:
IIIIIIIII
OUR
MANY-SIDED
NAVY
R.W.NEESER
B 338811
CIXIXI:
:

ARTES
LIBRARY
1837
SCIENTIA
VERITAS
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
PLURIBUS UNUM
TUEBUR
SQUAERIS PENINSULAM AMOENAM
CIRCUMSPICE

VA
58
N38
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
A LANDSMAN'S LOG
SECOND EDITION-Revised and ENLARGED
8vo. Cloth binding. 215 pages. 40 illustrations. 42 pages
of appendix. Index. Price, $2.00 net; carriage extra.

BATTLING WITH THE ELEMENTS
O
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
By
ROBERT WILDEN NEESER
LUX
NO
אורים
ותסס
ว่าเตรี
VERITAS
NEW HAVEN: YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
LONDON: HUMPHREY MILFORD
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
MDCCCCXIV
COPYRIGHT, 1914
BY YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
First printed June, 1914, 1500 copies
ΤΟ
CHARLES J. BADGER
REAR ADMIRAL, U. S. N.
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE UNITED STATES
ATLANTIC FLEET
PREFACE
All the world loves a bluejacket, but not all the
world can understand him, the essentially human
side of his life, his professional enthusiasm, his
pride in his ship, and his noble, unselfish devotion
to his country and to his flag. All this, and more,
the landsman may be willing to believe; but grasp
it he cannot unless he has actually made the ship
at sea his home, messed with her officers and
mingled with her crew, and absorbed the atmos-
phere-unlike anything on shore-that pervades
every compartment of that great floating commu-
nity of a thousand souls encased within those
walls of steel.
The vital need of the navy of the United States
today is to have the people of the United
States know more about it and care more about
it. It is one thing to have the navy popular. But
when that popularity is accompanied by a total
ignorance of, and indifference to, the nature and
meaning of the service, it is a doubtful advantage,
calculated to do harm rather than good. Let the
people understand that the navy is a most serious
institution, the service an earnest business, and
the uniform not merely brass buttons and gold
lace; that upon its efficiency and well-being
271265
viii
PREFACE
depends our national safety; that it was a navy
(the French) which made sure our independence,
and our own navy which, in the War of 1812,
preserved this independence, and again, in the
Civil War, saved us from dismemberment-for,
without the blockade, we should never have over-
come the South. Let the American people fully
appreciate these reasons and their navy's sense
of honor and efficiency, which have made it the
greatest institution this country possesses, and
then let popularity follow in the navy's wake.
This book is a statement of facts. I have
written it that others may have the opportunity
of acquainting themselves with the truth concern-
ing our navy and what it stands for. Only by
means of such knowledge can the people of this
country realize what their navy really is and
does, and judge more intelligently those "ways
of the service" that mean and accomplish so
much.
To my friends in the service I trust no apology
is needed, except to express a most genuine sense
of temerity in treading upon ground so full of
pitfalls for the civilian. My only excuse is the
ungrudging help, frank criticism, and encourage-
ment which I have constantly received from them
both afloat and ashore. To them belongs the
credit for whatever technical merits this work
may possess; the errors are assuredly my own.
PREFACE
ix
For those portions of this book that previously
appeared in The Navy, copyrighted under the
serial title of "An American Fleet in Being," I
wish to thank the editor of that periodical for
his kind consent to republication. While some of
these chapters have been reprinted without modi-
fication, substantial additions have been made to
others, and new material has been drawn upon in
an effort to present more fully the various phases
of the life in our navy that should be known to
every true citizen of this great republic.
February, 1914.
霉
​CONTENTS
PAGE
Preface
vii
Introduction
1
The Fleet at Sea
8
The Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay
25
The Organization of the Ship
36
The Bluejacket's Daily Life
54
The Battleship as an Educational Institution
65
The Engineering Competitions
77
•
Athletics in the Navy
94
The Sailor as Soldier
115
The Work of the Torpedo Flotillas
133
Gunnery Training
156
Target Practice
173
Appendix I. The Navy's Services in Times of
Peace
199
Appendix II. Organization and Distribution of
the Navy, February 1, 1914.
205
Appendix III. The Organization of the Ship
210
Appendix IV. The Weekly Routine on Ship-
board
212
Index
215
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
BATTLING WITH THE ELEMENTS
Frontispiece
Facing
Page
BATTLESHIPS MAKING AN "APPROACH”
THE WYOMING'S UPPER DECK SEEN FROM THE
FORETOP
THE FIRST DIVISION OF THE ATLANTIC FLEET
ON THE SOUTHERN DRILL GROUND
8
12
18
26
PITCHING TENTS ON DEER POINT .
34
FOUL WEATHER
42
OFF DUTY
48
"SCRUB AND WASH CLOTHES”
56
"PEELING Spuds”
58
AIRING BEDDING ON THE FORECASTLE
64
SETTING-UP EXERCISES
70
MAIL DAY
74
COALING SHIP
78
THE U. S. S. UTAH IN A SEAWAY.
84
THE BATTLESHIP WYOMING'S FORWARD TURRETS
90
A DESTROYER DIVISION IN CRUISING FORMATION
AN IMPROMPTU BOXING BOUT
92
98
BOAT RACE
102
MAP SHOWING DISPOSITION OF SHIPS OF THE UNITED
STATES NAVY ON FEBRUARY 12, 1914
104
A SAILING RACE
106
THE KANSAS'S RACE BOAT OUT FOR A PRACTICE
PULL
110
THE
CONNECTICUT
LANDING FORCE GOING
ASHORE
112
xiv
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Facing
Page
THE WYOMING'S FORECASTLE
116
THE U. S. S. THORNTON IN A GALE
122
ON THE MARCH
124
A SKIRMISH DRILL
126
A WALL-SCALING DRILL
128
DISEMBARKING THE LANDING FORCE
132
CHARGING THE TORPEDOES ON A DESTROYER
134
LAUNCHING A TORPEDO FROM A DESTROYER
142
MINE LAYING
146
•
A SUBMARINE GROUP MANŒUVRING ON THE SUR-
FACE
150
A GUN CREW AT LOADING DRILL .
156
A SEVEN-INCH GUN CREW IN ACTION
162
THE BATTLESHIP KANSAS'S BROADSIDE
166
ON TOP OF AN EIGHT-INCH TURRET DURING
"DOTTER" PRACTICE
168
DECK SCENE ON THE FLAGSHIP WYOMING DURING
SUB-CALIBER TARGET-PRACTICE
174
A SALVO OF TWELVE-INCH SHELL LANDING. A
VIEW OF BIG GUN-PRACTICE FROM THE SHIP
TOWING THE TARGET RAFT
178
DIVISIONAL TARGET-PRACTICE
184
"COMING ON THE RANGE ""
192
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
INTRODUCTION
About the first of January of each year we
read in the daily press that the battleships,
cruisers, and torpedo vessels comprising the
Atlantic Fleet have sailed from their respective
home ports for the Caribbean Sea, where, with
Guantanamo Bay as a base, their time will be
taken up with manoeuvres and other exercises
until their return north in the early months of
spring. Then, no further news, except perhaps
an occasional insertion of a few lines when
something out of the ordinary has happened.
"But what do they do with themselves?" No
wonder the taxpayer asks the question. The last
time he saw the ships they were moored for his
inspection in a line many miles long off Riverside
Drive, and six regiments of bluejackets and
marines, six thousand strong, paraded the length
of Manhattan Island, to the delight of the
assembled multitude. Then, one fine afternoon,
the taxpayer went on board a Dreadnought,
which, he was told, was more powerful than any
ship any other nation then had. He walked the
sacred quarterdeck, saw the crew's galley,
entered one of the massive twelve-inch turrets,
peered into the muzzle of a fifty-foot-long gun,
2
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
and perhaps descended into the engine-room.
Then he went home. He told his family about
it, and described everything he had seen to his
friends. When he came to think it over, how-
ever-what was it all about? He had been over
the entire ship, from stem to stern, from keel to
truck, yet his visit had resulted only in a confused
impression of guns, machinery, and cramped
spaces. Of the "ways of the service" he had
seen nothing; of the human side of naval life he
had not had a glimpse. His visit to that Dread-
nought at anchor within those sheltered waters
had been like a glance at a famous race horse or
hunter in a box-stall.
The
"But what do they do with themselves?" No
wonder he repeated the question. At the time
that he had seen the fleet-the battle-fleet of the
navy-both ships and men had been "on a
holiday." Only during the few hours of actual
review by the President of the United States
and the Secretary of the Navy had conditions
approximated those of normal naval life.
remainder of the time, officers and men had been
on leave, enjoying a well-earned vacation after
months of uninterrupted attention to their duty,
while only part of the ships' companies remained
on board to man the vessels in case of emergency.
But that was now over. The fleet had sailed
on its winter cruise-the "busy season" they call
INTRODUCTION
3
it-one of the two most active periods of the
navy's annual program. From the moment the
signal boys on the Admiral's bridge had hoisted
the flags that spelled the order, "Get under way,"
every man of the eighteen thousand had had his
allotted share of the work to do, and from that
minute the success or failure of the next few
months depended upon how well each officer and
enlisted man performed his small part of the
entire task. For, on the day of battle, everyone,
from the admiral down to the youngest blue-
jacket, has his share of responsibility. However
good the gun-pointer may be, unless he has an
admiral or captain who can put him in the right
place at the right time, good shooting will not
avail much.
Four hundred and twenty-five men are actively
engaged in the loading and aiming of the main
battery guns of one of our largest Dreadnoughts
every time she fires a broadside. For the
majority of them, target-practice means nothing
more than the rapid passing up of dozens of
eighty-pound powder bags. Down in the handling
rooms and sub-stations, or inside the armored
turrets, the men see nothing of the spectacular
side of the proceeding, which has so justly been
called "the greatest of all games." Only a mere
score see the flash, the hurried flight of the pro-
jectiles as they curve gracefully through the air,
4
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
the splashes caused by their fall into the sea,
and the rents in the target-screens. These men
are the pointers and trainers, three for each
turret, who aim the guns when they are fired, and
the spotters aloft, who note the fall of the shot
and correct the errors in range and deflection
that are apt to occur. Yet success depends as
much upon the four hundred and five who do not
see what is going on, as upon the twenty who do,
and the secret of that success lies in the manner
in which each and every man plays his rôle. It is
when you think of it in this light that you can
appreciate what success means, and understand
better than before what the men of the navy do
with themselves during the sixteen weeks of the
winter cruise and the five summer months that
usually are spent in New England waters.
A careful and almost minute training of the
personnel is, then, the occupation of the many
months spent out of port. Every man is told
exactly what to do, and then he is made to do it
time and again, until he has mastered every detail
so absolutely that he moves instinctively at the
first note of the bugle-call.
Monotonous? Yes; but not monotonous on
account of undue repetition; for the gradual and
systematic training of the battleship's company,
which begins with the instruction of the indi-
vidual, comprises many phases that tend to make
INTRODUCTION
5
LO
the life on board ship one of much change and
variety. Every day the same thing happens, yet
no two days are alike. A glance at the last few
pages of the "Ship and Gun Drill" manual will
reveal this, in the hundred and one bugle-calls
that indicate the diversity of the naval routine.
Loading drills, fire drills, collision drills, anchor
drills, general quarters, torpedo drills, abandon-
ship drills-these, and many more, find a place
in the busy life of the bluejacket afloat.
with this strenuous and unremitting labor,
amusements and recreations are interspersed
in numberless ways-concerts, beach parties,
boat races, baseball games, and boxing com-
petitions following exercises, practices, and
inspections-in order to promote the health and
contentment of the personnel, and ensure the
battle efficiency of each ship as a unit of the fleet.
But
But why should the fleet continually have to
leave its home port and spend so much time at
sea doing what, in the opinion of the average
landsman, could be accomplished just as well, and
much more economically, alongside the dock in
the navy yard? That is what we did years ago.
Yes, 'tis true-sad, but true. We did it. But
before long we came to realize that the naval
officer and the men he commands cannot be made
efficient without the constant experience of the
sea. The sea itself is the one element of the
6
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
seaman's experience that cannot be reduced to
book-knowledge. It must be assimilated on the
quarterdeck, on the bridge of a sea-going ship at
sea, and in the engine-room of a sea-going ship
under way. Compare the despatches of the rival
English and French commanders in the great
naval campaign of the Napoleonic wars, and you
will have an answer that needs no further expla-
nation. "To being so long at sea," wrote Nelson,
"do we attribute our being so healthy"; and the
pathetic words of Villeneuve: "The squadron
appeared very fine in port, the crews drilling
well; but as soon as a storm came, all was
changed. They were not drilled in storms.
""
Ships, like human beings, have their peculiari-
ties. Those in command and those on board must
learn their ways, study their defects, and know
how to make use of them properly. "Practice
makes perfect," and nowhere is that saying more
true than upon the sea. Continuous service
produces ease in handling individual ships and
whole squadrons, and makes improvements in all
exercises that promote efficiency and a proper
military spirit. Nor must it be thought for an
instant that in thus continually keeping the ships
in commission, year in and year out, "the best
of their life and efficiency" is ruthlessly taken,
or that their boilers and other machinery are
uselessly "torn to pieces," as one journal
INTRODUCTION
7
1
insistently prophesied when the plan to send
our Atlantic Fleet around the world was first
suggested. By keeping the ships in service
continuously, deterioration is reduced to a mini-
mum. The history of that cruise and of the many
cruises since that has demonstrated this beyond
a doubt. And this is true not only of the ships
themselves and of their intricate machinery, but
also of the crews that man them and keep them
efficient and prepared.
THE FLEET AT SEA
"La navigation est l'antichambre du combat." Daveluy.
The vision of one hundred and twenty-three
fighting ships assembled for review in the Hudson
River a year ago last fall, lying peacefully at
anchor under the shadow of the Palisades, like
slumbering genii basking in the mellow sunshine
of an October afternoon, did not burst with any
shock upon the millions of people who saw that
spectacle. It grew, and gripped them as it grew,
and its true significance came home to them as
they contemplated that steel-clad armada, as
sometimes happens when you look at a picture
intently.
What a grand sight this peaceful assemblage
of the mighty fleet, the most powerful ever
mobilized under the Stars and Stripes! How
impressive those gray ships, gray from truck
to waterline, all perfectly aligned and strung out
in three long columns-the larger ships flanked
on either side by the smaller craft! Five divi-
sions of battleships there were. Leading each
division was a rear admiral's ship, while at
the head of the column loomed the Connecticut,
proudly displaying the blue-starred flag of the
commander-in-chief.

