Sumner Ely Wetmore Kittelle

Template:Template other Sumner Ely Wetmore Kittelle (June 14, 1867 – December 29, 1950) was an American naval officer who retired as a rear admiral in the United States Navy and served as the governor of the United States Virgin Islands from 1921 to 1922. He was a veteran of the Spanish–American War and World War I.

Early life

Sumner Ely Wetmore Kittelle was born in Peekskill, New York, on June 14, 1867,Template:Sfn to George Wetmore Kittelle and Marie Louise Greer.Template:Sfn He was baptized under the name Sumner Ely and later petitioned a court to add Wetmore to his name.Template:Sfn His maternal ancestors came to the United States from Denmark in 1751.Template:Sfn

U.S. Representative Abram Hewitt gave Kittelle an appointment to the United States Naval Academy, which he graduated from in 1889.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Prior to his appointment by Hewitt, Kittelle's mother had submitted him to the Columbia School of Mines .Template:Sfn He studied at the Naval War College from 1914 to 1917.Template:Sfn

Career

During the Spanish–American War Kittelle was a lieutenant junior gradeTemplate:Sfn and participated in the Battle of Guantánamo Bay.Template:Sfn He was promoted to captain on September 7, 1915,Template:Sfn and rear admiral on June 3, 1921.Template:Sfn After the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution Kittelle was placed in command of the Marietta and then Wheeling in the Gulf of Mexico.Template:Sfn

When the United States entered World War I Kittelle ordered the seizure of all German boats in the port of Boston. His ship, Georgia, was under the command of Henry T. Mayo as part of the Third Division of the United States Fleet during World War I. Kittelle escorted ships transporting American soldiers to France and was in the middle of the Atlatnic when the armistice was issued.Template:Sfn The Navy Cross was awarded to him for his service in World War I.Template:Sfn

President Warren G. Harding nominated Kittelle to succeed Joseph Wallace Oman as governor of the United States Virgin Islands.Template:Sfn He served as governor for two years.Template:Sfn Kittelle told Warren that in regards to the U.S. Virgin Islands that "above all the white element must remain in the lead and in supreme control."Template:Sfn

In 1929, Kittelle became president of the Board of Inspection and SurveyTemplate:Sfn and served until June 6, 1931, when George C. Day succeeded him. He retired from the military on July 1, 1931, due to his age.Template:Sfn

Personal life

Anna Lockwood, the daughter of Charles Dwight Sigsbee, married Kittelle on March 22, 1897,Template:Sfn and the couple had six childrenTemplate:Sfn before her death on May 9, 1942.Template:Sfn He married Elizabeth Clift Rodenbaugh on July 7, 1943.Template:Sfn He died in Washington, D.C. on December 29, 1950.Template:Sfn

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