Winfield Scott Schley

"Some fight, eh, Jack?"

- Schley, to Captain John Philip

Winfield Scott Schley was a US Navy officer who served in the American Civil War and Spanish-American War, best known for his taking direct command of the US fleet at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba, with his direct superior William T. Sampson being ashore at a meeting with Army General William Shafter at the time of the battle. The battle became known for a subsequent controversy over whether Sampson or Schley would take credit for the victory.

Schley was born in 1839 and graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1860. Soon after, the American Civil War broke out, and served on various ships during the war, most notably taking part in the capture of Port Hudson, Lousiana as part of the Vicksburg campaign. After the war, Schley would serve in the San Salvador intervention of 1866 and the Korean Expedition of 1871. After these operations, he would serve in various commands until the Spanish American War was declared in 1898, where he would reach the rank of commodore and ended up a second-in-command of the Flying Squadron of the US Navy, consisting of various battleships, cruisers, and armed yachts, under Rear Admiral William T Sampson.

During the Battle of Santiago de Cuba on July 3rd,1898, Sampson was away on shore at a meeting with Army General William Shafter, so Schley was in command of the Flying Squadron in his absence. During the battle, Schley led the US fleet against the four cruiser and two destroyers of Spanish admiral Pascuel Cevera. Schley’s ships destroyed the Spanish squadron before Sampson was able to return from the meeting ashore. When Sampson returned, however, he sent a telegram taking credit for the victory without mentioning Schley. While Sampson was responsible for the ship position and some of the planning of the battle, Schley was in command for the actual battle.

This led to a controversy over whether Sampson or Schley should take credit for the battle practically divided the Navy into pro-Sampson and pro-Schley camps. This controversy led to a court of inquiry, where Sampson accused Schley of cowardice and ineptitude in his actions in the lead up to and during the battle, claiming he would have been court martialed had he not won the battle. The court of inquiry eventually found Schley had made several errors, however, due to the length of time elapsed, charges were dropped. The news media and the public sided with Schley, viewing Sampson as having taken credit for the battle and pressed the charges against Schley out of professional envy. In 1899, Schley was promoted to rear admiral, and he retired in 1902. Schley died in 1911 at age 71 and was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.