Ti
THE WYOMING'S UPPER DECK SEEN FROM THE FORETOP
Jor M
THE FLEET AT SEA
9
The citizen layman had been furnished ocular
proof of the preparedness of the service and of
the efficiency of its organization. And this was
due not to the efforts of one man alone, but to
the months of hard and earnest labor devoted
by the administrative officers ashore, co-operating
loyally with their brothers-in-arms afloat.
The organization of our navy into fleets and
squadrons has, since the beginning, been guided
by strategic as well as administrative reasons,
until today we find our vessels grouped in prac-
tically the same manner as twenty or even
seventy years ago. We have an Atlantic Fleet,
a Pacific Fleet, and an Asiatic Fleet, the usual
flotillas of torpedo craft and submarines, and
Special Service Squadrons, composed of such
cruisers and gunboats as may at the moment be
required for particular and detached operations.
In addition, there are the Reserve Fleets on each
coast, composed of all the battleships not attached
to the active fleets, manned by reduced crews, yet
maintained in readiness for any duty they may
be called upon to perform.
With this organization the question arises,
"Are those fleets being trained for the ultimate
end-to fight their country's battles?" Yes.
Until the spring of 1899 we never had a “fleet”;
our ships, acting singly, were handled in a way
to delight the eye of the most critical seaman;
10
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
but, in fleet formation, their manœuvres left much
to be desired. Then came a change, and the years
of intelligent application that followed gradually
bore fruit, until today, the fleet, both personnel
and materiel, has been trained to the knowledge
and power of what the nation will demand of it
in case of war-to fight and win a fleet action.
This is the most important element of the
"strategy of peace"-an end, however, ever
difficult to keep in sight. The fighting value of
the ship-of-war is as dependent upon her proper
handling as upon the accuracy of her gun-fire.
That efficiency cannot be bought, as can a ship,
ready-made; it must be created, manufactured
by her officers, and it cannot be created by any-
one else. It requires years of work and thought
and study. Even then that intimate familiarity
with the sea has not been attained, unless its
varying conditions have been studied by pro-
longed service on the blue water. The navigation
of the sea is a profession in itself, calling for a
considerable technical education, as well as the
moral qualities of patience, endurance, discipline,
and imperturbable presence of mind. The law
of its being demands that the active work of a
navy be performed on the sea. All attempts to
find for it a sphere of operations elsewhere defy
this law, and history has taught us time and again
what tragedies have resulted from indifference to
THE FLEET AT SEA
11
the system that produced the great seamen of the
past. One may read and study about handling
ships, and this is no doubt a good thing to do;
but the way-the real way—is actually to handle
the ships under steam at sea. Imagine one's
feelings as one sees the evolutions performed by
a squadron or fleet of mighty battleships, each
displacing from sixteen to twenty thousand
tons; and manoeuvring, too, in a tumbling sea.
Here they are wheeling, there shooting ahead,
elsewhere stopping-all at the will and com-
mand of the master on the bridge. The danger
appalls you, especially in heavy weather; for
the failure properly to read a signal, a mishap
to the steering gear, or the slight mishandling
of a ship, may result in the loss of one or
more of them. But such training accustoms
both officers and men to the danger, and helps
to fit them to meet any emergency that may arise
in time of battle, when everything will depend
upon the prompt execution of a signal. Morale,
leadership, the power of combination, mobility,
and fire-power are all links of the same chain,
interdependent factors, and success depends as
much upon the conduct and support of the assist-
ants, who execute orders of the commander-in-
chief and give him advice when asked, as upon
the admiral himself.
Without question, the policy inaugurated by
12
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
the Navy Department some years ago has had
much to do with the present-day efficiency of our
active fleets. Regular programs, drawn up by
each of the fleet commanders for their respective
forces, furnished the officers in Washington, as
well as those at the shore establishments, with
the information necessary for the furtherance of
the progressive work intended. The routine and
general work of the fleet and of its divisions and
units established beforehand a definite schedule
covering every phase of activity, and made for
the contentment, as well as the efficiency, of the
personnel by eliminating the uncertainty that
had theretofore characterized the navy's work.
The Atlantic Fleet of twenty-one battleships,
twenty-six destroyers, and ten submarines, with
attending auxiliaries and supply ships and col-
liers, was to operate on our eastern coast,
spending the year in such exercises and cruises,
in home waters as well as abroad, as seemed best
calculated to maintain it in efficient condition.
In the Pacific Ocean four armored cruisers, five
destroyers, and four submarines were to carry
out the usual drills and exercises, and, in addition,
make occasional cruises along the west coast to
the Hawaiian Islands. And, finally, there was
re-established the Asiatic Fleet, which at the
present time comprises three cruisers, eight gun-
boats, two monitors, five destroyers, and six

Copyright by E. Muller, Jr.
THE FIRST DIVISION OF THE ATLANTIC FLEET
THE FLEET AT SEA
13
submarines, whose most important task is to look
after our many interests in the Orient.¹
1
Of these three main fleets, the most important
is stationed on the Atlantic seaboard. It is here
that we have assembled our battle-fleet, the
main fighting strength of our sea force; and the
advantages the service has derived from this
policy are incontestable. The several battleships
have been welded into an efficient, mobile unit;
their crews have been trained as never before
was possible. It is the culmination of years of
endeavor and planning, and the policy that has
achieved more than any other for real "naval
efficiency."
The work of the various fleets, operating in
such different spheres of action, naturally differs
in many respects. Their work, in the main,
has the one object in view-training of the per-
sonnel and the developing of the ships into
efficient fighting units. In this, their drills and
exercises resemble those performed by the drill
fleet in the Atlantic Ocean. But here the simi-
larity ends. The various "stationnaires," under
which head may be included all the vessels not
in the battle-fleet, perform services of a character
not usually known to the people of our country.
For theirs is the task of keeping the peace
locally. In Asiatic waters, our gunboats and
1 See Appendix II.
14
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
cruisers are distributed in Chinese and Philip-
pine ports, from the Yangtse River to Olongapo,
ready at a moment's notice to help put down
riots, protect the foreign settlements, afford
refuge to our citizens, or chase some pirate
craft; while on our Atlantic and Pacific coasts
the smaller vessels are constantly called upon for
service in Central American waters and in the
West Indies to suppress revolutions, keep the
peace, and enforce the rights of the American
settlers. Theirs are the true duties of the
"cruisers" in the days of peace-a duty to which
even the battleship has at times been assigned,
as in Mexican waters in 1913. And most impor-
tant have those tasks been, since, in the present
as in the past, the main part of our diplomacy
abroad has ever been carried on by the officers
of the navy. Of these services, however, the
country knows but little, though there are some
particularly notable events, such as our dealings
with the Barbary Powers in 1815, and Perry's
opening of Japan to foreign trade in 1854, which
are known of all who read.
When the American navy has carried the
American flag to every corner of the globe, it has
not been merely to redeem what the present
Secretary of the Navy called "the recruiting
pledges of the Navy Department." In the various
foreign cruises that our ships-of-war have made,
THE FLEET AT SEA
15
year in and year out, there has often been a
deeper significance, an ulterior purpose, seeking,
quietly and unostentatiously, to link to us by ties
of mutual respect and esteem, the strangers
whom our officers and men met as they sailed
the distant seas, carrying American ideas of
justice and good government to every land, and
rendering to the peace of the world a service not
to be reckoned in first-class battleships alone.2
And in thus sending forth our national vessels
for the vindication of the laws of civilization or
against any breach of the peace, for kindly and
frequent ministration of charity and consolation
as well as for courtesy and compliment, our
government has but employed the navy on tasks
which, since its establishment, have formed no
inconsiderable part of its complex duties.3
The character of the work performed by the
2 Speaking of the visit of the American fleet in the Mediter-
ranean last fall, the Eclaireur de Nice (France) said, on November
30,
1913:
"Now that the fine American naval division is leaving us, we
should like to place on record our admiration for the remarkably
good behavior of the crews, not only aboard their ships, where
the discipline is strict, but ashore. Altogether they behaved like
real gentlemen. Their bearing was irreproachable; their manners
showed good education and frequently rose above mere banal
politeness. They taught us French, who pay no heed to the
Marseillaise, a lesson when they stood rigidly at attention during
the rendition of 'The Star Spangled Banner.'
"Secretary Daniels, when he ordered the cruise, did more than
he foresaw. He intended to educate the crews, but he also
educated us by showing us such splendid ships and men.
3 See Appendix I.
16
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
vessels of the Asiatic and Pacific Fleets and their
consorts on detached and special service is, there-
fore, essentially different from that of the battle-
fleet. Mostly small and light vessels, they have
always been a heterogeneous lot, acting singly
and with little opportunity of being often together
for drill. The outlying parts of the world are
their cruising grounds; the services they are
called upon to perform are as varied as the
peoples of the Seven Seas.
To follow the wanderings of each of these
"foreign cruisers" would be to open up pages
of naval life that, unfortunately, are often known
only to the participants themselves. The very
romance of the sea would lie disclosed. But such
travels would be a digression from the subject
of "The Fleet at Sea." It is the Atlantic Fleet
in which the citizen is especially interested; it is
the work of its twenty thousand men he would
come to know, because it is the work of our drill
fleet, our battle-fleet.
The drawing up of an annual schedule, such
as has been mentioned, involves much thought
and care, since the amount of time allotted to each
of the forms of work depends upon many factors,
each having a direct bearing upon the final result.
Yet this variety of activity is such that it makes
for the improvement of the service in its readi-
ness to meet exacting conditions and to suffer
THE FLEET AT SEA
17
no surprise or shock or deterioration when
confronted with a really serious emergency.
In this nothing has been of more material assist-
ance than the very definite, yet different, localities
which the battle-fleet has had at its disposal as
operating bases for the two main periods of its
year's work. During the winter, Guantanamo
Bay has come to be recognized as the ideal
rendezvous for the work of the "busy season,"
while in the warm summer months, Narragansett
Bay has been preferred as fulfilling the require-
ments of an operating base better than any
other site on the Atlantic seaboard. In the
interval between these two periods of exercises,
manœuvres and fleet training, the work of the
several separate divisions is scheduled, target-
practice is held, and the home yards are visited
for the purpose of docking the ships and of
granting liberty and leave to both officers and
men. It is at these times, in the spring and fall,
that our great central military base at Hampton
Roads is visited by the vessels of the fleet, and
the last touches put on the past month's
work just previous to target-practice, which, in
the opinion of all, is the "grand finale," the
"greatest of all the games" the navy plays.
It is New Year's Day. The assembled fleet has
been at anchor at the appointed rendezvous
during the past fortnight; every man has received
18
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
a week's leave to spend the Christmas holidays
with his family and friends. All liberty-men have
returned on board. A signal is flying on the
flagship. Steam is up on every vessel, boats
hoisted in, and gangways shipped. On the fore-
castle, the boatswains are supervising the work
of the forward divisions with the anchor gear;
the leadsmen are in the chains;-the engines
begin to throb. Then with the flagship of the
commander-in-chief leading the way, the fleet
steams out into the channel, the battleships so
alike, to the landsman's eye, as to defy identi-
fication. It is an impressive manœuvre in the
crowded harbor waters-awe-inspiring even to
the oldest tug-boat captain as the Dreadnoughts
sweep by, one by one, at the regulation five
hundred yards interval. Thus the vessels pass
out to sea; their prows are turned to the south-
ward. A last glance at the hospitable shores and
work begins again.
4
While the seventeen floating fortresses-four
divisions of four ships each and the flagship of
the commander-in-chief-keep close together,
steaming in a single column over five miles
in length, the smaller vessels and torpedo craft
are "all over the shop," as they familiarly put
it, getting their scouting abilities into trim.
4 This is the distance from foremast to foremast; the distance
of open water between ships, then, narrows down to 250 yards.

