1), he landed from that ship at Kingston, Jamaica, in January 1907 and was cited by his commanding officer for his efficient work in a rescue party during fires resulting from an earthquake there.
Returning to the United States in the spring of 1918, he was assigned duty assisting in the fitting out of USS Orizaba (ID-1536) and became the ship's first executive officer when that transport was commissioned.
Williamson then worked closely with the ship's commanding officer, Captain R. Drace White—another ordnance expert—in developing a workable depth-charge thrower for use on board transports, in the hope of providing them with some measure of protection of their own.
Williamson fired the gun, but a defective fuse caused the depth charge to explode prematurely, killing him instantly.
[2] Another descendant of Confederate Chief Engineer William Price Williamson is Admiral Dennis C. Blair, United States Navy (Ret.