Edward H. Watson

Edward Howe Watson (February 28, 1874 – January 7, 1942) was a career United States Navy officer, who led a squadron of destroyers aground off Point Honda on the California coast in 1923.

Watson was born in Frankfort, Kentucky, a son of U.S. Navy Commander John Crittendon Watson. He married Hermine Cary Gratz, whose half sister, Helen Gratz, married Godfrey S. Rockefeller of Greenwich, Connecticut.

Watson graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in June 1895 and served on several ships during the rest of the decade, including Spanish–American War service on board the cruiser USS Detroit. He commanded the storeship USS Celtic in 1912–13, then attended the Naval War College. Watson also saw duty as Executive Officer of the battleship USS Utah and as Commanding Officer of the gunboat USS Wheeling.

During World War I, Watson was in command of the battleship USS Alabama, receiving the Navy Cross. In March 1919, he became U.S. Naval Attaché in Japan, remaining in that post until May 1922. In July of that year, he took command of Destroyer Squadron 11, based on the West Coast.

On September 8, 1923, dead reckoning navigation errors on Watson's flagship led seven of his squadron's destroyers to ground on the rocky coast at Honda Point, California, a loss that came to be known as the Honda Point Disaster. Watson was court martialed for his role.

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