BATTLESHIPS MAKING AN "APPROACH"
THE FLEET AT SEA
19
Weather? The true sailor does not bother about
the weather. Quite a sea may come up, but the
battleships take no heed of it; occasionally they
may indulge in a lurch, an unrhythmic pitch, but
their motion, as a rule, is so small that no one
thinks of securing anything below decks. Sud-
denly a string of bunting runs up the flagship's
mainmast. A quick command from the officer-of-
the-deck, the hoarse summons of the boatswain's
mates, and all seems "confusion." Confusion it
may seem to the casual observer, but to the
trained seaman it is an orderly rush, in which
each man on board is doing exactly what is
expected of him without getting in anyone else's
way. Every detail called for by the "station
bills' is being scrupulously attended to, and these
duties for the time being demand each man's
attention, yet without needless complication
through having to think of another man's work.
In and out the fleet is twisted, doubling this way
and that, first stringing the ships out in one long
column, one after the other, then forming them
up in line abreast of each other-all at the will
and command of the admiral of the fleet, its brain
and master.
The work is hard, exacting at times; but the
interest of all is so unflagging that the greatest
benefit is derived from every evolution. And no
little factor as a begetter of efficiency is the spirit
20
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
of competition which has been aroused not only
between the several divisions and individual
ships, but even among their officers and men.
Its benefits have been extended in every possible
direction, with such results that it has proved
the most powerful influence toward the attain-
ment of the desired end. Evidence of this has
already been shown in the steadily increasing
tendency to make the ships self-sustaining," and
in the excellent record they have made in the
preservation of their materiel and economy in
its operation. These facts, no less than the
rarity of serious accidents, have demonstrated
beyond a doubt their high state of efficiency.
It is impossible, of course, in times of peace
to reproduce all the conditions of battle; only a
suggestion of the "real thing" can be had. But,
5 The emergency repairs made on the destroyer Burrows in
1913 at Guantanamo Bay, where there are no shops or repair
depots, are sufficient evidence of what the American bluejacket
can do with scant facilities and few tools at hand. In a collision
twenty-five miles off shore that vessel's bow was twisted and
badly crushed. Yet in twenty-one working hours the bow had
been entirely cut off and rebuilt by her crew, assisted by details
from the Dixie and the Monaghan, and the vessel was reported
ready to take her place in the fleet and run at any speed. And
only last fall, our battle fleet gave a practical demonstration of
self-dependence, such as the country had not witnessed in years,
when the vessels making the cruise to the Mediterranean steamed
nine thousand miles without purchasing an ounce of coal or
provisions. The fleet's own colliers and supply ships furnished
everything needed during that seven weeks' absence from home,
and some of the refrigerating ships even brought back part of
the cargoes with which they had started.
THE FLEET AT SEA
21
on the other hand, it cannot be said that nothing
is being done to overcome this difficulty. Imme-
diately after the assembling of the fleet at any
of its bases, systematic efforts are made to
familiarize the units with battle tactics. Certain
days of the week are set aside for fleet exercises—
"battle plan," they call it-on each of these
mornings at daylight the ships get under way,
and, after steaming to sea beyond the three-mile
limit, spend the day manœuvring. Sometimes
two squadrons of equal force are ordered out to
solve problems of "search"; umpires on each
vessel keep a careful record of all movements;
and, in the case of an engagement, decide the
fate of the individual units. It is excellent
practice for the officers. They know the rules.
and what these call for, but the initiative is all
their own, and theirs the opportunity of handling
squadrons as in actual battle. Imagine what
would happen were these rehearsals not held.
The handling of the battleship from within the
conning-tower is no child's play. The captain's
sole view of both friend and foe is through the
tiny slits in the armor of his steel-walled conning-
tower; his range of vision extends only from
ahead to a little abaft the beam; he cannot read
the signals himself, for he cannot use his glasses
with any degree of certainty. The commanding
officer's location is a new one. But the battle
22
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
of Santiago taught the need of practice, and well
has that lesson been learned. In battle, quickness
of action and precision are of prime importance,
and by rehearsals these qualifications of the
"brain" of the ship and of the "brain" of the
fleet are developed and trained.
Were it possible in war to confine all hostilities
to the daytime only, the navy's problem of prepa-
ration would be decidedly simplified. But the
age when the enemy formally announced his
intention of attacking is long past, and we are
confronted with the possibility of night attacks
and surprises even in the most unexpected places.
For this reason much of the fleet's work has to
be devoted to training the personnel for such
a contingency. And here is where some of
the most spectacular and interesting work of the
navy comes in.
It is a clear, still night; only the guiding stars
in the heavens are shining; not another glimmer
is visible. The fleet is steaming in single column,
with only two hundred and fifty yards of clear
water between the ships. All dead-lights are
screwed down over the port-holes; not a ray of
light shows about them; not even the running
lights are uncovered. The effect is awesome.
The ship directly ahead is swallowed up in the
immense darkness of the sea and sky. Your eyes
try to pierce the inky blackness for an occasional
THE FLEET AT SEA
23
glimpse of the tiny shaded light at her stern and
the swirl made by her screws or the straight
tracery of her skeleton masts as they cross the
stars. Astern, only a couple of cable-lengths off,
is another ship forcing her huge mass after you,
her ram cleaving its way through the water
unrelentingly. Yet so perfect has the training
been, so well drilled is the fleet, that the interval
between the ships never varies, and on they speed,
as if tied together. Suddenly the ardois signal-
lamps on the flagship begin to wink; flashes of
red and white lights pass aloft from ship to ship.
A momentary pause. Then a great beam of
light shoots across the admiral's bow. Instantly
ninety-six other beams dart into the air, sweeping
the horizon and illuminating each crest of wave.
It is a searchlight drill, designed to teach the
crews the use of one of the battleship's greatest
protections against a torpedo-boat's night attack.
"Only a patch compared to the real thing"—a
mere taste.
So the "preparation" goes on. Every phase
of the battle exercise is studied, rehearsed, and
perfected. It is the only way of becoming
familiar with the conditions that will exist on
the day of battle. And be it said to the credit
6 How history repeats itself is once more brought out in the
recently published work on the Russo-Japanese War, The "Novik"
and the part she played in the Russo-Japanese War, 1904, by
24
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
of the service that the energy and enthusiasm
of its officers have been a great factor in bringing
out this realism so successfully. The fleet has
never been in as good condition as it is today.
It is prepared. And is not an additional reason
for this to be found in the obedience, contentment,
and intelligence of its enlisted force?
Lieutenant A. P. Steer, I. R. N., in which the author thus com-
ments on the importance of maintaining a "fleet in being":
"Although it went against the grain, we could not help admiring
the evolutions of the Japanese squadron outside Port Arthur:
never the least hesitation, never a mistake. Compared with this,
what must have been Admiral Makaroff's feelings when he wanted
us to take up our fleet formation? The signal was hardly down
before things were at sixes and sevens, and two battleships, which
had not understood what was required of them, promptly rammed
one another. And yet one could not in reason expect these cap-
tains to know that which no one had ever taught them. When
it is a case of handling a battleship in a squadron, while per-
forming evolutions, mere theoretical knowledge is of no use, even
in the most simple cases. What is required is constant practice
at sea, and that is precisely what we all lacked. The admiral
had first thought of providing us with this, but he seemed to
have thought better of it, for fear that his precious battleships
might sink one another."
THE NAVAL STATION AT GUANTANAMO
BAY
The interests of nations in the sea are almost
wholly interests of trade and commerce, and the
importance of parts of the earth's surface vary
from time to time, therefore, as the means of
communication are developed or extended. For
centuries, the Mediterranean Sea was the center
around which gathered the influences of the
civilized nations of the world; for ages it was the
one route by which the West and the East main-
tained commercial relations. With the discovery
of the passage by the Cape of Good Hope, a fresh
incentive was offered to the venturesome navi-
gators of Europe, while at the same time the
discovery of a new world opened up to them a
new sphere of ambition. The longed-for East,
however, was not yet within reach; a narrow
strip of land still separated the discoverer from
the "South Sea."
With the completion of the Panama Canal, the
vision, dimly seen by Columbus through the
scanty and inaccurate knowledge of his age, has
come true. The continent that so stubbornly
barred him from the distant Eastern Ocean has
at last been pierced. A trade route through the
26
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
Caribbean to the Pacific has at last been opened,
and a passage has been completed at which all
the highways between the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans will hereafter focus and intersect.
It is most fortunate for the United States that
she is in possession of an advanced base in the
waters controlling the approach to this great
highway; for among the great powers of the
world, no other nation is so vitally interested in
its protection. For years, the most advanced
station that the United States had fully developed
was Key West. Its value to the squadrons
operating in Cuban waters during the Spanish-
American War cannot be overestimated. But it
was not ideal; it was not advanced enough. The
opportunity of bettering this position, however,
came soon. One result of the hostilities with
Spain was the gaining of a naval station still
nearer to that greatest strategic center of the
Caribbean-the Canal. Culebra became ours by
political possession, while the acquisition of
Guantanamo Bay was made possible by the
agreement entered into between the United
States and the Republic of Cuba, in the summer
and fall of 1903, whereby that spacious harbor
with its surrounding lands was ceded to our
government "for coaling or naval stations."
A glance at the chart will illustrate the supe-
riority of those newly acquired bases over any

ON THE SOUTHERN DRILL GROUND
STATION AT GUANTANAMO BAY
27
which the United States had heretofore possessed
in those waters. In situation and in natural
elements of offensive and defensive strength,
Guantanamo Bay and Culebra far surpass any
of our Gulf ports. As strategic points for the
effective defense of our own Atlantic and Gulf
coasts, as well as of the South Atlantic and the
Caribbean, none can compare with them. They
virtually command the approach of a hostile fleet
through the Yucatan, Windward, and Mona Pas-
sages, and as bases for operations present
advantages not found elsewhere. In short,
Guantanamo Bay and Culebra can become to
the United States what Gibraltar and Malta are
to Great Britain in the Mediterranean and at
Suez; with the further advantage to us that they
are nearer to our home ports than those positions
are to Great Britain.
Up to the present time, however, we have not
been obliged to prove in practice what in theory
we have already determined to our own satis-
faction. Years of peace have enabled us to make
use of our new naval stations for a different
purpose. It is the great importance of Guanta-
namo Bay in this latter respect that we shall now
consider.
Guantanamo Bay is a splendid sheet of water.
Miles long and miles wide, it furnishes a commo-
dious harbor, capable of accommodating at
28
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
anchor a fleet of thirty-five battleships, with
sixteen more in the outer harbor, if necessary.
For beautiful scenery it is unsurpassed. Impos-
ing bluish mountains in the background on all
sides, smaller promontories in the middle ground,
and low shores in the foreground, surround the
large land-locked bay. The coloring is gorgeous
under the clear, tropical sky; the water, rich
ultramarine blue, greenish-yellow, bright green,
or even dull brown. What more ideal setting
could be imagined! Yet with all its beauties, it
has the shortcomings usual to the tropics. The
shores are bleak and desolate; not a road (except
one through the naval station) pierces the wild
undergrowth of tall grass and cactus; not a
habitation is to be seen for miles; the nearest
settlement is Caimanera-at the head of the
bay, outside the reservation-with its lazy, dirty,
and worthless crowd of mulattoes, while the city
of Guantanamo, about seventeen miles inland,
is practically inaccessible, owing to the poor
railroad communication.
Around the outer bay is scattered the naval
station, comprising the station-ship, a shore office
for the commandant, a general store, a coaling
station, and a few frame structures for the
accommodation of the officers and men on duty
there. A redeeming feature of the place is the
officers' club and the enlisted men's building, with
STATION AT GUANTANAMO BAY
29
their large verandas, where the cool trade winds
may be enjoyed to advantage. Nor is that all.
Extensive construction work has been actively
prosecuted during the past few years to carry out
the comprehensive scheme planned by the Navy
Department to make Guantanamo Bay what it
should be in order to render the best service to
the fleet. A station wharf, a fuel-oil wharf, a
number of oil tanks capable of furnishing an
adequate supply of fuel for the ships, and a pipe
line from the tanks to the wharf have been con-
structed. A power-plant is to be erected, where
emergency repairs may be made, although such
repairs will necessarily be limited to those that
can be made on a ship not in dock, since it has
been found impossible to complete the dry-dock
originally planned. And last, but not least, a
wireless station, with two 250-foot self-supporting
steel towers, is, before long, to be completed.
One look at the reservation as originally laid
out, however, clearly reveals the distressing fact
that in the beginning we did not acquire land
enough. The station is too small for the purposes
intended. To the eastward and well within the
range of a six-inch gun rises a sharp promontory,
which was generally referred to as "203 Metre
Hill" because of its commanding position. An
enemy could without much difficulty, land his
guns at the base of the mountain, and in a short
30
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
time mount them in a position from which every-
thing of value about the bay could be destroyed.
That the Navy Department might not be kept
in ignorance of a situation so alarming, the
officer then commanding on the station, the late
Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans, appointed a
board of able officers to report on a solution of
the problem. This board made an exhaustive
report, after having covered the ground, climbed
the mountains, and surveyed the possible sources
of water supply-for be it known that the water
supply of our naval station is wholly inadequate,
although there is a fine river running through
the country but a short distance off; every drop
of fresh water for the station has to be brought
from a point ten or twelve miles inland in water
cars, after which it has to be pumped into water-
boats, which are towed six miles before it can
be distributed for consumption. The unanimous
recommendation of the board was that the boun-
daries of the concession be extended to include
the high point necessary to its proper defense
in time of war.
"This report was duly forwarded," wrote
Rear Admiral Evans, "and that was the last we
ever heard of it. The Assistant Secretary of the
Navy came down later, looked the ground over,
and approved of what had been done. Later still,
a committee of senators came. After spending
STATION AT GUANTANAMO BAY
31
one hour in the bay, they sailed for Jamaica,
deciding that no more money should be spent on
Guantanamo, and so the matter stands to-day.
We cannot do the work without money, and
Congress will not appropriate the money."
Since those words were penned, however, some-
thing has been done. The reservation is to be
enlarged sufficiently to meet all requirements,
and the prospect of its proper development in
the future will be assured if only our Congress-
men and their constituents can be made to realize
that the navy exists for the nation and not for
the sole benefit of the various localities where
our all too numerous home navy yards now
happen to be situated.
At present it can be truthfully said that Guan-
tanamo Bay is of vast importance to the United
States as a training station—a position from
which, as a safe anchorage, the battle-fleet may
manœuvre and conduct its exercises with the
greatest possible advantage. Owing to its climate
during the winter months, it is by far the best
place available. It is even more; it is better than
any other place the navy could select, were it
given a choice in the matter.
The large bay offers opportunities to the real
sailor that none in the fleet can overlook or fail
to take advantage of. Every day thousands of
bluejackets may be seen crowding the gun-walks
32
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
and boat-booms, in order to be the "first in"
when swimming call is sounded before breakfast
and again before supper. The desire of every
man on board is sooner or later to accomplish
the feat of swimming "round the ship." Those
who cannot keep afloat are assigned competent
instructors, and every afternoon pupils and
masters are sent to the sandy shores of Hicacal
Beach, within the waters of the bay, where the
regular hour-a-day is well spent and the lesson
thoroughly learned.
When the men have mastered the art of looking
after themselves while in the water, practice is
given them in the handling of small boats. Sail-
ing launches, whale-boats, cutters, and dories are
time and again ordered away under oars and
under sail, and there are moments when one is
reminded more of the regatta days at Marble-
head than of the warlike training that calls the
fleet to the Caribbean.
Nor are these the only exercises possible within
these sheltered waters. Every ship in turn holds
such important drills as abandon-ship drill and
collision drill. Various seamanship feats are
executed, as in the case of an anchor drill, when
the heavy "mud-hooks" are carried out in one
of the sailing launches and again hoisted in—a
difficult task and one calling for expert knowl-
edge. In the mean time, the ships' landing forces
STATION AT GUANTANAMO BAY
33
have rehearsed the various stages in the dis-
embarking of large armed detachments, and their
flotillas have gained practice in evolutions held
under actual service conditions. At the same
time, the torpedo divisions may be seen inshore
planting their mine fields and testing their
torpedoes. Thus the work goes on; every oppor-
tunity offered by the sheltered waters of that
wonderful bay is fully taken advantage of.
While these things have been going on afloat,
on shore over a thousand bluejackets and marines
have been living under tents on Deer Point, a
high bluff on the eastern shore of the bay. One
object in thus going into camp is to teach the
men the gentle art of "soldiering" and to enable
them to use the small-arms target range to its
utmost capacity; for Guantanamo Bay boasts the
finest small-arms range in the world. True, the
natural features of the country left nothing to
be desired; but the Bureau of Ordnance, to which
fell the task of perfecting what already existed,
nevertheless deserves great credit for its inde-
fatigable exertions in completing the work. Over
two hundred targets, for all ranges from fifteen
to one thousand yards, for pistol, rifle, and field-
gun practice, for slow, rapid, and skirmish firing,
have been erected under the low-lying Cuzco
Hills that screen the reservation from the sea to
the eastward.
}
34
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
Day in and day out, from sunrise to sunset,
hundreds of men crowd the firing points. The
noise is incessant, the reports of the Springfields
following each other so rapidly that one might
almost imagine a battle in progress. And then,
from over the hills, not half a mile away, comes
the boom of the artillery; while on the other flank
the rapid fire of the skirmishers may be heard
as they "do their runs." More than six thousand
men fire the prescribed course during the months
that the fleet is in Guantanamo Bay. As many as
three-fourths often are qualified as marksmen,
sharp-shooters, and experts. Every man is keyed
up to the highest pitch, and every man is there
to win. The competition is not only between
individuals, but between divisions, ships, and
squadrons. Rewards and "prize money" also
are at stake.
There is no doubt that the navy at Guantanamo
Bay enjoys the use of the finest small-arms target
range in the world, and it may be justly said that
the use of this range enables the men of the
service to outshoot all competitors. It is here
that they receive the training which places them
in an enviable position among the crack shots of
the world. For to their credit be it remembered
that on the cruises of the Atlantic Fleet the blue-
jackets won from the best teams in Australia,
Japan, and Europe.

