Samuel McGowan (1 September 1870 – 11 November 1934) was an admiral of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Early life

McGowan, born at

Laurens, South Carolina Laurens is a city in Laurens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 9,139 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Laurens County. History Located in upstate South Carolina, the city of Laurens is named after Henry Laure ...

, on 1 September 1870, he attended

Wofford College Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It was founded in 1854. The campus is a national arboretum and one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the America ...

, Class of 1889, where he was a member of the

Chi Phi Fraternity Chi Phi () is considered by some as the oldest American men's college social fraternity that was established as the result of the merger of three separate organizations that were each known as Chi Phi. The earliest of these organizations was for ...

. He also was a Charter Member of the Tau Chapter of the Chi Phi Fraternity at the University of South Carolina in 1889.

Military service

He was later commissioned assistant paymaster 15 March 1894. He became Fleet Paymaster for the US Atlantic Fleet, 1908–1910, acquiring that position in San Francisco when the fleet, later known as the Great White Fleet, was at that port of call during its 1907-1909 round-the-world cruise. It is believed that $800,000 (1909 face value) US Navy funds that were lost aboard RMS ''Republic'' when that vessel sank in 1909 were requisitioned by Fleet Paymaster McGowan. The funds were to be delivered to the Fleet at Gibraltar. On 1 July 1914, he was appointed Paymaster General and Chief of the

Bureau of Supplies and Accounts The Bureau of Supplies and Accounts (BuSandA) was the United States Navy's supply organization between 1892 and 1966. Established in 1842 as the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing, the bureau was responsible for the procurement, receipt, storage, s ...

with the rank of

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

. Holding that office until his retirement in 1920, he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

for the preparation and execution of plans to maintain the fleets during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Following his military career he became the first Highway Commissioner of South Carolina. He did not drive but managed to travel the world three times over.

Death

He died 11 November 1934 at Laurens.

Namesake

In 1943, the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

was named in his honor. McGowan Road at the

Naval Support Activity Mechanicsburg Naval Support Activity Mechanicsburg is an naval supply depot just outside of Mechanicsburg in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Largely industrial, and home to over 150 warehouses containing of storage space and other buildings, it is the headqu ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McGowan, Samuel 1870 births 1934 deaths United States Navy admirals United States Navy personnel of World War I People from Laurens, South Carolina Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Wofford College alumni University of South Carolina alumni