William Swift William Swift ( March 17 , 1848 — June 30 , 1919 ) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy , and briefly the Naval Governor of Guam in 1901 . He was court - martialed in 1907 for the grounding of the battleship , and briefly suspended from duty . In 1910 , he headed the aptly named Swift Board which reorganized the Department of the Navy prior to World War I . Early life and career . Swift was born in Windham , Connecticut , and entered the Navy with the rank of midshipman on 25 September 1863 , graduating from the United States Naval Academy in June 1867 . He was promoted to ensign on 18 December 1868 , then to master on 21 March 1870 , lieutenant on 21 March 1871 , lieutenant commander on 24 October 1889 , and commander on 6 April 1897 . Swift served as Executive Officer aboard the battleship in 1896 under Robley " Fighting Bob " Evans . During the Spanish - American War , he was the Inspector of Ordnance in the New York Naval Yard , with a rank of commander . On May 28 , 1900 , he was given command of the auxiliary cruiser . On April 6 , he was transferred to command of the gunboat . In May 1901 , he was transferred again , this time to the gunboat , then transferred to command of in June . While commanding " Yorktown " in the Pacific , he was briefly appointed as Governor of Guam to allow then - Governor Seaton Schroeder to return to Washington , D . C . to testify in the Schley Inquiry . Swift served in this capacity from early August to early October 1901 , before resuming command of " Yorktown " . On June 25 , 1902 , Swift was promoted to captain and subsequently assigned to the General Board of the Navy . In that role , he was responsible for inspecting naval yards and shipbuilding efforts on the Atlantic coast . He was also chairman of the Board ' s Committee on the Fleet . He subsequently was appointed to the Joint Board of the Army and Navy . Grounding of USS " Connecticut " . On September 30 , 1906 , Swift was given command of the battleship , then the largest warship in the fleet , on her maiden voyage . The ship sailed on its first mission to Cuba in January 1907 , but was immediately recalled to New York after an outbreak of typhoid fever among the crew . Immediately after setting out again , the " Connecticut " ran aground at Culebra , Puerto Rico . According to the " Washington Post " , Swift acted against the advice of his navigator and ordered the ship to pass on the wrong side of a navigational buoy and caused it to strike a shoal . ( Also according to the " Post " , he claimed that the " sun was in his eyes " . ) He was court martial ed on March 26 , 1907 , and found guilty of dereliction of duty . He was suspended from duty for a year , later remitted to nine months , but was allowed to return to shore duty after six months . He was subsequently appointed as Commandant of the Charlestown Navy Yard near Boston , Massachusetts on November 8 , 1907 . Later career . Despite his court martial , Swift was promoted to rear admiral on January 30 , 1908 . Swift retired on March 17 , 1908 , but acted as an adviser to the Secretary on navy yard and industrial affairs . In December 1909 , he was assigned to the Naval Bureau of Materials and was appointed by Secretary of the Navy George von Lengerke Meyer to head the so - called " Swift Board " to reorganize the Department of the Navy . Admiral Swift died at the Naval Hospital in Newport , Rhode Island on June 30 , 1919 , and was buried in his home town of Richfield Springs , New York .