PITCHING TENTS ON DEER POINT
STATION AT GUANTANAMO BAY
35
It is obvious, then, that as a training station
Guantanamo Bay is indispensable to the navy in
time of peace. It furnishes what no single one
of our home ports affords a proper base and
sheltered harbor, where the Atlantic Fleet, the
battle-fleet, may uninterruptedly carry out its
program of manœuvres, exercises, and drills
during a season of the year when the rigorous
climate on our Atlantic seaboard would seriously
hinder any such work. It is the one place where
the real work of the navy can be and is carried
on. But it is also, unfortunately, so located that
the people at home cannot form a correct idea
of its importance, because this work has to be
carried on outside their own sphere of observa-
tion. The navy has, by experience, learned to
appreciate the value of Guantanamo Bay; let us
hope that the day is not far distant when the
people also will be able to realize its true relation
to the service and to the nation.
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SHIP
To the soldier, the naval organization on ship-
board must at times seem a curious combination
of the military, the nautical, and the mechanical.
The profession of arms has, in the course of
centuries, been blended with the skill of the
seaman and the craft of the artificer, until the
mingling of the three has resulted in an institu-
tion that, for thoroughness and efficiency, is
nothing short of marvelous. For, like almost
everything else on board ship, the present organi-
zation is the result of an evolution from the days
of the row-galley and the sailing frigate; so
much so, that, as Sir Cyprian Bridge remarks,¹
"A knowledge of naval history is indispensable
both to the administrator who may have to devise
a system of organization and discipline and to
those who may be called upon to work the system
in actual belligerent operations."
1
From the day that the White Squadron first
sailed the seas, the United States Navy has
experienced a period of transition. The changes
at first came slowly and very gradually. Then
came the War with Spain; and one result of that
1 In his Art of Naval Warfare, p. 9.
ORGANIZATION OF THE SHIP
37
successful conflict was the bringing of the Ser-
vice within sight of a final solution of the great
problem of organization, sooner, much sooner,
than would otherwise have been possible. For,
as can readily be understood, there exists in the
navy a veneration for practices conserved by
long acceptance, a respect for old customs, that
cannot be speedily set aside by any novel device.
Such deference is characteristic of the Anglo-
Saxon, and is a feeling that is planted deep in
the heart, as well as in the intelligence, of the
American bluejacket.
But tradition sometimes ceases to represent
the living present. It may become an adherence
to a dead past, the ideas of which have been out-
grown. Change is imperative. An advance must
be made. This was the situation in which the
Service found itself just previous to the 15th of
February, 1898. The shock of battle then was
the entering wedge so long needed. A great
departure was made in the enactment of the
Amalgamation Law of 1899, whereby the old
Engineer Corps of the Navy was transferred to
the line. It was a radical violation of naval
tradition, but the last fifteen years have demon-
strated the wisdom of such an unusual measure,
and the remarkable gain in the efficiency of our
fleets since then has justified the innovation
beyond a doubt.
38
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
Of
If the crew of a man-of-war had but one thing
to do, their development into an efficient fighting
strength would be easy of accomplishment. But
they have not. They have battle by day and
battle by night, cruising alone and in company,
besides the many minor duties comprised in
cleaning ship, boat drill, coaling and fueling ship,
gymnastic exercises, and mine-laying drills, in
addition to the soldier's duty of the manual of
arms and field-gun exercises. All these, and
many more duties they have to perform.
course, in none of them are all the officers and
men always included, nor is it necessary that they
should be. But each task has, and must have, a
"specialty nucleus," with its supervisor and
staff; and it is this provision of the naval organi-
zation, this point of support for the deck hand,
the "general worker" who has to turn his hand
to so many different things, that has been such
a factor in welding the crews into their present
efficient state. Common-sense principles rule,
and their application is found in the station bills
that form the vade mecum of every officer afloat.
Once the ship's organization has been adjusted,
once the shaking-down cruise has been completed,
every man of the thousand on board knows his
duty under all conceivable contingencies, and the
display of a signal from the flagship's main is
all that is needed to start the machinery of
ORGANIZATION OF THE SHIP
39
that well-regulated organization to the ordered,
confusionless end.2
It can be imagined what, under these circum-
stances, the responsibilities of the head of such
a community must be. The "solitary chieftain,"
he has been styled. And appropriately so, for
his generous quarters on board are entirely
separate from those of the other officers. He
usually messes alone, and at his cabin door paces
a marine sentry, night and day guarding the
entrance to the sanctum sanctorum, lest anyone
should enter without the usual formal announce-
ment. Upon "the Old Man," as he is irreverently
called, falls the responsibility for everything—
discipline, safety of ship and men, and work of
every kind. He has the general superintendence
over the affairs on board, and all orders of a
general nature are supposed to emanate from
him. Upon all professional points his decision
is final. He is the guiding spirit of that giant
instrument of modern naval warfare, the Dread-
nought, the one whom all look up to in time of
stress and in the hour of battle.
But besides being the naval and military chief,
the captain has to be master of another profes-
sion, which calls for a knowledge of the law and
of human nature in all its aspects. For not
only is he the commanding officer, but also a
2 See Appendix III.
40
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
""
lawyer, a kind of justice of the peace. "He is
a Leviathan," wrote the scurrilous Wards in
1708, "or rather a kind of Sea-God, whom the
poor tars worship as the Indians do the Devil.'
In those "good old days" he had power over his
subjects almost to the life. But since the navy
"went to the dogs," the day that flogging was
abolished, the discipline of the Service has under-
gone a great change. The men are well cared for,
well housed, well fed, and looked after in ways
never thought possible in the old times.
The principle by which discipline is maintained
is no longer to punish as severely as possible,
but to offer the men every inducement to do right,
so that they cannot fail to see the advantages to
be gained by good behavior. Every morning at
nine the captain holds his court at the foot of the
mainmast. He is court, judge, and jury, and in
this treble capacity he examines the reports of
the transgressors. "What have you to say?"
he asks. The offender always has an excuse, but
unless it bears evidence of acceptability, punish-
ment, swift and sure, follows the offense, and the
spirit, as well as the letter, of the Navy Regula-
tions is effectively carried out. It is a simple
8 In his book, The wooden world dissected, in the characters
of a ship of war, a sea-captain, a sea-lieutenant, a sea-chaplain,
the master, the purser, the surgeon, the gunner, the carpenter,
the boatswain, a sea-cook, a midshipman, a captain's steward, a
sailor, etc. By a Lover of the Mathematicks. London, 1708.
ORGANIZATION OF THE SHIP
41
and efficacious manner of dispensing justice.
Nowhere is arbitrary authority-which the sea
compels, aside altogether from the question of
military discipline-exercised with greater intel-
ligence and humanity, or with more consideration
for the rights of the individual man, than in the
Navy of the United States, and the cases are few
indeed in which the offender may rightfully think
himself unjustly dealt with.
Next in rank to the captain is the Executive
Officer, "a sort of captain's proxy," says Mase-
field, "who did all the work, in order that the
captain might have the glory." And broad
indeed must be his shoulders and serene his
temper. For as the personal representative of
the captain in maintaining the military and
general efficiency of the ship, he has the direction
of everything on board. To him every question
is first referred. All the heads of departments
and all other officers, and everyone of the thou-
sand men on board, are directly under his orders.
He must organize and drill the ship's company,
and look after the daily routine and general
work. He must care for the ship, inside and out.
His office hours are from early morning until
late at night, and his only moments of leisure
may be said to be the few he spends at the head
of the wardroom table, at meal times, presiding
as social arbiter.
42
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
So many, in fact, are the Executive's duties,
that a few years ago a new "personality"
was created on shipboard in the quality of
First Lieutenant, upon whom devolved the
responsibilities of the vessel's "cleanliness, good
order, efficiency, and neat and trim appearance.”
Extreme tidiness is a characteristic of the
American man-of-war. "A place for everything,
and everything in its place"; this cardinal
principle must the "fust luff" continually bear
in mind as he makes his frequent inspections
of the countless compartments, double-bottoms,
bulkheads, valves, pipes, and everything above
and below decks.
Such is the complexity of the ship-of-war, and
so great the need of "specialty" supervisors,
that, even in the days of old, there existed
positions of responsibility other than those filled
by the officers thus far described. For, since the
ship is a "home" in which dwell and labor the
thousand men who man her, a "home" which
must, at times, move from one end of the world
to the other, certain elements enter into her
management other than those above enumerated.
Her controlling spirit is the Captain; her admin-
istrator, the Executive Officer; and her house-
keeper, the First Lieutenant. But, in addition
to these, there must be one officer continually in
charge on the bridge, the Officer-of-the-Deck;

Photograph by G. V. Buck
from Underwood & Underwood, N. Y.
FOUL WEATHER
ORGANIZATION OF THE SHIP
43
someone to look after the health and comfort
of her crew, the Medical Officer; and one charged
with their clothing, feeding, and pay, the Pay
Officer; another to see to their spiritual wants,
the Chaplain; and an officer to command the
Marine Guard, the Captain of Marines. Then
the ship must be safely guided in and out of
harbor and across the waters of every sea,
which duty can be attended to by but one, the
Navigator; her motive machinery and heating
and lighting plants come under the direct super-
intendence of the Chief Engineer, who rules over
a sort of world all by himself; and last, but far
from least in importance, comes the Gunnery
Officer, upon whom rests the responsibility of
the ship's battery, the training of the gun-
crews in the work of target-practice, and their
preparation for the day of battle.
These heads of departments, with
with their
immediate subordinates, the division and watch
officers-which include all ranks except ensigns
less than two years out of the Naval Academy—
comprise, socially, what is known as the Ward-
room Mess. Their quarters are comfortable, but
by no means luxurious, and here they assemble
at meal hours and drop in for a moment or two
when off duty. The Government supplies the
officers with their furniture, china, glassware, and
table linen, but not, as is generally supposed, with
44
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
their food. Until some fifteen years ago, Con-
gress still allowed each officer and man the sum
of thirty cents a day for rations; but a sudden
spirit of economy caused them to cut off this
allowance from the commissioned officers above
the rank of midshipman, and that Act has meant
to each one a net loss of about $110 a year, which,
while never sufficient to supply all the food, yet
defrayed no small share of the expense. How-
ever, ingenuity was not lacking in meeting this
new condition of affairs, and a system was soon
devised by which good, simple fare, and plenty
of it, might be obtained at moderate cost to the
satisfaction of all. It is only when the ships are
sent on foreign cruises that a real burden is
thrown upon the officers; for, unlike other coun-
tries, our Government does not allow a penny
of "table money" for official entertainment. An
English admiral's allowance for this item is
usually $6,000; but, in the United States Navy,
such expenses come out of the officers' own
purses, and the figure, as can be imagined, is
never an inconsiderable one.
4
The organization of the other messes is similar
to that of the Wardroom Mess. In the "Steer-
age" live the Junior Officers and the Marine
4 Compare our parsimony with the attitude of the German
government which, in addition to his regular pay, allows each
naval officer almost thirty dollars a month for food and eleven
dollars more for wines and beer.
ORGANIZATION OF THE SHIP
45
Lieutenant; in the Warrant Officers' Mess, the
Warrant Officers; and in the Petty Officers' Mess,
those of the enlisted men who, by diligent and
faithful service, have won promotion and part
of officers' privileges.
"Forward of the mast," in nautical phrase-
ology, but, in the newer ships, actually in the
region of the quarter-deck, lives the enlisted
man, the "man behind the gun." The "deck”
is his home, the scene of his many activities, and
his playground. His life, it is true, is very
different from that of his brother on shore; but
his standard and his attributes are such that he
makes the best of the adverse conditions under
which he lives-all sea conditions are abnormal
to the average man-and does his work cheer-
fully, willingly, and well. Even our island
friends across the Atlantic have come to acknowl-
edge this, and during the past few months have
had some of their distinguished naval officers on
our shores visiting our latest warships, on board
of which "the provision made for the comfort
of the men of the lower deck is undoubtedly
superior to that which obtains in British vessels."
"The visit," said the English periodical, Truth,
"ought to have practical results for British
sailors. The Orion class carry a complement of
800. The Wyoming carries 1,115. If the Navy
Department at Washington can get 315 more men
46
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
into a ship, on an increase of nine feet more
length, four and three-quarters feet more beam,
and one foot more draught, and at the same time
house and sleep them much better, they have
certainly something to teach us."
In the organization of the enlisted force, the
men are classified under four different heads,-
seamen, artificers, specials, and messmen. These
are divided into petty officers and men of inferior
rating, and each of these groups is again sub-
divided into three classes. When the appren-
tice enlists he is immediately put on the payroll
at $17.60 per month. After four months at the
training station, if he passes his examination as
ordinary seaman, he goes on board ship, which
means an increase in his pay of $3.30 per month.
One year after this date-provided, of course,
that he again passes the required examination—
he is advanced to the rating of seaman, first class,
at $26.40 per month.
The enlisted man's items of expense, during
this time, are few in number.
He must pay
for his uniform, after the initial outfit which
the Government gives him free of charge. He
is required to pay for certain "small stores,”
to meet his barber's bill (that luxury costing
him a dollar a month for one haircut and
thirty shaves), and to keep his clothes clean.
ORGANIZATION OF THE SHIP
47
¿
Other than these, his expenditures are entirely
voluntary.
Besides the regular pay and allowances, the
enlisted man has many opportunities of making
extra money. Continuous service, re-enlistments,
and good-conduct medals add to his regular pay
sums ranging from 83 cents to $5.50 per month.
If the honorably discharged bluejacket re-enlists
within four months, he is entitled, as bounty, to
four months' pay. Such extra duties as being
coxswain of a steam launch, serving in sub-
marines, having charge of store-rooms, doing
duty as messman, being detailed as signalman,
serving as mail clerk, or acting as gun-captain,
swell his purse considerably. And to these may
be added the $100 bonus and medal of honor that
the Navy Department awards on the recommen-
dation of his commanding officer for extraordi-
nary deeds of heroism performed in the line of
duty.
To the ambitious young man, the Service
presents bright prospects of promotion. From
the moment that he has reached the rating of
first-class seaman, the enlisted man is eligible for
advancement to third-class petty officer, at $33
a month, as master-at-arms, coxswain, gunners'
mate, or quartermaster. In another year he may
become a second-class petty officer; and, after
twelve months in that rating, he can be promoted
48
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
to first-class petty officer. This brings the
candidate within reach of a chief petty officer's
appointment, which, after a year's creditable
service, becomes permanent and irrevocable,
except by court-martial. Men have been known
to attain that $77 appointment within a compara-
tively short time. Advancement depends only
on their own willingness to work to win promo-
tion; and it is the exception rather than the rule
that a bluejacket does not win his petty-officer's
stripes within the regular four years' enlistment,
or at the outside in six years.
Even then, the goal has not yet been attained.
For, to the enlisted man, other chances are
offered and, if he wishes, he may next strive to
win the rank of warrant officer and, eventually,
a commission as ensign. It takes a man of
unusual ambition, however, for days of study and
self-denial must be devoted to the task if the
necessary examinations are to be passed. But
if he wants to succeed, he will find no lack of
interest and help in his efforts. His division
officer is only too glad to facilitate the solution
of some problem with an explanation or to sug-
gest some easier method of procedure. Text-
books on every subject are at his command in
the ship's Crew's Library, and the correspond-
ence schools on shore may, at times, be of assist-
ance to him. The opportunity for promotion is

