Montgomery M . Taylor Montgomery Meigs Taylor ( October 13 , 1869 – October 21 , 1952 ) was an admiral in the United States Navy from 1890 to 1933 . He fought in the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish - American War , and later commanded the Control Fleet and the Scouting Fleet . He served as Commander in Chief of the United States Asiatic Fleet from 1931 to 1933 . Early life . Taylor was born on October 13 , 1869 , in Washington , D . C . , to Joseph Hancock and Mary Meigs Taylor . He was born in the house of his grandfather , Montgomery C . Meigs , Quartermaster General of the United States Army during the American Civil War , for whom he was also named . His grand - uncle was President Zachary Taylor . His brother was John R . M . Taylor , later a colonel in the United States Army during the Philippine – American War . Taylor grew up in Washington , where he attended public school . Naval career . Early assignments . He was appointed to the United States Naval Academy in 1886 , where he was an outstanding halfback on the first football team to be fielded by the school . He graduated in 1890 , and was to have trained aboard the but it was wrecked before he could join it . He spent the next two years being shunted from the to the and finally to the . He was appointed an ensign in 1892 , and his first assignment was aboard the . He also served short stints about the , , and . Taylor was next assigned to the . He traveled to Shanghai , China , via commercial steamer and joined the ship in the summer of 1900 . The " Yorktown " was ordered back to the United States on September 10 , 1900 . Taylor disembarked at Nagasaki , Japan , and joined the , Admiral George Dewey ' s flagship , in September 1897 . During the Spanish - American War , Taylor served as a battery commander aboard the " Olympia " and took part in the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1 , 1898 . Taylor was commissioned a Lieutenant after the " Olympia ' s " return to the U . S . in 1899 . Taylor was assigned to the " USS Chesapeake " in November 1899 for the ship ' s sea trials , but after a month was ordered to leave the ship and proceed to Washington , D . C . , for coursework in modern armament . In February 1900 , he successfully applied for sea duty in the Pacific . Over the next few years , Taylor served on several ships : He was promoted to lieutenant commander on July 1 , 1905 , and to commander on March 4 , 1911 . Rise in the ranks . After 21 years at sea , Taylor received his first land assignment . He was appointed aide to the Commandant of the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1911 , and served there until 1913 . He was given command of the in 1913 , serving until 1915 . The " Buffalo " cruised through the Caribbean Sea and along the west coast of Central America before being ordered to Alaska . While in port at Kodiak , Taylor learned that World War I had broken out in Europe . From 1915 to 1916 , Commander Taylor attended the Naval War College . In the event of a national emergency , he would report to the as its commanding officer . After graduating in 1916 , he was promoted to captain on August 16 and given command of the battleship . In 1917 , during World War I , Taylor was assigned duties in the Office of Naval Operations at the Navy Department . He took command of the in 1918 . The " Florida " operated in cooperation with the Grand Fleet ( as the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom was known during World War I ) , and Taylor received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for this service . Taylor was assigned to the staff of the Naval War College from 1919 to 1921 . In June 1922 he was assigned commander of the Fifteenth Naval District and the Naval Operating Base at Coco Solo in the Panama Canal Zone . Taylor returned to the U . S . in 1923 and was appointed a member of the Naval Examining and Retiring Board in the Department of the Navy . In June , he was appointed commander of the Control Fleet , a unit consisting of submarines , destroyers , and Marine Corps units designed to control sea lanes after they had been cleared of enemy forces by the Navy Battle Fleet . Admiralty . Taylor was promoted to Rear Admiral on October 1 , 1922 . He was director of fleet training from 1925 to 1927 , and afterward commanded the 3d Battleship Division of the Battle Fleet . The was his flagship . During fleet exercises in August 1927 , he was informally reprimanded by his superior , Admiral Henry A . Wiley ( Commander - in - Chief , United States Fleet ) , for launching planes from aircraft carriers after confronting an enemy rather than using his ships ' superior speed to escape . In September 1927 , Taylor made Joseph J . Clark ( later an admiral himself who played a significant role in the Battle of the Philippine Sea ) his division chief of staff . Taylor was given command of the Scouting Fleet on March 30 , 1926 . The Scouting Fleet , based in the Atlantic Ocean , was an operational