executive Officer, USS Salem, 1908-09; USS Milwaukee, 1909-10; commanding USS Petrel, 1910-11; aide to Commandant, Navy Yard, New York City, 1911-13; commander, USS Buffalo, 1913-15; USS Baltimore, 1914; at the Naval War College, 1915-16; appointed commander USS Maine, June 27, 1916. Commanding, USS Florida, 1918-19; staff of the Naval War College, 1919-21; assigned as Commander, Control Force, 1923; Director of Fleet Training and commander of Divers in the Battle Fleet, 1930. He retired from the Navy on November 1, 1936.
His medals included the Manila Bay Medal, Spanish-American War, Philippines Campaign Medal, World War I Victory Medal, Distinguished Service Medal.
Note: During WWI the Distinguished Service Medal was the highest medal the Navy awarded. The Navy Cross and Distinguished Service Medal switched levels of status at the beginning of WWII.
Other Comments:
Awards and Citations Navy Distinguished Service Medal
Awarded for actions during World War I
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Distinguished Service Medal to Captain M. M. Taylor, United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious service in a duty of great responsibility as Commanding Officer of the USS MAINE in the Atlantic Fleet during World War I.
General Orders: Authority: Navy Book of Distinguished Service Action Date: World War I Service: Navy Rank: Captain Company: Commanding Officer Division: USS Maine
Spanish-American War
From Month/Year
April / 1898
To Month/Year
August / 1898
Description The Spanish–American War (Spanish: Guerra hispano-estadounidense or Guerra hispano-americana; Filipino: Digmaang Espanyol-Amerikano) was a conflict fought between Spain and the United States in 1898. Hostilities began in the aftermath of the internal explosion of the USS Maine in Havana harbor in Cuba leading to United States intervention in the Cuban War of Independence. American acquisition of Spain's Pacific possessions led to its involvement in the Philippine Revolution and ultimately in the Philippine–American War.
Revolts had been occurring for some years in Cuba against Spanish rule. The U.S. later backed these revolts upon entering the Spanish–American War. There had been war scares before, as in the Virginius Affair in 1873. In the late 1890s, US public opinion was agitated by anti-Spanish propaganda led by newspaper publishers such as Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst which used yellow journalism to call for war. The business community across the United States had just recovered from a deep depression, and feared that a war would reverse the gains. They lobbied vigorously against going to war.
The US Navy battleship Maine was mysteriously sunk in Havana harbor; political pressures from the Democratic Party pushed the administration of Republican President William McKinley into a war that he had wished to avoid.[9] Spain promised time and time again that it would reform, but never delivered. The United States sent an ultimatum to Spain demanding that it surrender control of Cuba. First Madrid declared war, and Washington then followed suit.
The main issue was Cuban independence; the ten-week war was fought in both the Caribbean and the Pacific. US naval power proved decisive, allowing expeditionary forces to disembark in Cuba against a Spanish garrison already facing nationwide Cuban insurgent attacks and further wasted by yellow fever. Numerically superior Cuban, Philippine, and US forces obtained the surrender of Santiago de Cuba and Manila despite the good performance of some Spanish infantry units and fierce fighting for positions such as San Juan Hill. Madrid sued for peace with two obsolete Spanish squadrons sunk in Santiago de Cuba and Manila Bay and a third, more modern fleet recalled home to protect the Spanish coasts.
The result was the 1898 Treaty of Paris, negotiated on terms favorable to the US which allowed it temporary control of Cuba and ceded ownership of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippine islands. The cession of the Philippines involved payment of $20 million ($575,760,000 today) to Spain by the US to cover infrastructure owned by Spain.
The defeat and collapse of the Spanish Empire was a profound shock to Spain's national psyche, and provoked a thorough philosophical and artistic revaluation of Spanish society known as the Generation of '98.[ The United States gained several island possessions spanning the globe and a rancorous new debate over the wisdom of expansionism. It was one of only five US wars (against a total of eleven sovereign states) to have been formally declared by Congress.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
April / 1898
To Month/Year
August / 1898
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories During the Spanish-American War, Taylor served as a battery commander aboard the USS Olympia (C-6), Admiral George Dewey's flagship, and took part in the Battle of Manila Bay.