Rodgers was born in
Washington, D.C., on 20 December 1849, the son of Christopher Raymond Perry Rodgers and the former Julia Slidell. He entered the
United States Naval Academy on 25 July 1864 and graduated in 1868. He served aboard the
frigate ,
flagship of the
South Atlantic Squadron, from 1868 to 1869, was appointed as an
ensign in 1869, and then served aboard the
screw frigate , flagship of the
European Station, from 1869 to 1871. He was promoted to
master in 1870 while aboard
Franklin. His next assignment was from 1871 to 1872 aboard the
sloop-of-war , and he was promoted to
lieutenant in 1872. Rodgers returned to the U.S. Naval Academy as an instructor from 1873 to 1876. He then went back to sea, serving aboard the flagship of the
Pacific Squadron, the
screw steamship , from 1876 to 1879. He performed another tour as a Naval Academy instructor from 1879 to 1882, teaching
astronomy and
navigation, then served in the
North Atlantic Squadron aboard the screw frigate from 1882 to 1884. He then began an assignment in the
Bureau of Navigation. Rodgers succeeded Lieutenant
Theodorus B.M. Mason in April 1885 as the second Chief Intelligence Officer of the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), and while serving in that capacity he fostered closer ties between ONI and the
United States Department of State, as they shared a mutual interest in
Panama,
Samoa, and the
Kingdom of Hawaii. His tenure was also marked by ONIs first forays in
cryptography, and he further encouraged research into new advances in naval technology through U.S.
naval attachés, as well as keeping a close watch over
European colonial interests in
South America. In 1890, the year after his departure from ONI, the Navy transferred ONI from the
Bureau of Navigation to the office of the
United States Secretary of the Navy, which increased the demand on ONI for information, and despite Rodgerss efforts to make improvements during his tour, a weakness in its gathering of
intelligence would be revealed in the
Spanish–American War of 1898. After leaving ONI in 1889, Rodgers served until 1892 aboard the
protected cruiser , which at the time was the flagship of the
Squadron of Evolution. From October 1892 until 1897, he served consecutively as U.S.
naval attaché to
France in
Paris, to the
Russian Empire in
Saint Petersburg, and to
Spain in
Madrid, and was promoted to
lieutenant commander in July 1894. Rodgers reported aboard the
battleship in June 1897 as her
executive officer. Aboard
Iowa, he saw action in the Spanish–American War of 1898, participating in the
bombardment of San Juan,
Puerto Rico, on 12 May 1898 and the
blockade of the
Cuban port of
Santiago de Cuba. For his "imminent and conspicuous conduct" in the
Battle of Santiago de Cuba, in which U.S. Navy forces destroyed the
Spanish Navy squadron of
Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete on 3 July 1898, he advanced five numbers in grade. Rodgers was promoted to
commander on 3 March 1899. He commanded the
gunboat from 1899 to 1900, operating in the
West Indies and the
Philippine Islands – where
Nashville provided gunfire support to American troops fighting against Filipino insurgents during the
Philippine–American War – and off
China during the
Boxer Rebellion. In 1901, he became aide to
Admiral George Dewey, who was serving as President of the
General Board of the United States Navy at the time. Late in 1901, Rodgers assumed duties at the
New York Navy Yard in
Brooklyn,
New York. Promoted to
captain in 1903, Rodgers spent two years as
commanding officer of the battleship in the North Atlantic Fleet. Rodgers was reappointed Chief Intelligence Officer and returned to ONI in April 1906, succeeding
Commander Seaton Schroeder, and was promoted to rear admiral on 4 July 1908. Rodgers in turn was succeeded at ONI by Captain
Charles E. Vreeland in May 1909. He then spent the summer of 1909 in
Europe, visiting the
United Kingdom, the
German Empire,
France, and
Italy to study their navies organizational concepts and methods of operation and bring home information that could support anticipated United States Navy reforms in those areas. On 6 October 1909, Rodgers became
President of the Naval War College in
Newport, Rhode Island; he also became Commandant of
Naval Station Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, that month. At the time, the college participated actively in U.S. Navy war planning. Acting on a suggestion by Captain
William Ledyard Rodgers – who had learned it at the
United States Army War College – Raymond P. Rodgers introduced the "applicability system" or "estimate of the situation" into Navy war planning, requiring that planning be developed through a four-step process involving "statement of mission, assessment of enemy forces and intentions, assessment of own forces, and evaluation of possible courses of action," which has remained fixed in Navy war planning ever since. Toward the end of Rodgers tour, the
United States Secretary of the Navy,
George von Lengerke Meyer, removed war planning functions from the college, which favored more cautious approaches in plans for war with
Japan, placing all planning responsibilities in the more aggressive General Board of the United States Navy. Rodgers retired from the Navy upon the conclusion of his college presidency on 20 November 1911. ==Personal life and retirement==