William Michael Crose

{{short description|United States naval officer}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = William Michael Crose | honorific_suffix = | image = William Michael Crose.jpg | image_size = 200px | alt = Black-and-white frontal headshot of man with small glasses and a neatly trimmed mustache. The edge of a Navy uniform is around his neck. | caption = | office = [[Governor of American Samoa]] | term_start = November 10, 1910 | term_end = March 14, 1913 | lieutenant = | president = [[William Howard Taft]] | predecessor = [[John Frederick Parker (Navy)|John Frederick Parker]] | successor = [[Nathan Woodworth Post]] | birth_date = February 9, 1867 | birth_place = [[Greencastle, Indiana]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1929|04|04|1867|02|09}} | death_place = [[San Diego, California]] | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | birth_name = | alma_mater = [[United States Naval Academy]] | occupation = Naval officer | signature = | signature_alt =  | nickname = | allegiance = {{flag|United States|1912}} | branch = {{nowrap|[[File:United States Department of the Navy Seal.svg|30px|United States Navy Seal]]}} [[United States Navy]] | service_years = | rank = [[File:US-O6 insignia.svg|20px]] [[Captain (United States)#U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Public Health Service, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|Captain]] | unit = | commands = [[USS North Dakota (BB-29)]]<br/>[[USS Princeton (PG-13)]] | battles = | awards = [[Navy Cross (United States)|Navy Cross]] }}

'''William Michael Crose''' (February 8, 1867 – April 4, 1929) was a [[United States Navy]] [[Captain (United States)#U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Public Health Service, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|Captain]] and the seventh [[List of governors of American Samoa|Naval Governor of American Samoa]], from November 10, 1910, to March 14, 1913. He was the first person designated "Governor of [[American Samoa]]", rather than the previous "Governor of [[Tutuila]]".<ref>Government of American Samoa (2008), 2.</ref>

==Life and career==

===Early life=== Crose was born in [[Greencastle, Indiana]], on February 8, 1867.<ref name=AS>Government of American Samoa (2009).</ref> He was appointed to the [[United States Naval Academy]] on May 19, 1884, and graduated in 1888.<ref name=Hamersly/>

===Naval career=== The [[United States Department of the Navy]] awarded Crose the [[Navy Cross (United States)|Navy Cross]] for "exceptionally meritorious service in a duty of great responsibility as Commanding Officer of the [[U.S.S. NORTH DAKOTA]] in the Atlantic Fleet, during [[World War I]]."<ref>Military Times (2009).</ref> On July 1, 1890, Crose was commissioned into the United States Navy as an [[Ensign (rank)#United States|ensign]]. On May 10, 1898, he became a [[lieutenant (junior grade)]], and a [[Lieutenant#Naval rank|lieutenant]] on March 3, 1898. He was stationed on {{USS|Galena|1880|6}} in 1888, {{USS|Marion|1839|6}} in 1890, the Naval [[Hydrographic office]] in 1894, {{USS|Pinta|1864|6}} in 1895, {{USS|Wheeling|PG-14|6}} the same year, the [[United States Navy bureau system|Bureau of Equipment]] in 1898, and {{USS|Kentucky|BB-6|6}} in 1900.<ref name=Hamersly>Hamersly (1902), 307.</ref>

==Governorship== On November 10, 1910, Crose relieved [[Captain (United States)#US Navy, US Coast Guard, US Public Health Service, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|Captain]] [[John Frederick Parker (Navy)|John Frederick Parker]] of command of [[United States Naval Station Tutuila]], becoming the seventh Naval Governor of American Samoa.<ref name=AS/> While Governor, Crose appointed a board of education, composed of a naval chaplain, a naval assistant surgeon, and the wife of a local school teacher.<ref name=AS/> He also pushed for the renaming of the island Naval Post, claiming the name Tutuila was inadequate, as the territory contained additional islands other than Tutuila, and recommending a new name of either "American Samoa" or "Eastern Samoa", a wish he expressed to the [[Secretary of the Navy]] in a 1911 letter. On July 17, 1911, the island was officially designated "[[American Samoa]]", and President of the United States [[William Howard Taft]] recommissioned Crose as "Governor of American Samoa", rather than "Governor of Tutuila" on October 24, 1912.<ref name=AS/>

In 1910, approximately nine miles of new roads were constructed in Tutuila and eight and a half miles of existing roads were repaired. Several bridges were reinforced using Australian hardwood, and dynamite was employed to blast passages through coral reefs, transforming the island's traditional boat routes. Despite these efforts, U.S. Navy officials remained dissatisfied with the overall pace of infrastructure development. In 1911, Crose remarked that “there are no roads in Tutuila which would be dignified by that name in the United States,” attributing this situation to Samoans’ reluctance to engage in road construction without full compensation. In response, Crose instituted measures in October 1911 requiring Samoan villages to supply labor for road projects. For roads deemed to have “public utility,” the naval administration agreed to cover half of the labor costs and to provide materials for blasting and bridge building. In cases where roads were considered to have only “local importance,” the government offered construction materials alone. Samoans who refused to participate in such projects could be fined at double the daily wage for each day of noncompliance or face four days of imprisonment. As incarcerated individuals could be legally compelled to work, this policy effectively introduced a system of [[forced labor]].<ref>Droessler, Holger (2022). ''Coconut Colonialism: Workers and the Globalization of Samoa''. [[Harvard University Press]]. Pages 148-149. ISBN 9780674263338.</ref>

Crose also amended laws on firearms, [[perjury]], road maintenance, and importation of animals. On March 14, 1913, Crose transferred command to [[Nathan Woodworth Post]].<ref name=AS/>

==Post-governorship== Crose died in San Diego on April 4, 1929, and was buried at sea.

==Notes== {{reflist}}

==References== {{refbegin}} *{{cite web|url=http://americansamoa.gov/governors/crose.htm|title=Commander William Michael Crose: November 10, 1910 – March 14, 1913|year=2009|publisher=[[Politics of American Samoa#Government|Government of American Samoa]]|access-date=October 4, 2009}} *{{cite book|last=Hamersly|first=Lewis Randolph|title=The Records of Living Officers of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps: With a History of Naval Operations During the Rebellion of 1861–5, and a List of the Ships and Officers Participating in the Great Battles|publisher=J.M. Carroll|year=1902|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qv1BAAAAYAAJ&q=%22William+Michael+Crose%22&pg=PA307|access-date=October 4, 2009}} *{{cite journal|date=February 22, 2008|title=Historical Notes|journal=Tapuitea: Official American Samoa Government Weekly Newsletter|publisher=[[Politics of American Samoa#Government|Government of American Samoa]]|volume=III|issue=8|url=http://www.americansamoa.gov/tap08/Tapuitea080222.pdf|access-date=October 4, 2009}} *{{cite news|url=http://militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=9303|title=William Crose|year=2009|work=Military times|publisher=[[Army Times Publishing Company]]|access-date=October 4, 2009}} {{refend}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crose, William Michael}} [[Category:1867 births]] [[Category:1929 deaths]] [[Category:People from Greencastle, Indiana]] [[Category:Military personnel from Indiana]] [[Category:United States Naval Academy alumni]] [[Category:United States Navy officers]] [[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War I]] [[Category:Governors of American Samoa]] [[Category:Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States)]] [[Category:Burials at sea]]