OFF DUTY
ORGANIZATION OF THE SHIP
49
there; it depends upon him alone whether he will
succeed or not.
But it is in the various fundamental drills
on shipboard, those essential exercises for the
welding together of the ship's company into an
efficient unit, that the broader phases of the
organization usually reveal themselves. The
inter-relation of the several separate depart-
ments then for the first time becomes apparent,
each losing its particular individuality as it
becomes merged into one of the two great
divisions under the direct supervision of the
gunnery officer or engineer officer. The battle
organization of the ship-of-war has become per-
fected. The crew are at general quarters. The
navigator is inside the conning tower; the watch
officers are at their stations in the battery or with
the fire-control party; the members of the pay
department have taken their places in the sub-
stations and are in charge of the telephonic
communications; the marines man the torpedo-
defense guns; the messmen and cooks are ranged
in line in the handling-rooms and passages ready
for their duty in keeping the guns supplied with
ammunition; the carpenter and his gang are
below to repair damages received in action; the
electricians are scattered about the ship, wher-
ever they are most apt to be needed; the boat-
swain for the time being loses his identity as the
50
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
seamanship expert of the ship; the sailmaker
has reported to the ship's medical officer for
duty in the dispensary. Each and every man
has his appointed station in the military organi-
zation of the ship, no matter what his rank, rate,
or other duty.
Unlike the deck force, the engineer department
has but one task to perform, but one duty—the
maintenance of the ship's engines and boilers.
The "motive-power factory" it has been called,
and rightly so, since every member goes to work
in the same place every day, under the same
"bosses," following the same directions from
above. Sometimes a "hand" is cleaning a
station, sometimes repairing it, and sometimes
operating it. But it is always the same station,
practically speaking. When their spell of work
is over, the "hands" wash up, and go "home"
to the ship, just the same as any other factory
hands do. Here we find the machinists, the
water tenders, the firemen, the boilermakers, the
oilers, and the coal passers-each with the same
ratings and divided into the same classifications
of petty officers and seamen, with corresponding
pay, and with the identical opportunities of
promotion, as their shipmates of the deck force.
What is essential, however, in this process of
producing belligerent efficiency, is the relegating
of everything to its proper place. The routine
ORGANIZATION OF THE SHIP
51
on board, the nature and the extent of the drills,
and the apportioning of the ship's work must
be governed by an intelligent application of the
means available for the end sought. The non-
essentials must be put aside, the heirlooms of the
past dispensed with. We cannot do without
drill. It is a necessary evil. It aims at, and in
the end produces, uniformity and, therefore, the
attainment of team-work and ultimate perfection.
It demands hard and exacting work, and it
demands this for the training of the crew as well
as for the maintenance of the ship. Nor do the
men object to it. They realize its importance and
evince an interest in every useful drill, knowing
full well that once a drill has been done well they
will be called upon to repeat it only occasionally,
or often enough to keep them properly familiar
with their stations and duties in time of necessity.
Not all the drills are held each day. On one,
"Great Gun Drill" may be held, when the deck
divisions are exercised in manning the battery
and put through all the motions of loading,
pointing, and firing the guns. On another, those
detailed to the ship's landing force may be put
through the manual of arms with rifles and taught
the "School of the Soldier," since the occasion
often arises when the bluejacket has to perform
the service of an infantry-man and light-artillery-
man on shore; while "Fire Quarters" have to
52
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
be held from time to time to prepare for such a
contingency, for, should the crew be untrained,
a terrible disaster might some day occur.
Besides these, there is also the "Collision
Drill," in the course of which all water-tight
doors and hatches are closed, and collision mats
lowered over the imaginary holes in the ship's
side, while the hands unoccupied with these
details remain at their stations in case there
should be a call for abandoning ship, when each
man has his place and allotted task in the pro-
visioning and arming of the small boats. When
"General Quarters" are sounded, all hands take
their stations at the guns and below decks for
fighting the ship; "Clearing Ship for Action"
consists in clearing the upper decks of all
unnecessary rigging and other material, and
lowering away the ship's boats so that all danger
from splinters in time of battle may be minimized
as much as possible; and "Coaling Ship" occurs
whenever the supply of fuel in the bunkers is
getting low. This last is the most arduous work
the crew of a man-of-war can be called upon to
perform. Strictly speaking, it is not a drill, but
its importance in time of war is such that care-
fully organized methods in coaling have come to
be considered of prime military necessity.
These are the "fundamental drills" of the
modern ship-of-war as affecting her efficiency and
ORGANIZATION OF THE SHIP
53
the welding together of her crew into an effective
unit. In all is the interest of the men stimulated
and fostered by a spirit of clean competition, and
as they understand their meaning and read the
bulletins showing the standings of the various
ships their enthusiasm becomes
becomes more real.
Every man comes to appreciate the importance
of his own small share in the final result; his
interest is encouraged by his own immediate
superiors, those "specialty foremen" already
alluded to; and this enthusiasm, properly
guided by the ship's officers, is what, in the
end, is the secret of the success of that "curious
combination," the naval organization on ship-
board.
THE BLUEJACKET'S DAILY LIFE
An English writer not long ago described a
battleship as the last word in aggressiveness pro-
nounced by mechanical genius, naval construction,
and cash payment. From keel to truck, from
ram to sternpost, she is the most complicated
machine the mind of man ever conceived. She
is a citadel that must carry the heaviest guns for
offensive power; a fort whose vital parts must
be protected against injury by the thickest and
best armor; a ship to be taken to sea and capable
of making passages from port to port. She is,
in fact, a fighting machine, so big and so shaped
that every characteristic of her appearance con-
veys the impression of a heartless, monstrous
engine of destruction.
All this is true. For the man-of-war is built
for battle, and for battle only, and the sole aim
of her designers has been to fit her for the rôle
that she some day may be obliged to play. But
once she has been launched, completed, and placed
in commission, the interested visitor cannot fail
to become sensible of the pulse-beat of a complex
life that throbs through every frame of her
gigantic hull. The ship that, in the making, had
THE BLUEJACKET'S DAILY LIFE 55
been but a mass of vacant emplacements, empty
gun-ports, and deserted compartments, now that
the national colors are flying at the stern, no
longer is "without a soul." She has become the
home for a thousand men; not a place in which
her crew spend the eight working hours of the
day, but a place where they live the full twenty-
four hours, year in and year out. The ship also
must have all the facilities for clothing, feeding,
and housing her men. And everything must be
adequate the laundry, the kitchens, the cold-
storage rooms, the sleeping compartments, the
bathtubs, the showerbaths, the fresh-water plant,
the lighting plant, and all those things that go
to make a home.
It is this personal side, this "human" touch,
that appeals so strongly. The ship no longer is
an inanimate object, but a real live being with
a personality, and with peculiarities and charac-
teristics as distinctive from those of her sisters
as are those traits in as many different persons.
Ask any sailor and you will hear tales that will
make you wonder whether those yarns of green-
eyed sea-serpents were so far-fetched after all.
To many people, certain phases of the life
within a battleship's steel walls are not altogether
unknown. They have heard that the officers dwell
in the after part of the vessel and have separate
rooms with berths in them, like the state-rooms
56
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
of an ocean liner; and they know that there are
officers and enlisted men, marines and others.
But there the information ends. How is the
housekeeping for those thousand odd men con-
ducted, who buys their food, and what do those
men do with themselves all day long? No wonder
the question comes to mind. The Navy Regula-
tions clearly specify how all this is to be done,
and when; but every civilian cannot be expected
to have a copy of that document on his library
shelf, and the daily press usually denies him all
information about the navy that has the ear-
marks of being "usual" or "commonplace.
Yet nothing is really more interesting than this
"uneventful” daily life of the thousands of
bluejackets who today man the fighting ships
of our navy.
Officially, the day on shipboard begins at eight
o'clock, when the national colors are hoisted, to
the strains of the "Star Spangled Banner" ;
actually, the ship is astir hours earlier. The
ship's cook has been roused before dawn, some-
times as early as three o'clock, so that the crew
may have their bracer of steaming coffee before
settling down to the early morning routine. At
5.30 a.m., the blare of bugles sounds the reveille,
backed up by a chorus of boatswains' pipes and
the warning admonition, "Up all hammocks!
Rise and shine!" No extra naps are allowed.

"SCRUB AND WASH CLOTHES
WorM
THE BLUEJACKET'S DAILY LIFE
57
The decks must be cleared of hammocks in fifteen
minutes. Then the "smoking-lamp,” a cherished
tradition of the old navy, is lit, all hands stuff
their pipes for a hasty pull, and coffee and
hardtack are served.
"Scrub and wash clothes!" From some myste-
rious cache appear buckets, soap, brush, and
water. Every man is at it. And the bluejacket
washes himself and scrubs his clothes as if this
were his favorite pastime. Force of habit, you
say to yourself. It is a lesson he learned at the
Naval Training Station the very day he enlisted
in the service-that neatness of person and dress
is a requirement that the navy exacts from every
man. And it is a good habit he never forgets.
At 6.30 all hands commence to clean ship. The
crew is divided into divisions, to each of which
is assigned a certain portion of the vessel to
clean. The ship is running with water ankle
deep; men everywhere are cleaning decks and
paint-work, scrubbing boats, and, later, polishing
brightwork. This duty is not arduous, as the
stations are small and there are so many men
on board among whom the work can be divided.
At 7.30 the bluejacket gets his breakfast-and
he is thoroughly ready for it. Ham omelette,
potatoes, bread, butter, and coffee is a sample
bill-of-fare of this meal. The food is good, clean,
and wholesome, well-cooked and neatly served.
58
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
All the cooking of the ship is done on one great
range, in what is called the "galley." Here the
ship's cook reigns supreme. He is paid from
$28 to $61 a month, according to the size of the
ship; and he gets perquisites from the messes.
The men of the crew are divided into so many
messes, according to the parts of the ship in
which they swing their hammocks at night. Each
mess has its own cook, and these work under the
general supervision of the ship's cook, and
heaven help them if their work is not well done!
With the cook rests the problem of preparing
the meals for the men. But the responsibility of
properly feeding the crew falls also upon another
important personage, the paymaster. It is he
who, as the representative of the government,
purchases the supplies, with the regular allow-
ance of "thirty cents per-man-per-day" granted
by the statutes. The amount of each article of
food allowed to each man for one day is specifi-
cally stated. These articles are all provided by
contract. For instance, the paymaster gets the
fresh beef from a certain man as "per contract
No. 3201." The quantity of beef per meal is
then decided by the number of men in the crew.
The paymaster's yeoman measures out the pre-
cise amount allowed. This is served out to the
ship's cook, and the storeroom locked up. The
beef is then cooked, subjected to the knife of the

"PEELING SPUDS'
THE BLUEJACKET'S DAILY LIFE
59
carving machine, and when served to the men
is found to have been cut into pieces so equal
that each one has received the precise pound-and-
a-quarter-a-day allowed him by the all-ruling
Navy Regulations.
All this time, the smoking-lamp has been
shedding its figurative rays, and the men have
the next hour in which to get into the uniform
of the day-which is designated by signal from
the flagship every morning and depends upon the
climate or the work to be done to examine their
ditty boxes and bags, wherein all their worldly
goods are stowed, to visit the sick-bay if they
feel in need of medical attendance, and to make
everything shipshape for quarters at 9.30, when
the division officers inspect their men for neatness
of uniform and general condition.
From then until four o'clock in the afternoon,
with the exception of an hour for dinner at noon,
"when the sun crosses the yardarm," the greater
part of the time is spent in drill-drill, that
necessary evil, without which no perfection is
possible. But there is an intelligent application
of the means available in apportioning this all-
important part of the ship's work, and it is a
rare occurrence to find the crews doing the same
thing any two days in succession. The big-gun
drills, boat drills under oars or sails, general
quarters, signal drills, fire quarters, collision
60
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
drills, infantry and field artillery exercises, clear-
ing ship for action, collision and abandon-ship
drills, searchlight drills-all have a place in the
busy life of the man-o'-warsman, and are often
interspersed with short practical talks by the
division officers or by officers specially well-
informed on the subject under discussion.
Of course it is hard work. The bluejacket often
does not see why he has to go through the antics
of setting-up exercises, or why he has to go
“up and over,” or why he has to run an obstacle
race over the decks with the rest of his shipmates.
He grumbles-every true sailor grumbles-but
he soon comes to appreciate what it all means
and why he does this and not that. Then he
is satisfied. Discipline and efficiency always
demand hard and exacting work both for the
training of the crew and for the maintenance
of the ship. The men never object to intelli-
gent work itself, or to interesting and useful
drills. Boating and swimming-prime "mili-
tary" requisites of the sailor-are the delight of
their existence; their enthusiasm for loading
drills knows no bounds; their interest in steaming
competitions is keyed up to the highest pitch;
and even coaling ship is no bugbear when it
comes to beating another ship's record.
Eight bells! Four o'clock, and the "knock off
1 The exercise of climbing up and down the mainmast.
THE BLUEJACKET'S DAILY LIFE
61
all work" period has come. It is then the blue-
jacket smokes his pipe and takes his ease and
sings his songs. The baseball, football, or track
teams are getting ready to go ashore for their
daily afternoon practice. The race-boat crew
are manning their twelve-oared cutter prepara-
tory to taking a ten-mile pull through the fleet
and an occasional brush with a rival ship. Under
the lee of the mainmast on the upper deck four
sturdy bluejackets are pulling away at the fifty-
pound pulley weights in the hope of getting
enough practice to eventually win a place on
"the crew."
A joyous bugle-call sounds throughout every
compartment; it is "Swimming Call." The men
spring to their feet. Every afternoon and every
morning, before breakfast, weather permitting,
the men are allowed to go over the side and swim
about, while a dinghy, manned by a "life-saving
crew,
"stands ready to assist any tired swimmer.
Below decks no one is idle. In a corner of the
battery, the ship's tailor is bent over a diminutive
sewing machine. Beside him, another blue-
jacket crawls on all fours over a strip of blue
cloth that he is cutting out for his mate.
far off, a youngster is engrossed in a magazine
or book selected from the large and well-stocked
ship's library with which the government fur-
nishes every vessel of the navy. Still farther
Not
62
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
off, the ship's barber and his assistants are hard
at work, while a long line of white-clad men
impatiently await the call of "Next, Sir!"
Wander up on the forecastle, and there take
a glance at the "ship's playground," and you
realize that the sailor's life is not altogether one
of hard work. A group is squatted on the
deck, playing checkers, cards, or backgammon.
Another cluster of immaculately white-clad men
are lying fast asleep under the shadow of the
turret-they say no man has any business going
to sea unless he can sleep at any time of the day
or night. Up forward, a few of the many animal-
lovers on board are playing with the mascots—
a bear, or goat, or dog, or cat, or pig, or parrot,
as the case may be. Few ships are without
mascots. The sailor's natural fondness for pets
is proverbial, and fortunate indeed is the animal
that falls into his hands. As a well-known
prelate² once said: "The sailor-man has his
vagaries, but he is the tenderest-hearted creature
into which God ever breathed the breath of life."
Mess-call for supper interrupts these good
times at six. The tables and benches, which are
hung under the deck-beams when not in use, are
set up on deck, the table-ware-plates, cups,
spoons, knives, and forks-laid out at each
2 The Bishop of Shanghai; quoted in The World's Work,
February, 1905, p. 3080.
THE BLUEJACKET'S DAILY LIFE
63
place by the mess cook; and when the meal is
announced, the enlisted man finds served some
fresh meat pie or bologna sausages, potatoes,
fresh fruits, bread, butter, and tea, or other
equally appetizing dishes.
After supper, the sailor's time is his own; or,
as he himself says, he is "allowed considerable
leeway." What he now does is left to his own
choice. Perhaps he dances on deck to the music
of the ship's band-which, by the way, renders
a number of selections three times a day, after
each meal. Or he may see the "movies," since
each ship has a moving-picture machine, and new
runs of reels every week. Or he and his ship-
mates may give a smoker, or attend theatricals
given by the crew of some other ship that evening.
Then, at nine o'clock, comes another bugle-
call. It is "tattoo," which, in five minutes, is
followed by "taps," after which every man must
be in his hammock and quiet until the bugle again
summons him to rise in the morning. But, as a
rule, by that time the sailor is quite ready for
bed and for his eight hours' sleep. He willingly
swings his hammock-sailors never sleep in
beds-and, after carefully folding his uniform
and placing it under his pillow, where it will be
neatly pressed for him when he awakes the next
morning, climbs up into his folding-bed, which
he finds more comfortable than any the summer
64
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
boarder ever rigged up on the front porch of a
bungalow.
Such is the daily routine on board the men-o'-
war of our navy, as set down in the traditional
regulation books. Of course, it is subject to
variations. For example, on Wednesday and
Saturday afternoons the men's time is usually
their own. Sundays, after muster and divine
service, the bluejacket is subject to no further
restrictions. But on the other hand, the periods
of drill as outlined are often changed by reason
of the duty upon which the ship is engaged, or
because of the severe weather of the North, or
of the heat of the tropics. It is an ill rule that
allows for no exceptions, and the navy, fortu-
nately for the interest and fascination of its
work, has learned this saying and learned it well.
3 See Appendix IV.
3

