Taussig entered the Naval Academy in 1895. As a midshipman, he served on the flagship, the armored cruiser New York (ACR-2), during the Battle of Santiago in the Spanish-American War. Following his graduation he was assigned to cruiser Newark (C-1) and participated in the Allied Peking Relief Expedition during the Boxer Rebellion. In July 1916, after serving in battleships, cruisers, destroyers, and on staffs afloat, Taussig took command of Division 8, Destroyer Force, the first group of American destroyers sent abroad during World War I. After crossing the storm and gale filled Atlantic, CDR Taussig was asked by the Commander in Chief of the Coasts of Ireland when he would be ready for sea. Taussig replied in the now famous words; “We are ready now, Sir.” He received the Distinguished Service Medal for World War I service. After the war, he continued to serve the Navy at home and abroad. In 1922, his ship, the protected cruiser Cleveland (CL-21), rendered assistance to the victims of an earthquake and tidal wave in Chile. He served at the Naval War College from 1923 to 1926, and also saw duty in the Bureau of Navigation, as Assistant Chief of Naval Operations, and as Commandant, 5th Naval District, in addition to commanding a battleship division and cruiser scouting force. In April, 1940, RADM Taussig testified before the US Senate Naval Affairs Committee that war with Japan was inevitable. Vice Admiral Taussig retired in 1941, but was recalled to active duty in 1943 to serve in the office of the Secretary of the Navy until 1 June 1947, only a few months before his death 29 October 1947.
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