page_title: Louis R. de Steiguer
section_title: Legacy
hierarchical_section_title: Louis R. de Steiguer / Legacy
caption_attribution_description: English: Inspection visit to Naval ROTC Unit at U.C. Berkeley (1927). ADM Louis R. de Steiguer, Commander in Chief, Battle Fleet; William Wallace Campbell, President, U.C. Berkeley; RADM Harris Laning, Chief of Staff, Battle Fleet; COL R.O. Van Horn, Army ROTC Unit; CAPT William D. Puleston, Asst Chief of Staff, Battle Fleet; CAPT Chester Nimitz, Naval ROTC Unit.
context_page_description: Admiral Louis Rodolph de Steiguer was an officer in the U.S. Navy. He was Commander of the U.S. Battle Fleet from 1927 to 1928.
context_section_description: He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his World War I service as chief of staff of the Third Naval District and as captain of the Arkansas. The oceanographic research ship USNS De Steiguer is named for him. He became a member of the Ohio University chapter of Phi Delta Theta in 1887.
  De Steiguer was a legendary disciplinarian and martinet. His flag secretary, future four-star admiral and chief of naval operations Robert B. Carney, described de Steiguer as a tremendously ambitious man with a "lousy disposition". Captains of other ships in the division would consult Carney to gauge de Steiguer's mood before approaching him. Carney recalled his own association with de Steiguer as fraught with "constant pressure, irascibility, criticism, and unpleasantness". Carney eventually marched into de Steiguer's cabin, snapped, "Admiral, I just want to tell you I think you are a goddamn rotten son of a bitch," and stormed out. After failing to retrieve Carney via Marine orderly, de Steiguer visited Carney's cabin in person, said, "Sonny, you've been working too hard. You and I are going ashore," and took Carney on an epic drinking binge. Carney ultimately concluded that his three years with de Steiguer had been a valuable experience, but not one he would have chosen to repeat.
  De Steiguer died in Washington D.C. on April 20, 1947. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery with his wife, the former Katharine Constable. They had no children. His funeral instructions made two requests of his former flag secretary: that Carney lead the funeral cortege, and that he have de Steiguer buried with his hindquarters facing the Pentagon. Carney honored both requests.
caption: de Steiguer (far left) as Commander in Chief, Battle Fleet, on inspection tour of Naval ROTC Unit at U.C. Berkeley, 1927. CAPT Chester W. Nimitz, USN is at extreme right.
exif: {}