AIRING BEDDING ON THE FORECASTLE
THE BATTLESHIP AS AN EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTION
It has always been a question for debate in
this country whether the Stars and Stripes
should be represented by a large and efficient
navy, or whether a few units would not answer
our purpose and meet the exigencies of the
present moment. The politicians have argued
the question; the citizens
the citizens themselves have
thrashed it out; and even the peace enthusiasts
have interpreted it to their own satisfaction.
But none appears to have viewed the matter
from an unbiased point of view. The navy has
always seemed a mere collection of fighting
machines-dogs of war awaiting the command
to rush forth to combat-a folly, a wanton
extravagance. Yet today, when a large part of
the offensive object of the navy may seem
unnecessary because of the closer and more
intimate relations of nations and the higher
development of mankind, the Service has proved
its adaptability to fit into the new order of things
and has become a large national university for
the training of citizens for our republic.¹
1 This industrial education of the enlisted personnel is, however,
only incidental to the maintenance of the navy as an efficient
66
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
Those who believe in unlimited arbitration and
universal peace and disarmament apparently
have entirely overlooked this unique feature of
our sea force. A single reading of the require-
ments of citizenship would reveal to them how
perfectly the Service trains young men for their
duty to their country. For the navy is an
educator. While preparing the ships and their
crews for the national defense, it gives its fifty
thousand enlisted men a thorough practical train-
ing in the useful trades of peace. The battle-
ship is not merely a fighting machine, but it is in
every sense a complete and splendidly equipped
manual training school, where men are engaged
in a score of different occupations specially
fitting them for careers in civil life. Electri-
cians, bakers, boilermakers, cooks, coppersmiths,
carpenters, pharmacists, machinists, plumbers,
sailmakers, stenographers, painters, wireless
telegraphers, bookkeepers, are all educated and
trained. And in doing all this, the navy is, in
the essentials, carrying out a policy of industrial
education such as the Commonwealth of Massa-
chusetts not long ago adopted after careful and
instrument of national defense. The navy, it is well to remember,
is an institution for war, and for war only. Its primary purpose
can never be "Education" in the sense advocated by the present
Secretary of the Navy, and unless the new primary school move-
ment is carefully safeguarded, the officers of our ships of war
will soon be devoting their energies to the education of their
men for civil pursuits rather than for war service.
AN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION
67
authoritative investigation. It is practical edu-
cation designed to fit the youth to take care of
himself in the world. It is the kind that will
bring out all that is good, that will develop him,
and make of him a man. It develops "naval
efficiency," the qualities constituting which the
London Times, in a leading article in 1899,
enumerated as "self-reliance and resource, calm-
ness and self-possession in emergency, quickness
of eye and steadiness of nerve, steadfastness in
danger, self-helpfulness in difficulties, and a quick
sense of comradeship,”—a summary that has
been neither denied nor amplified.
"The true meaning of the term 'education' is
often lost sight of," writes Admiral Sir Cyprian
Bridge, R. N. "It is not a mere scheme of
imparting school-room instruction. It is a system
of bringing up the youth of a nation, and not
with the aid of books alone, for the part that it
will have to play in the national life." This rôle
the navy pre-eminently plays. It teaches patriot-
ism, and reverence for the flag and for every-
thing the flag stands for. It instills in the youth
a respect for duly constituted authority-a trait
sadly lacking in the American character of today.
It teaches the young citizen how to live health-
fully and how to take care of his body properly.
It gives him a broader view of life by training
2 In his Art of Naval Warfare, p. 75.
68
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
him in a career in which he will be capable of
manual self-support; and by teaching him some-
thing about other nations, it makes him appre-
ciate what his country is, and what its place
should be among the powers of the world. And
it drills in these essentials through instructors
who are not theorists but practical masters of
their subjects, and the leaders physically, men-
tally, and professionally, of the men placed under
their charge.
The personnel of the navy may, therefore, be
said to consist of two separate and distinct
classes; the officers, who follow a profession, and
the enlisted men, who follow a trade. The one
is the instructor; the other the pupil, to whom,
by the way, no opportunity is ever denied of also
eventually attaining commissioned rank.
To qualify for the naval profession, young men
already well grounded in English studies attend
the technical college at Annapolis, Md., known
as the United States Naval Academy. Here,
during four years, they pass through an academic
course that gives them the preliminary training
necessary to fit them for their chosen life-
profession. On graduation they join their first
ship, and with this, their first commission, begins
an active career in which the details of handling
ships, men, and guns are learned in the only
school for sea-officers-the ship.
AN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION
69
With the enlisted men, however, the conditions
are different. The young Americans who go
into the navy must be between the ages of seven-
teen and thirty-five years, and be of a normal
height and weight; they must be American citi-
zens, native or naturalized, and must, in addition,
furnish satisfactory evidence of good moral
character. The term of enlistment is for four
years, exactly as long as the undergraduate
course of our universities and colleges, but there
are no vacations other than the usual three ten-
day periods allowed annually by the Regulations.
Once enlisted, the recruit, now known as "an
apprentice seaman," is sent to one of the several
excellent training stations which the service
maintains to ground the men in the various duties
required of them before launching them upon
the broader and more complex life of the man-o’-
war. These stations are located at Newport,
R. I.; Norfolk, Va.; North Chicago, Ill., and San
Francisco, Cal., and here for four months the
recruits are instructed in the rudiments of their
"trade."
Immediately upon reporting at the indicated
station the apprentice receives from the Govern-
ment an outfit of clothing, which is given him
outright as capital with which to start his new
life-uniforms for winter and summer, shoes,
underwear, cap, sweater, overcoat, oilskins, and
70
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
rubber boots-in all amounting to sixty dollars
in value. These are fitted by a tailor. Then he
is ready for instruction.
Under the immediate supervision of a petty
officer the recruit forms part of the "newcomers'
squad," in which he is taught the necessity of
discipline, regular habits, and cleanliness of
person. His first lesson is in how to keep his
own things shipshape, how to keep his uniform
neat, how to stow his bag, how to sling his
hammock and lash it handily, and how to swim.
All this takes place in well-heated and well-
ventilated barracks.
Then the apprentice seaman is assigned to a
company or division, and he begins to master the
various drills and exercises. He learns how to
"box the compass" from the huge painted repro-
duction on the wall of the drill-hall; he acquires
a knowledge of signalling and soon becomes
familiar with the flags of all nations; he becomes
proficient in heaving the lead and in the use of
the log, gradually mastering the difficulties of
the "marks" and "deeps." The model room and
rigging loft afford him plenty of opportunities
for making knots and hitches, splicing ropes, and
coiling down gear, until he has acquired the
ability of making himself a handy man about
the decks.
This brief experience fits him to take his place

SETTING-UP EXERCISES
AN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION
71
on board one of the small practice vessels
attached to the station, and during his first cruise
he puts into use afloat what he has already
learned on shore. The life on shipboard becomes
perfectly familiar to him, he acquires his "sea
legs," and by the time these cruises are over, he
comes to know about hoisting boats, getting under
way, anchoring, steering—an application of his
early training which he could not get in any other
way.
The four months ended, the apprentice seaman
is ready for advancement. An examination is
given him in all that he has thus far learned, and
if he qualifies, he gets a rating and goes on board
a man-o'-war, with an increase of pay and with
the knowledge that his certain and steady promo-
tion in the future depends solely upon his own
energy, zeal, and good behavior.
The seaman has now been partly trained. But
his sphere of action, as he well knows, is necessa-
rily limited, because he knows only the rudiments.
This is well appreciated. For in every ship's
company a certain proportion of the seaman class,
the deck force, are not specialists in any of the
many trades represented on board, and the
problem that now arises is their further training
in order to make them efficient men-o'-war's men
in the modern sense of the word. Formerly, in
the "good old days," when the crews of our war-
72
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
ships were recruited almost exclusively from the
seafaring population of the coast towns, it was
not essential that the men have any other quali-
fications than a mere knowledge of how to "reef,
hand, and steer." But today the need is for an
entirely different class of men. The duties of
the enlisted man are complex, the modern sailor
is more of a mechanic, and the majority of the
men are drawn from the inland States rather
than from the seaboard.
To meet these new conditions we now find
schools in various sections of the United States
where the men may be trained as specialists
in the different duties so necessary on board
the modern Dreadnought. Two large Electrical
Schools are maintained at New York and Mare
Island, Cal., for those who desire to receive the
benefit of that course of instruction. Here the
candidates are given a thorough training in all
that has to do with the electrical work on ship-
board. For on the battleship of today nearly
everything mechanical is done by electricity.
The anchors are hoisted by electric winches, the
ship is steered by an electric device, electric
ranges in the galleys are used to cook the crew's
meals, a great dynamo-room furnishes the light
for all of the thousand inhabitants on board,
and some vessels are even propelled by elec-
tric power alone. The electrician's work is,
AN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION
73
are
therefore, a most important one, and he has to
become a past-master of his trade. And in
addition, modern conditions have imposed upon
him the added responsibility of the wireless,
which has become so essential a part of a ship's
equipment. Three hundred young men
usually in attendance at the Radio Service
Schools, where they devote five months to acquir-
ing the principle and theory of that interesting
application of science. They here learn to build
the powerful wireless apparatus from absolutely
"raw" materials; they are taught the assem-
bling of motors and dynamos; they become
familiar with every detail of construction and
operation. This accomplished, the radio opera-
tor goes to sea with the active fleet, and after a
year as assistant operator he obtains his reward
in a permanent berth.
Next, and equal in importance, to the Electrical
Schools are the Seaman-Gunners' Classes, which
are open to bluejackets who have served four
years and have clearly shown their ability. This
school has two homes, one at the Washington
Navy Yard and the other at the Newport Naval
Torpedo Station. The class in Washington meets
in February and August, and the course continues
for six months, when the men are qualified (as
gunners' mates) in all that pertains to the
battery of the man-o'-war. The work is equally
74
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
divided between the classroom and the Naval
Gun Factory. The men learn how to assemble
guns, breech mechanisms, and everything that has
to do with the practical part of ordnance, the
manufacture of shells, and the various firing and
aiming devices. Work on the big guns starts on
the huge 100-ton cylinders of steel, which are
trimmed and forged, drilled and grooved, and
finally expanded by heat to receive the tempered
steel lining. Then the gunnery aspirants enter
the forge shop, and from there pass through the
various departments until their instruction closes
with a fortnight at the Naval Proving Grounds
at Indian Head, Md. After this the Naval
Torpedo School at Newport supplements the
learning already acquired with an eight months'
course in the manufacture and use of high explo-
sives, the care of torpedoes, and the construction
and laying of submarine mines.
What else must be known by those on board
the modern ship-of-war is revealed by a glance
at the other schools located at Charleston, San
Francisco, Norfolk, and Newport. At Charleston,
the school for machinists furnishes an opportu-
nity for those interested in mechanics to study
engines and marine boilers and thus acquire a
theoretical and practical education to prepare
themselves for petty officers and warrant officers
in the artificer branch-engine-room force-of

