Editing William E. Chandler (section)

===Secretary of Navy===
Chandler, a Half-Breed and ally of [[James G. Blaine]],<ref name=garfieldandarthur/> was appointed by President [[Chester A. Arthur]] as Secretary of the Navy in 1882.  He took charge in 1883 in planning for the rescue of Lt. [[Adolphus Greely]]'s [[Henry W. Howgate#Lady Frankling Bay Expedition|Lady Franklin Bay Expedition]]. Chandler served until 1885. Chandler also began U.S. naval resurgence modernizing the navy with the production of steel ships.

====U.S. Naval resurgence====
[[File:Chicago (protected). Port bow, 1891 - NARA - 512893.jpg|thumb|180px|right|{{center|''USS Chicago''}}]]
Chandler took office during the momentous turning point of the U.S. Navy. Both President Arthur, in his 1881 annual address, and Chandler, in his 1882 annual report, believed that the U.S. Navy, as a premier fighting force, was extinct. In fact, the U.S. Navy's top warship was the [[USS Tennessee (1865)|''USS Tennessee'']], a wooden vessel that weighed 4,840 tons. The U.S. had refrained from modernizing its navy, as other nations had done. {{sfn|Paxson|1943|p=617}} By contrast, the British Navy had laid down the first all-steel warship, [[HMS Iris (1877)|HMS ''Iris'']], in 1875.

On August 5, 1882, during Chandler's first year of office, Congress authorized the building of two modern steel cruizers. On March 3, 1883, Congress authorized the funding for these vessels and for two more steel vessels. Under Chandler's direction plans were drawn up and keels laid for the [[USS Chicago (1885)|''USS Chicago'']], [[USS Boston (1884)|''USS Boston'']], [[USS Atlanta (1884)|''USS Atlanta'']], and the despatch ship [[USS Dolphin (PG-24)|''USS Dolphin'']], collectively known as the ''ABCDs''.{{sfn|Paxson|1943|p=617}} The warships were to be constructed by the John Roach Company. The new ships and their armament were to be built in the United States at a pace that American resources could supply, rather than be built by a foreign country. {{sfn|Paxson|1943|p=617}} However, several years elapsed before shipyards and foundries would be ready to construct cruizers and battleships.{{sfn|Paxson|1943|p=617}} One ship, the ''USS Chicago'', was still built with antiquated boilers over brick furnaces and furnished with sailing equipment, in addition to steam power.{{sfn|Paxson|1943|p=617}} Although Chandler was charged with favoritism in the construction of the ''USS Dolphin'', he established the precedent for a modern navy made of steel ships. {{sfn|Paxson|1943|p=617}}

====Greely polar expedition rescue (1884)====
{{further|Lady Franklin Bay Expedition}}
[[File:111-SC-96236 (21832311119).jpg|thumb|right|170px|Six Greely polar expedition survivors. The honor of the U.S. Navy saved.]]
By 1883, the ill-fated crew of the U.S. Army 1881 [[Adolphus Greely|Greely]] scientific polar expedition was stranded at [[Fort Conger]] on Lady Franklin Bay. On July 7, 1881, the Greely crew had left [[Newfoundland Colony|New Foundland]], headed northward on the private whaling ship the ''Proteus''. In August 1881, the crew arrived at Lady Franklin Bay without incident or blockage from ice flows. However, after the ''Proteus'' dropped off the men and ample provisions, the ship immediately departed and left the expedition to fend for themselves. The men built Fort Conger as a place of refuge and scientific study. Two U.S. supply efforts, in 1882 and 1883, to reach the Greely party, ended in dismal failure.<ref name="Jampoler 2010">[[#Jampoler (August 2010)|Jampoler (August 2010)]]</ref> The first, on July 8, 1882, led by [[William Sully Beebe|William Beebe]], on the private steamship ''Neptune'', left St. John's, but was trapped by ice and forced to turn around. On June 29, 1883, the second left St. John's, with two ships, the ''Proteus'', commanded by First Lieutenant [[Ernest Garlington]], U.S. 7th Cavalry, and the steam gunboat [[USS Yantic (IX-32)|USS ''Yantic'']]. The ''Proteus'' was crushed by an ice pack, whose stranded crew was rescued by the USS ''Yantic''. Afterward, Garlington abandoned the mission to save Greely and the crew at Fort Conger.<ref name="Jampoler 2010"/>

On September 1, 1883, with no relief in sight, Greely and his party left the safety of Fort Conger on small boats, over rough ice-capped waters, and made a permanent base, Camp Clay, at Cape Sabine, on [[Pim Island]], off the eastern shores of the Johan Peninsula, [[Ellesmere Island]], where rations had been placed by the British a few years earlier. However, an attempt by two of Greely's men failed to retrieve the vital food cache over a long distance. Without food or [[Game (hunting)|game]], the men began to slowly starve to death.<ref name="Todd 1960">[[#Todd (June 1960)|Todd (June 1960)]]</ref><ref name="Jampoler 2010"/> On December 17, 1883, President Arthur established a joint Army-Navy commission to make recommendations to Secretary of War Lincoln and Secretary of Navy Chandler on how to rescue the Greely party. Secretary Lincoln had no interest in participating in the Greely rescue.<ref name="Jampoler 2010"/> Chandler, however, was determined to accomplish a successful rescue of Greely and to restore the honor of the U.S. Navy. Chandler assigned Commander [[Winfield Schley]] to command the 1884 Greely Relief Mission. Chandler spared no expense in the rescue effort and had purchased one of the finest sealers afloat, the [[USS Bear|USS ''Bear'']], from Scottish owner Walter Grieve, for $100,000. This was done without authority, prior to the passage of the Greely relief bill.<ref name="Todd 1960"/><ref name="Jampoler 2010"/>

Chandler vigorously demanded that all of his subordinates in the Naval Department be committed to the relief of the Greely expedition and he drew support from Navy officers. On July 17, 1884, after rescuing the Greely party, Schley arrived at [[St. John's, New Foundland|Saint John's]], [[Newfoundland (island)|New Foundland]] and telegraphed to Chandler that the rescue operation was successful. Of the seven rescued, Joseph Elison died on July 8 following multiple amputations. Evidence suggested that the men had survived through [[Human cannibalism|cannibalism]], which they denied.<ref name="Jampoler 2010"/>