Washington Lee Capps (31 January 1864 – 31 May 1935) was an officer 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 ...

, who served during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

and

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 ...

. In the first years of the 20th century, he served as Constructor of the Navy and Chief of the

Bureau of Construction and Repair The Bureau of Construction and Repair (BuC&R) was the part of the United States Navy which from 1862 to 1940 was responsible for supervising the design, construction, conversion, procurement, maintenance, and repair of ships and other craft for the ...

, with responsibility for naval

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

Early life and career

Capps was born in

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

, 31 January 1864. He graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

in 1884. Upon graduation, he served in the

screw frigate Steam frigates (including screw frigates) and the smaller steam corvettes, steam sloops, steam gunboats and steam schooners, were steam-powered warships that were not meant to stand in the line of battle. There were some exceptions like for exam ...

for the two years of sea duty then customary prior to receiving his officer's commission. After becoming an ensign in 1886, Capps studied

naval architecture Naval architecture, or naval engineering, is an engineering discipline incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software and safety engineering as applied to the engineering design process, shipbuilding, maintenance, and o ...

at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

in Scotland. After returning to the United States in 1888, he was appointed Assistant Naval Constructor. He undertook brief duty at the

Navy Department Navy Department or Department of the Navy may refer to: * United States Department of the Navy, * Navy Department (Ministry of Defence), in the United Kingdom, 1964-1997 * Confederate States Department of the Navy, 1861-1865 * Department of the Na ...

, and was then assigned to William Cramp & Sons' shipyard in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Capps moved to the

New York Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a ...

in 1889 and remained there joining the

in 1892. Three years later he became the superintending constructor at the Union Iron Works in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. There, he supervised the construction of (Battleship No. 3), (Battleship No. 9), (Torpedo Boat No. 11), (Gunboat No. 15), and (Gunboat No. 14).

Spanish–American War and afterward

Later attached to the staff of Commodore George Dewey, commander of the Asiatic Squadron, Capps was present during the Battle of Manila Bay. After the capture of Manila, Capps had three of the Spanish warships salvaged and repaired. Upon his return to the United States, Capps spent two years with the Board of Inspection and Survey. He followed this with a tour of duty as the Head, Construction and Repair Department at the New York Navy Yard.

Constructor of the Navy / Chief of the Bureau of Construction and Repair

In 1903, Capps became Constructor of the Navy, as well as Chief of the Bureau of Construction and Repair, 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 ...

. He served in the position until 1910. During his tenure as Constructor of the Navy, the Bureau tested and adopted numerous new ideas in warship design. Among his notable innovations was the decision to mount

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

s' main batteries on the centerline, thereby increasing their broadside weight of metal to the maximum.

Other pre-World War I activities

Capps also served on a number of American and international committees which had been established for such purposes—among others—as improving the organization of the Navy and adopting new safety measures at sea to prevent a recurrence of disasters such as the sinking of the in April 1912.

World War I and post-war service

During World War I, Capps was senior member of the

Navy Compensation Board A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

, which oversaw the costs of the Navy's expanded ship-acquisition program. He also served as general manager of the United States Shipping Board Merchant Fleet Corporation. Forced by poor health to relinquish these duties for a time, Capps returned to his position on the Compensation Board, became the senior member of the Naval War Claims Board, and served on other boards and committees. Although placed on the retired list effective 31 January 1928, Capps continued on active duty until the day of his death at Washington, D.C., on 31 May 1935. He was buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

.Burial Detail: Capps, Washington L
– ANC Explorer

Namesakes

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the Navy honored Rear Admiral Capps by naming two vessels after him: 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 ...

, commissioned in 1942; and the Type P2-SE2-R1 transport , commissioned on 18 September 1944.

References

External links

* *
history.navy.mil – USS ''Admiral W.L. Capps'' (AP-121)
(see also the vessel's entry a

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capps, Washington Lee 1864 births 1935 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War I American military personnel of the Spanish–American War United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy rear admirals People from Portsmouth, Virginia Burials at Arlington National Cemetery