6000
MAIL DAY
AN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION
75
the navy.
At Norfolk, carpenters, plumbers,
blacksmiths, coppersmiths, painters, and cooks
are turned out by the score. There are Yeoman
Schools for the instruction of men in the clerical
duties of the navy, the Musicians' School for the
training of members of the ships' bands, and the
Naval Hospitals at the various yards where the
hospital apprentices are taught the practical side
of ward work, pharmacy, and chemistry.
This completes the curriculum of our great
national university. Its traditions are an inspira-
tion few other educational institutions can boast
of, and its motto "Fidelity, Obedience, and
Ability”—briefly describes a type of character
that has ever been a source of pride to the
Service.
Every year thousands of bluejackets who have
had at least four years' training in the navy
return to civil life. None fail to secure imme-
diate good employment, for American employers
have learned through experience that the grad-
uates from the Fleet are, without exception, so
well grounded in their work, so resourceful, and
so far above the average in their ability and
willingness to make suggestions, and at the
same time to obey quickly, without sullenness or
resentment, that they have generally welcomed
men who have been trained afloat under such
conditions as have existed in recent years.
76
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
The policy of the Navy Department to better
the condition of the enlisted man on board ship
and increase his opportunities has done much in
recent years to attract to the navy a class of
young men of whom the country may well be
proud. No patriotic citizen can visit one of our
great Dreadnoughts and escape a feeling of
admiration when he sees the clean-cut, intelligent
bluejackets who are giving their services to their
country. Each one of them is an exponent of
healthful life, good habits, and the discipline of
the Service. How high is that standard of
character is not generally appreciated, and can-
not be, unless one realizes that out of 75,457
applicants for enlistment in the navy during
the past year (1913) only 17,918 were accepted!
Membership in the navy is indeed an honor
from which the undeserving should be and are
excluded!
THE ENGINEERING COMPETITIONS
"All well and ready for anything." This was
the message received by the Navy Department in
the spring of 1911 from the battleship Delaware,
upon the latter's return from her 26,000-mile
voyage to Europe and South America. Thirteen
years before the Oregon thrilled the nation by
her wonderful cruise at the outbreak of the
Spanish-American War. But, though the Dela-
ware's voyage was not made under such circum-
stances as that of the Oregon, her remarkable
performance and the conditions attending her
work aroused the same sort of pride in the
achievement of the ship and of her men that
greeted the latter's record-making and record-
breaking trip. The Oregon had found a worthy
successor in the Delaware.
Figures, to some people, mean very little. But
these spell the history of days, months, and years
of watchfulness and care. The modern Dread-
nought is truly one great fighting machine, in
which the man behind the gun may reign
supreme; yet below her protective deck, in the
engine-rooms and fire-rooms, are skillful toilers
whose share also contributes to the full measure
78
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
of duty towards making her the efficient weapon
she eventually is. See the ships steaming along
in perfect line, each vessel just so far from the
flagship, as though they were being drawn by a
single cable. These floating fortresses are each
weights of twenty thousand tons, yet they swing
along with greater ease than a child's toy train
and manœuvre with the precision of parading
infantry. Would this be possible without the man
at the furnace and his partner in the engine-
room?
The first thing that strikes the visitor upon
going over a modern ship-of-war is, without
question, her tremendous complication of machin-
ery. She is a web of steam pipes, hydraulic
tubes, compressed air conductors, electric wires,
telephones, voice tubes, and engines of every sort
to the number of almost a hundred. Down at the
bottom of the perpendicular iron ladders, shel-
tered by the armored bars of the protective deck,
is the great, clean, almost silent engine-room.¹
The reek of hot oil rises in noxious whiffs from
the swift-running turbine, its drums showing
no movement without, but within whirring the
"rotor" at enormous speed. Over this "little
world," attended to by almost one-third of the
ship's company, rules the Chief Engineer with
1 One would, however, hardly recognize the massive, laboring,
reciprocating engine in this description.

COALING SHIP
THE ENGINEERING COMPETITIONS
79
his assistants, and under their guidance toil the
various grades of artificers who drive not only
the turbine engines which propel the ship at over
twenty miles an hour, but the scores of minor
clattering intricate machines that supply the
electric current, keep cool the magazines, work
the steering gear, turn winches and capstans,
ventilate the ship, supply fresh water, and per-
form a dozen other necessary jobs, while about
the decks are scattered the various repair-
shops-the copper shop, the machine-tool shop,
the blacksmith shop, the foundry, the pattern
shop, and the boilermaker's shop. What other
structure today contains such a complexity of
mobile power, so great a variety of mechanism !²
2 But while the mass of the machinery is impressive, few of
the people who make even cursory inspections of a man-o'-war's
engine-rooms have any idea of the details to be mastered, and
the work accomplished, in maintaining the tremendous power-
plant installed on a modern Dreadnought. They have no con-
ception of the devotion to duty which is necessary on the part
of each individual working in his own sometimes obscure, uncom-
fortable, and frequently dangerous corner, with the full knowl-
edge that he must do his part to the end, out of the sight of
man, and without the recognition which those who work in the
daylight above him may receive. The toll of death due to casual-
ties in engine- and fire-rooms far exceeds that in the turrets and
magazines, yet there has been no shrinking, and no holding back.
There is no class of men on board a ship with a higher sense of
duty, better discipline or traditions, or who are more apt to
acquit themselves with credit in time of stress than the members
of the engineer's division. Their duties are of equal, if not
greater, importance than those of their shipmates who fight the
guns. It is as necessary for a ship when called upon for battle
to reach and to maintain a station favorable for the fighting as
80
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
The modern marine engine is certainly some-
thing to wonder at. So perfectly has it been
developed, that today it may be said to have
acquired almost human intelligence. Formerly
machinery seldom did what was expected of it;
steam was wasted and not utilized to its full
extent; "economy" never was possible. But in
these days the three- and four-cylinder recipro-
cating engines are capable of utilizing the pres-
sure of steam to the utmost. So greatly has the
expanding power of steam been developed, that,
after being generated in the compact water-tube
boilers, it is capable of driving not only the piston
of the small high-pressure cylinder, but those of
the intermediate and low-pressure cylinders as
well, before being taken back into the condenser
to be turned into water again.
The days of the reciprocating engine, however,
seemed numbered when, in 1894, the marine tur-
bine was first installed on shipboard. No one
can forget the tremendous sensation created at
the British naval review of 1897, when the Tur-
binia dashed about at a speed of nearly thirty-
four miles an hour. No such performance had
it is for accuracy and skill in gunnery after this station has
been reached. The men below cannot hope to see, or to know,
what is taking place in the outer world in the final and supreme
test for which a battleship is constructed. Without the morale
and the training which will insure a proper performance on the
part of the, at times, termed "black gang," success on the day
of battle will become impossible.
THE ENGINEERING COMPETITIONS
81
ever been possible with the old, throbbing,
piston-worked engine. The British Admiralty
immediately appreciated the possibilities of the
Parsons invention, and the British Navy before
long became the proud possessor of two torpedo-
boat destroyers having a speed of thirty-six
knots, which, not many months later, were fol-
lowed by others capable of maintaining even
greater speed.
In its most elementary form, the turbine is an
astonishingly simple contrivance. It consists of
a cylinder, on the inside of which are fixed series
of blades, called guide blades. On the shaft,
which runs through the cylinder, is fixed another
series of blades, called rotor blades, projecting
into the spaces between the fixed blades. When
steam is admitted into the cylinder, it finds itself
retarded by a ring of fixed blades, which throw
it against the moving blades attached to the shaft.
The high pressure exerted by the steam against
these starts them revolving, and this in turn
causes the steam to be deflected on to the next
series of fixed blades, and so on till it finally
makes its escape through the big exhaust pipe.
In the face of the almost universal adoption
of the turbine for warship-propelling machinery
by the nations of the world, it may seem strange
that the United States should have preferred the
"old" reciprocating engine for its larger cruising
82
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
vessels. But this decision was not arrived at
hastily, or without due investigation. For over
a year the comparative merits of the two types
of machinery were the sole topic of discussion.
But no final judgment was possible without
actual trial under all service conditions. So the
Bureau of Steam Engineering determined to put
the burden of proof upon the engines themselves,
and the result was the exhaustive tests of the
new Parsons and Curtis turbines as well as of
the old reciprocating type of machinery that
followed in the scout cruisers, Birmingham,
Chester, and Salem, and in the battleships,
Delaware and North Dakota. That year saw the
eyes of the engineering world centered upon the
American Navy. Every possible demand was
made upon the machinery of each of these vessels,
and in the case of the Delaware the reciprocating
engine was subjected to an even greater test of
reliability by a surprise full-power run of twenty-
four hours immediately following her return
from her extended South American cruise, when
she had been in port but twenty-two and a half
hours for the purpose of refilling her bunkers.
With the varied experience of all those disinter-
ested and most exhaustive investigations, the
Navy Department had data, not available to any
foreign government, upon which to base its final
decision.
THE ENGINEERING COMPETITIONS
83
The turbine, without question, possessed many
advantages over the old type of machinery. It
rendered possible a higher speed of propulsion,
and, by the absence of reciprocating parts, did
away with practically all vibration. For the
smaller high-speed vessels, such as torpedo-boats
and destroyers, the turbine proved a godsend,
because it not only greatly extended the speed
at which they could be continuously driven, but,
in addition, increased the safety with which this
might be done. In the case of the larger ships,
however, the turbine fell greatly below expecta-
tions. At cruising speed, the old reciprocating
engine was about thirty per cent more economical
than the turbine, while at high speed their per-
formances were about equal. But the turbine's
one great disadvantage lay in the fact that it
would not reverse, so that, to run the propellers
backwards, for backing the ships, additional tur-
bines in an opposite direction would have had to
be installed.
Whether these experiments would have aroused
so general an interest before the days of the
present engineering competitions can only be con-
jectured. Previous to the year 1906, the upkeep
of machinery, while receiving considerable atten-
tion, had not yet felt the influence of the system-
atic methods of operation that now are the rule.
The organization of the engineering departments
84
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
on board our vessels-of-war was good, and all
known contingencies were well provided against.
But there did not exist the desire on the part
of the engine-room personnel to run the ships at
full power in order to demonstrate that all the
details required for a successful outcome had
been carefully attended to. And such a desire
was not encouraged, for the importance of engi-
neering as affecting battle efficiency was either
not understood or neglected. Certain engineer
officers did pay the strictest attention to the pre-
vention of waste of fuel and oil, kept the joints
tight, and the engines carefully aligned. But
these efforts were individual; there was no
encouragement, no incentive other than pride.
Then came the moment when gunnery received
its powerful impetus. So astounding were the
results in the handling and firing of the ships'
guns, that the application of similar methods to
engineering became the topic of discussion. Why
would there not be a saving in coal and oil if the
same sort of attention was paid to firing the
boilers as was now paid to the loading and point-
ing of guns? Unofficial ships' competitions in
some cases contributed to save coal and raise the
standard of efficiency of the individual units, a
step in the right direction which showed what
might be accomplished, but it was still individual
effort.

Copyright by E. Muller, Jr.
THE U. S. S. UTAH IN A SEAWAY
THE ENGINEERING COMPETITIONS
85
The suggestion for the establishment of tests
and trials and the placing of the engineering
personnel on a competitive basis was duly made
to the Navy Department under date, August 22,
1906. No better moment could have been selected
for the filing of this recommendation, for a squad-
ron of armored cruisers, sister-ships, were under
orders to make a voyage to the Asiatic Station,
via the Suez Canal, a passage of 13,000 miles.
A splendid opportunity was at hand for really
studying the problem of the care and manage-
ment of machinery, and giving proper attention
to the many matters, such as gas analysis, coal
analysis, proper cut-off, tightness of main engine
valves and piston, use of half-burned ashes, etc.,
that up to that time had not been sufficiently con-
sidered. But the matter was overlooked, and the
scheme never put into effect.
When, in December, 1907, the Atlantic Fleet
started on its voyage around South America,
there were plenty of skeptics who prophesied that
it would never reach the coast of California
intact. Never before in its history had the navy
been called upon to perform such an engineering
feat. Never before had the ships comprising the
fleet cruised such distances in company or in fleet
formation. The long runs, the repairs that would
necessarily have to be made on shipboard, and
the necessary coal economy that would have to
86
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
be practiced, made it look as if the chances were
all against the entire sixteen battleships arriving
at the same time. The voyage was to be the
greatest test ever imposed upon the fleet of any
nation.
By January, 1908, the ships had reached the
coast of South America without mishap, but with
the knowledge from experience of how much
would be gained from a systematic consideration
of the problem of cruising efficiency. Rear
Admiral Evans, therefore, signalized the success
that had crowned the efforts of the fleet's
engineer-force thus far, by issuing a general
order instituting an engineering competition for
the battleships and a separate one for the destroy-
ers. For, since the efficiency of any vessel in
battle is based not only upon the performance of
her battery, but also, to a very large extent, upon
that of her engines and their appurtenances,
every effort should be made to develop maximum
speed under both forced draft and natural draft,
with economy of coal and oil, as well as to
economize under ordinary cruising conditions.
Breakdowns in formation were to be penalized,
while in the case of the destroyers, torching at
night, while running at high speed, was forbidden.
The competition ended at Magdalena Bay. The
distance covered was 8,210.5 miles, but the interest
and zeal of the personnel, both officers and men,
THE ENGINEERING COMPETITIONS
87
in trying to increase the efficiency of the fleet in
"economy" had been such that a total saving
of 1,460 tons of coal had been realized.
On June 28, 1908, at San Francisco, the compe-
tition was resumed. The factors remained the
same, but an additional clause was inserted in
the rules encouraging economy in lubricating oil.
In the Sea of Japan unusually heavy weather was
encountered, and the vessels' bottoms were foul-
ing rapidly, yet on the long run from Honolulu
to Auckland the saving of fuel was so marked
that the commander-in-chief cabled to the Navy
Department in Washington to reduce the
estimates for the amount of coal necessary at
Colombo and Negro Bay from forty-seven to
thirty-nine thousand tons, those "revised esti-
mates rendered necessary by decreasing con-
sumption shown since leaving San Francisco."
What would have been the outcome of the
voyage around the world had there been no com-
petition cannot be conjectured. It was freely
predicted, before the fleet sailed from Hampton
Roads, that a trail of broken-down battleships
would mark the course from Old Point Comfort
to the Golden Gate. No such humiliating spec-
tacle, however, fulfilled the prophecies of the
volunteer soothsayers. Not only was the cruise
to San Francisco successfully completed, but the
voyage was continued around the globe, so that
88
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
by the time the fleet returned to Hampton Roads
it had actually made three times the mileage that
was involved in the passage around the southern
continent, and it had, besides, adhered, almost
without a break, to a schedule of dates of
departure and arrival.
Instructive as the results of the competitions
were, the saving of fuel and oil was as nothing
compared with the experience gained in develop-
ing the resources of the ships themselves. The
very character of the voyage tended to force
them to be self-supporting, to maintain in every
degree their efficiency. Minor repairs were
quickly made, and everything kept "shipshape.
The voyage around South America passed
uneventfully, except for the enthusiastic recep-
tions received at every port. Then followed
the passage across the Pacific Ocean, and the
visits to the Philippines, Japan, Australia, and
Colombo, after which there would be no port of
call until Suez was reached. At this very moment
the unexpected happened. The starboard main
high-pressure cylinder of the Kansas was found
to be in bad condition. Repairs were imperative,
but the ship was scheduled to leave Colombo in
three days. The fleet had remained intact for
one year, every run had been made on schedule
time, and any failure in this fine record now
would have been a keen disappointment to the
THE ENGINEERING COMPETITIONS
89
country as well as to every officer and man.
While a new cylinder could not be made, it was
possible, with the facilities on board, to rebore
the old one. This is what actually was done on
board the battleship during the passage from
Colombo to Suez. The starboard engine was
compounded, the Kansas left with the other ships
on schedule time, and never once failed to main-
tain her position in the fleet, which continued the
voyage at standard cruising speed as if nothing
had happened.
The experiment had been even more successful
than its advocates had anticipated. From that
date the Engineering Competitions were officially
established by the Navy Department. The draw-
ing up of rules, the computing of standings, and
the publishing of results were entrusted to
the Director of Target-Practice. The two great
factors of battle efficiency, gunnery and engi-
neering, had at last become identified with each
other.
Every year a regular schedule of engineering
work is mapped out for each vessel in the fleet.
No matter where the ships may be, that work has
to be done, and upon the way in which it is done
depends their final figure of merit in the year's
competition. The necessity of holding steaming
trials so frequently cannot be understood by the
non-navy man. His sole experience is with
90
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
merchant craft, "liners," and tramps, which, once
clear of the land, open wide the throttle, strike
their pace, and then hold it to the end of the
voyage. But with their sister, the ship-of-war,
the requirements are entirely different. Her
cruising is seldom done alone. Most of the time
she forms part of a squadron or fleet, and this
means that she has her designated place in the
column. To the merchant skipper it may not
mean much whether his ship moves through the
water a little faster than her sister-liner, or
whether both her propellers do the same amount
of work. But to the battleship in the line of
battle it means whether she keeps her ram within
250 yards of the stern of the ship next ahead and
whether she is maintaining the rate of speed
signalled by the flagship for that moment.
Then is the time that the results of her latest
standardization trials need to be known.
In one other particular also has the battleship's
engineering force a more onerous duty. The
merchant vessel never varies the speed at which
she hastens across the seas. With her it is full
speed from port to port. But the ship-of-war
is allowed no such indulgence. She has always
to be ready to obey the will of the admiral on the
flagship, and at his bidding change her gait, and
at a moment's notice make a spurt or drop several
knots, as the occasion demands. What merchant

