# Benjamin McCandlish

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**Benjamin Vaughan McCandlish** (June 3, 1886 – October 16, 1975) was a [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy) [flag officer](/source/Flag_officer) who served as the 36th [Naval Governor of Guam](/source/Naval_Governor_of_Guam) and was a recipient of the [Navy Cross](/source/Navy_Cross_(United_States)).

## Early life and education

On June 3, 1886, McCandlish was born in [Petersburg, Virginia](/source/Petersburg,_Virginia). In 1909, McCandlish earned a degree from the [United States Naval Academy](/source/United_States_Naval_Academy) in 1909.[1]

## Career

### Naval service

As an [ensign](/source/Ensign_(rank)), McCandlish served aboard [USS *New York*](/source/USS_New_York_(ACR-2)), an [armored cruiser](/source/Armored_cruiser) that was renamed USS *Saratoga* in 1911.[2]

During [World War I](/source/World_War_I), on August 25, 1918, McCandlish commanded [USS *Davis*](/source/USS_Davis_(DD-65)), a [*Sampson*-class destroyer](/source/Sampson-class_destroyer), during its mission to escort troops to Europe through waters infested by German [U-boats](/source/U-boat), until August 6, 1919. For his actions, he received the [Navy Cross](/source/Navy_Cross_(United_States)) as a [lieutenant commander](/source/Lieutenant_commander_(United_States)).[3] 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*](/source/USS_Boise_(CL-47)), a [*Brooklyn*-class cruiser](/source/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](/source/Manila), [Philippine Islands](/source/Philippines).[4][5]

### Governor of Guam

McCandlish served as [Naval Governor of Guam](/source/Naval_Governor_of_Guam) from March 27, 1936, to February 8, 1938.[6] 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.[7] He discouraged a mission of the [Guam Congress](/source/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.[8]

### World War II service

In 1940, prior to [World War II](/source/World_War_II), Capt. McCandlish was selected to serve as Captain of the [Norfolk Navy Yard](/source/Norfolk_Navy_Yard) in [Portsmouth, Virginia](/source/Portsmouth,_Virginia), was promoted to flag rank as [Commodore](/source/Commodore_(United_States)) (pay grade 0-7) in April 1943, and commanded the Moroccan [Sea Frontier](/source/Sea_Frontier) from October 13, 1943, to August 1, 1945.[9]

## Personal life

On June 12, 1914, in [Manila](/source/Manila), Philippine Islands, McCandlish married [Margarita Wilson Wood](/source/Margherita_Wood_McCandlish).[10][11]

On August 25, 1954, McCandlish's wife [Margherita Wood McCandlish](/source/Margherita_Wood_McCandlish) died in a hospital in [Hartsville, South Carolina](/source/Hartsville,_South_Carolina). McCandlish is interred at [Blandford Cemetery](/source/Blandford_Cemetery) in [Petersburg, Virginia](/source/Petersburg,_Virginia).[10]

In [Darlington, South Carolina](/source/Darlington,_South_Carolina), McCandlish married Louise Sligh Brown (Maiden, 1904–1988), former wife of Gustave Waldeck Sligh [12] He retired as a commodore,[1] settled in Darlington, became a well-known society figure.

On 16 October 1975, McCandlish died in [Darlington, South Carolina](/source/Darlington,_South_Carolina). McCandlish is interred at [Blandford Cemetery](/source/Blandford_Cemetery) in Petersburg, Virginia.[13][14]

McCandlish's sister Elsie Gray McCandlish married F.A. Miller.[15]

## Awards

- [Navy Cross](/source/Navy_Cross)
- [Legion of Merit](/source/Legion_of_Merit)

### Navy Cross Citation

"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."[16]

## References

1. ["Benjamin Vaughan McCandlish"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120826171037/http://militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=9787). *Military Times*. [Gannett Government Media](/source/Gannett_Government_Media). 2011. Archived from [the original](http://militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=9787) on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2011.