step down for Taylor . Although it contained two divisions of battleships , these were some of the Navy ' s oldest battleships , and the Scouting Fleet primarily consisted of cruiser and destroyer divisions . The old aircraft carrier was also attached to the Scouting Fleet for aircraft training purposes . Taylor ' s job was to train the Scouting Fleet for scouting missions . He was promoted to vice admiral in the summer of 1928 . Taylor ' s command of the Scouting Fleet ended on March 8 , 1929 . He was succeeded by Rear Admiral William Carey Cole . Taylor was named chief of the War Plans Division of the Office of Naval Operations . Although energetic , deeply interested in Asia and the Pacific region , and a student of blockades and invasions , Taylor contributed little to war planning in these crucial years . According to naval historian Edward S . Miller , Taylor believed that Japan ( a rising naval power in the Pacific ) " deserved " American friendship , and that Japanese attempts to control Manchuria were a positive development . Naval historian Robert Love agrees , noting that Taylor deeply distrusted the Chinese and believed the Nationalist Government unwilling to defend its own territory . During this period , Taylor became good friends with Japanese Admiral Kichisaburo Nomura . While serving in the War Plans office , Taylor was appointed to the navy board assigned with selecting officers for promotion to admiral , commander , and captain . He also was appointed to the board of inquiry into comments made by Major General Smedley Butler ( USMC ) about an alleged crime committed by Benito Mussolini . Butler retired before the board finished its work . Command of the Asiatic Fleet . Taylor was promoted to Admiral and appointed Commander - in - Chief of the Asiatic Fleet ( CICAF ) on April 2 , 1931 . His command became effective September 1 , 1931 . He won the position based on a reputation for quick thinking and making decisions without waiting for approval by superiors . His chief of staff was Captain Frank Jack Fletcher ( a future admiral who would successfully lead fleets in the Battle of the Coral Sea and Battle of Midway ) . Admiral Taylor believed that the role of the United States Navy in the Far East was " sitting tight " and not getting involved . He openly counseled American non - intervention in the Japanese invasion of Manchuria ( which began on September 19 , 1931 ) and believed that Japan could not be convinced to give up her war - won possessions on the mainland without coercion . Nonetheless , he acted decisively to ensure that the United States was positioned to intervene if necessary . The Asiatic Fleet was based in Manila in The Philippines . After the Mukden Incident , Taylor dispatched four fast destroyers to Shanghai without orders . He then ordered ( again without approval from superiors ) a troop of U . S . Marines to board his remaining ships so that the Asiatic Fleet had a ground force to use as well . As he prepared to sail , only then did U . S . Fleet Admiral William V . Pratt order him to proceed to Shanghai . Taylor ' s tenure as commander of the Asiatic Fleet was a tumultuous one . On February 24 , Taylor helped Italy and China avoid an international incident . An artillery shell from the mainland hit the Italian Navy ship " Libia " , leading the Italians to threaten retaliation . Taylor convinced the Italians that , in the absence of any intentional shelling , they should consider the matter closed . His advice was taken , and Admiral Pratt publicly praised him for his quick thinking . On March 5 , 1932 , Taylor joined a joint British , French , and Italian committee sponsored by the League of Nations to investigate the war between China and Japan . The Asiatic Fleet returned to Manila in late March 1932 . In May 1933 , Taylor ordered the Asiatic Fleet to make a goodwill tour of Japan . He was cordially received by Emperor Hirohito . Admiral Taylor became nationally known for his tact and diplomacy in dealing with the Japanese . Nonetheless , he stepped down as CINCAF on August 18 , 1933 . His successor was Admiral Frank B . Upham . Retirement and death . Montgomery M . Taylor retired from the U . S . Navy due to age restrictions on November 1 , 1933 . Retirement did not end Taylor ' s public service , however . He was appointed to serve on the United States Maritime Commission on September 26 , 1936 , replacing Admiral Harry G . Hamlet . He remained on the commission until 1938 , and then resigned . Thomas M . Woodward was appointed to fulfill the remainder of Taylor ' s term , which was due to end on September 26 , 1939 . Taylor never married . After a lengthy illness , he died at Bethesda Naval Medical Center of a stroke on October 21 , 1952 . He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery . Awards and decorations . His awards and medals included the Dewey Medal , Spanish Campaign Medal , Philippine Campaign Medal , World War I Victory Medal , and the Navy Distinguished Service Medal .