Rear Admiral French Ensor Chadwick, USN (February 28, 1844-January 27, 1919) was a United States Navy officer who became prominent in the naval reform movement of the post-Civil War era. He was particularly noted for his contributions to naval education, and served as president of the Naval War College from 1900-1903.

A native of Morgantown, West Virginia, he attended the United States Naval Academy from 1861-1864. During the Civil War years, the Academy was relocated from Annapolis, Maryland to Newport, Rhode Island, due to concerns about secessionist sympathy in Maryland, a border state.

Major sea commands included the gunboat USS Yorktown, commissioned in 1889. He served in the Spanish-American War, fighting at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba, and as commander of the South Atlantic Squadron he played a major part in the Perdicaris incident of 1904 in Morocco.

He was also a noted historian who wrote several published books, including a noted work on The Causes of the Civil War.

He was portrayed by Roy Jenson in the film The Wind and the Lion (1975).

External links

• Register of French Ensor Chadwick Papers, Naval War College - Includes a biographical sketch