1. [*Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps*](https://books.google.com/books?id=ih8PAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Benjamin+Vaughan+McCandlish%22&pg=PA50). Vol. 1914. [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington,_D.C.): [United States Government Printing Office](/source/United_States_Government_Printing_Office). 1914. p. 50. Retrieved 18 May 2011.

1. ["Davis II (Destroyer No. 65) 1916-1934"](https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/d/davis-ii.html). *navy.mil*. 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2021.

1. ["NavSource Online: Cruiser Photo Archive - USS BOISE (CL 47)"](http://www.navsource.net/archives/04/047/04047.htm). *NavSource*. Retrieved November 11, 2021.

1. ["Boise I (CL-47)"](https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/b/boise-i.html). *navy.mil*. Retrieved November 11, 2021.

1. ["Naval Era Governors of Guam"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110711134857/http://guampedia.com/naval-era-governors-of-guam/). *Guampedia*. [Guam](/source/Guam): [University of Guam](/source/University_of_Guam). 10 August 2010. Archived from [the original](http://guampedia.com/naval-era-governors-of-guam/) on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2011.

1. Hattori, Anne Perez (2004). [*Colonial Dis-ease: US Navy Health Policies and the Chamorros of Guam, 1898-1941*](https://books.google.com/books?id=i84sQCC-unkC&q=%22Benjamin+McCandlish%22&pg=PA178). [Honolulu](/source/Honolulu): [University of Hawaii Press](/source/University_of_Hawaii_Press). p. 178. ISBN 9780824828080. Retrieved 18 May 2011.

1. Maga, Timothy (July 1985). "Democracy and Defence: The Case of Guam, U.S.A., 1918-1941". *The Journal of Pacific History*. **20** (3): 167–168. [Taylor & Francis](/source/Taylor_%26_Francis). [doi:10.1080/00223348508572517](https://doi.org/10.1080/00223348508572517)

1. Cressman, Robert (2000). [*The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II*](https://archive.org/details/TheOfficialChronologyOfTheUSNavyInWorldWarII). [Annapolis, Maryland](/source/Annapolis,_Maryland): [Naval Institute Press](/source/Naval_Institute_Press). p. [349](https://archive.org/details/TheOfficialChronologyOfTheUSNavyInWorldWarII/page/n348). ISBN 1-55750-149-1. Retrieved 18 May 2011. mccandlish.

1. ["Mrs. M. W. McCandlish"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/10545834/mrs-margherita-wood-mccandlish-d/). The Progress-Index. August 26, 1954. p. 13. Retrieved November 11, 2021.

1. ["Personal Matters"](https://books.google.com/books?id=mVM-AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PA753). Army and Navy Register. June 13, 1914. Retrieved November 11, 2021.

1. ["Louise Sligh in the 1940 Census"](https://www.ancestry.com/1940-census/usa/South-Carolina/Louise-Sligh_4t3y93). *ancestry.com*. 1940. Retrieved November 15, 2021.

1. ["Deceased: BENJAMIN MCCANDLISH (COMMODORE)"](https://archive.today/20130415162148/http://www.petersburg-va.org/blandford/detail.asp?search=25821). *archive.is petersburg-va.org*. Archived from [the original](http://www.petersburg-va.org/blandford/detail.asp?search=25821) on 15 April 2013. Retrieved November 10, 2021.

1. ["Blandford Cemetery, Petersburg, Virginia"](http://www.interment.net/data/us/va/petersburg/blandford-cemetery-records-m.htm). *interment.net*. Retrieved November 11, 2021.

1. [*Lineage Book - National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Volumes 61-62*](https://books.google.com/books?id=7HgZAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA47). Daughters of the American Revolution. 1922. p. 47. Retrieved November 15, 2021.

1. ["Benjamin Vaughan McCandlish"](https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/9787). *militarytimes.com*. Retrieved November 11, 2021.

## External links

- [Benjamin Vaughan McCandlish at ourcampaigns.com](https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=108854)
- [Benjamin Vaughan McCandlish at findagrave.com](https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/28497545/benjamin-vaughan-mccandlish)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Benjamin McCandlish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_McCandlish) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_McCandlish?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.