William McCarty Little, Father of American Wargaming 1846 - 1915

" William McCarty Little (1846 - 1915) served the Naval War College for thirty years and made a lasting contribution. A lieutenant who had lost the sight of one eye, he had been forced to leave active service. He offered his unpaid services as a volunteer staff member to Admiral Luce in the first year of operation and established the College's first small library. He introduced war gaming to the College in 1886 and went on to become the College's and the U.S. Navy's first expert in naval war gaming. In 1903, Congress recognized his unparalleled contributions to the Naval War College by a special act that promoted him from lieutenant to captain and permanently assigned him to the faculty of the Naval War College. He remained on the faculty continuing to develop naval war gaming until he retired in January 1915. McCarty Little Hall was named in his honor in 1999.”

The above appeared in "Faces of the Naval War College: An Illustrated Catalogue of the U.S. Naval War College's Collection of Portrait Paintings and Busts", John B. Hattendorf, page 57, 2009.  On-line at: http://www.usnwc.edu/getattachment/3581d895-4206-4719-9ba5-904f28667f0c/Face

(Last Updated 6 June 2011.)

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