THE BATTLESHIP WYOMING'S FORWARD TURRETS
THE ENGINEERING COMPETITIONS
91
vessel now on the high seas could weather such
a test?
The battleships and armored cruisers, destroy-
ers, and submarines now compete annually for
the handsome trophies awarded by the Navy
Department for superiority in the different
classes. The deserving members of the engi-
neer's force of the trophy-winning ship wear,
throughout the year, a red "E" on the sleeve,
and the ship herself is distinguished by a red
block letter "E" painted on her after smoke pipe.
In addition, the vessel having the highest com-
bined final merit for both gunnery and engineer-
ing is awarded the battle efficiency pennant, the
greatest distinction that any vessel can receive.
For the year 1909-1910, the Nebraska was
declared the winner in the battleship class,
and the Preble the leader of the destroyers.
The year following, the armored cruiser North
Carolina had the privilege of wearing the "E"
on her after smoke pipe, while the Preble again
led her swift-steaming consorts. In that period,
a new phase in the competitions was instituted
by the inclusion of the submarines among the
classes eligible for awards, and the result was
an unheard-of amount of surface, submerged, and
awash work. That year the Moccasin won the
trophy of this novel and interesting competition,
while in 1911-1912 the D-3 carried off the highest
92
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
honors. For 1911-1912 in the battleship class the
armored cruiser Maryland earned the right of
carrying the trophy, and, finally, for the year just
completed, 1912-1913, the following stood at the
head of their respective classes: the battleship
Utah, the destroyer Burrows, and the submarine
D-3. To the commanding officer of each of these
vessels the Secretary of the Navy addressed a
congratulatory letter, while to the battle efficiency
winner, the Idaho, in 1912-1913, went a commen-
datory letter from the President of the United
States, a copy of which was placed on the record
not only of her captain, but of such of her officers
as were directly responsible for making her,
"with the material at her disposal, the most
efficient battleship in guarding the country's
interests."
It is the belief of naval officers that, in manage-
ment and operation, the navy is at present in a
very efficient condition, and the best sign of this
healthy condition is that it is still making pro-
gress. The great increase in efficiency that
followed so quickly upon the introduction of
scientific methods of management has since been
followed by such further and continued improve-
ment, that a most encouraging condition has now
been reached. The Navy Department's appre-
ciation of the part that engineering plays in naval
efficiency was a step in the right direction.

Photo by O. W. Waterman
A DESTROYER DIVISION IN CRUISING FORMATION
THE ENGINEERING COMPETITIONS
93
Encouragement and recognition of individual
effort were what were then most needed, and, with
these as incentives, so interested an attention to
duty has since that moment been secured, that
more miles are today steamed for a given expen-
diture of coal, oil, and supplies, than at any
former time; ship-repair bills are showing a
steady decrease; the ships are better handled each
succeeding period; the vessels are kept in repair
and spend less time at the navy yards than they
formerly did, and are able to develop higher
sustained speeds than ever before; and the
personnel in the fleet, both officers and men, is
today pulling together to secure not only efficiency
but also economy.
ATHLETICS IN THE NAVY
"In all occupations that require an expenditure
of physical effort, bodily vigor is of particular
importance. It is with this object in view, that
officers (and men) should be encouraged to
engage in athletic sports which preserve the vigor
of the body. Other countries (except France)
are not satisfied with merely favoring athletics;
they almost impose them through the opportu-
nities they give to practice them and by their
systems of education. Though athletic sports
cannot be a substitute for war, they nevertheless
develop certain qualities essential in its conduct.
In every game, there is competition; there is a
victor and a vanquished. To carry off the honors,
the mind as well as the body must be made to
work. As in war, one is continually striving for
superiority by a gradual increase in the expendi-
ture of energy. It is easy to speak of courage,
decision, and initiative. But these qualities are
not found in the shop: they grow like mushrooms
in suitable soil. Action is what develops them.""
Such is the problem that today confronts the
1 Daveluy: L'Esprit de la Guerre Navale, Vol. 3, p. 16.
ATHLETICS IN THE NAVY
95
naval administrator and the naval officer.
In
the age of the sailing frigate, the day of the
"heave and haul," there was little difficulty in
keeping the crews in condition through exercise.
No captain bothered his head about so trifling a
matter. There was no need of it. Smartness
aloft was the one essential aboard a man-o'-war,
the one thing upon which depended the honor of
the ship. Yet this very "smartness" in making
and taking in sail, and in crossing and sending
down yards, about which the frigate captain cared
so much, unconsciously furnished the exercise so
necessary to the well-being of his men. In fact,
he often exacted a greater expenditure of physical
effort than they well could furnish. The topmen
had to be smart, and more than smart. They had
to fly up aloft at the order, lay out on the yard,
reef or furl, lay in, and be down on deck again,
before the boatswain's mate could draw his
"colt." It was "mast against mast," with the
men actually running aloft and along the yards
in their efforts to be first.
But today there is no such thing as making or
taking in sail. The topman no longer exists on
shipboard. Instead we have the mechanic, the
gun-captain, the artificer, the engineer, all of
whom work entirely below decks. The engine-
room, the machine shop, the steel-walled turret,
the gun-mount, and breech mechanism are where
96
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
their energies are centered. But what exercise
do they get from their occupations on board ship
now? Physique and morale suffer from the want
of real physical effort. It is to counteract this
unfortunate condition of modern shipboard life
that artificial means have been resorted to. Set-
ting up exercises, in a way, fulfill their purpose
of causing "every man on board ship really to
exert all his muscles daily" and of providing
"exercise." But alone, they have never sufficed
to keep the men in the best possible physical
condition. Something additional is needed; some-
thing with a mental as well as physical effect.
There is but one answer to the question: athletics.
This discovery, however, cannot be claimed for
the steam navy of the present. It was made long
ago, in the days of the sailing line-of-battleships,
when sports, as now, were essential to the tars'
contentment on shipboard. No two ships could
be in company without some question of supe-
riority arising, and few were the officers who
denied their crews the excitement of a boat race
or boxing bout. But, until recently, there was no
encouragement given to athletics. Whatever was
accomplished was due to the enthusiasm of the
few individuals who appreciated its importance.
There was no systematic effort to extend the
bearing of sports upon the physique and morale
of the entire crew. Only in 1900 was official
ATHLETICS IN THE NAVY
97
cognizance taken of the matter by the Navy
Department in Washington. Up to that time the
Navy Regulations had merely instructed the
captains of the ships-of-war to "use all proper
means to preserve the health" of their crews.
But in that year an additional clause was inserted,
whereby the commanding officers were specifi-
cally urged to "encourage the men to engage in
athletics, fencing, boxing, boating, and other
similar sports and exercises."
The part that our naval station at Guantanamo
Bay has played in the successful organization of
athletics in the navy has been most important.
The advantages of the place led the service to an
unconscious solution of the great problem. No
more ideal stretch for boat racing could have
been selected than the beautiful waters of the
outer bay; the extensive sun-baked tidal-plain
behind Deer Point and on Hicacal Beach seemed
destined by nature for baseball diamonds and
running tracks; while the mild climate of the
winter months could not have been better for
outdoor work such as the navy men are always
called upon to do. The matter was settled when
Guantanamo Bay was selected as the base for the
battle-fleet's winter work; it became the play-
ground of the bluejacket athlete from January to
April, those months when baseball, rowing, and
all other outdoor sports, except football, are
98
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
discouraged, in more northern latitudes, by snow
and ice.
Organized fleet competitions came into being
from that moment.2 Under the enthusiastic
encouragement of Rear Admiral Robley D.
Evans, then in command of the North Atlantic
Fleet, athletic committees were formed on every
ship under his orders. Intership sports were
arranged and at every opportunity indulged in.
The Department lent a helping hand by furnish-
ing the larger vessels with standard navy racing
cutters. Pulling races became the talk of the
fleet. A beginning had been made. Organized
athletics had come to stay.
•
"The purpose of athletics on board ship is to
offer, to a large number of men, healthful exer-
cise and amusement. The commanding officer
shall encourage the men to engage in athletics,
(and) when the weather and other circum-
stances permit, he shall establish in the routine
of exercises and drills a regular period for swim-
ming, such exercise to include every enlisted
person on board, except those excused by the
surgeon. Whenever circumstances permit, ath-
letic parties shall accompany teams engaged in
match games.
It is desirable that interest
2 Guantanamo Bay was formally taken possession of on
December 10, 1903, but the Atlantic Fleet's first use of it as a
base for manœuvres was not until 1905 and 1906.

Dor M
AN IMPROMPTU BOXING BOUT
ATHLETICS IN THE NAVY
99
be sustained for the manly sports themselves and
the just pride attaching to success in contests,
and that the vicious element of betting be
restricted." With these words, the commander-
in-chief of the United States Atlantic Fleet, in
a fleet order issued July 1, 1913, introduced the
new edition of the rules governing the athletic
competitions of the officers and enlisted men
under his command. Every possible sport has
its trophies. There are boat-pulling races for
launches, cutters, whale-boats, and dinghies; sail-
ing races, "free for all," as well as for each class
of boat; boxing and wrestling contests for all
weights; field and track meets; baseball cham-
pionships; football games; fencing matches;
basket ball championships; swimming races and
water sports; rifle team matches; and signal
competitions—surely a variety sufficient to
satisfy the tastes of every one of the twenty
thousand uniformed candidates and spectators.
That every attention might be given to the
proper administration of these sports, a Fleet
Athletic Board was established in 1908 to advise
the commander-in-chief upon all matters pertain-
ing to athletics in the fleet, such as changes in
rules, methods of determining contests, trophies,
and finances. The four battleship divisions, the
torpedo flotilla, and the fleet auxiliaries are each
represented in the membership of the board,
100
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
whose meetings are also attended by the captain
of the flagship, an executive officer, and the Fleet
Athletic Officer, who is a member of the Admiral's
personal staff. Thus the interests of even the
smallest vessel of that great assemblage of war
craft are assured every consideration, and her
chances of winning a championship are no less
than those of her big sister, the battleship.
Every indulgence is allowed the men in these
games, races, and contests, but only under these
conditions-that there shall be no violation of
the A. A. U. rules and no "umpire baiting" of
any sort. In just one athletic league in this
country has there ever been real discipline, and
that is in the organization prompted and fostered
by the United States Navy Department among
the sailors of the country's ships-of-war, and that
discipline is not arbitrary, but absolutely mili-
tary. The umpires in all games are officers, who,
in their Naval Academy days were heroes of the
gridiron and diamond, and the slightest disre-
spect evinced towards them by any contestant
is cause for summary arrest and transportation
back aboard ship. The hot-headed ballplayer is
not fined five dollars for talking back to an
umpire, as in a professional league, and benched
only for that game, but he is summarily led off
the grounds and in addition incurs the military
punishment for disrespect to an officer. The
1
ATHLETICS IN THE NAVY
101
result is that a spirit of true sportsmanship
characterizes each and every competition. The
men learn self-control and manliness in a school
that has but one aim-true sportsmanship-with
the result that there are few breaches of disci-
pline, and very few disqualifications.
Who
Where does the money to pay for all the out-
fits of these countless teams and crews come
from? No wonder the spectator asks the question
as he views the shores of Guantanamo Bay on
a Saturday afternoon. Thirty-four teams are
hotly contesting every "out" on the seventeen
diamonds laid out on the target range and back
of Hicacal Beach. Between three and four hun-
dred baseball gloves are being worn, a hundred
bats used, and countless balls "fouled."
pays for all this "gear"? The twenty-five hun-
dred bluejackets and two hundred and fifty
officers in the grand stand around the champion-
ship field? No. No price of admission is ever
charged to a naval athletic contest, nor are the
men assessed the cost of the bats, balls, and
gloves. A certain amount is annually appro-
priated by the Navy Department in Washington
for defraying the expenses of "jack's" outdoor
recreations, but this is never enough to satisfy
the demands of the "fans," so the remainder is
made up from the profits of the ship's canteens,
which means that the men themselves pay for
102
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
their amusement by their purchase of sweets,
writing paper, tobacco, and other luxuries from
the "co-operative stores" on board.
Every winter about the month of March, when
the grind of the preparation for spring target-
practice begins to tell, a week of sports is decreed.
Sports, sports, nothing but sports-is the word
that flashes from signal yard to signal yard.
From that moment, every officer and man becomes
as enthusiastic about winning cups and trophies
as he is before and after to get the highest
score in the "Hits-per-Gun-per-Minute" contest.
Afloat and ashore "jack" disports himself. An
exhaustive program is prepared for his enter-
tainment and uninterrupted pleasure. It is his
reward for the months of faithful work just
ended.
Of all sports, boat racing is the one that arouses
the greatest interest. It is the never-ending
theme of discussion and rivalry. For months the
ships have been preparing for the races. Every
afternoon after four o'clock, when the day's
work is done, and on the regular Saturday after-
noon half-holidays, boats of every sort may be
seen putting off from the ships' sides. Each
candidate gets his chance to pull an oar under
the critical direction of coxswains, whose sole
ambition becomes to develop a "winner."
Whale-boats, cutters, and the rest of the ships'

Dor M
BOAT RACE
ATHLETICS IN THE NAVY
103
The
regular boats are pressed into service.
interest is intense, for on the collective achieve-
ments of all these crews during the week depends
whether the ship wins the Boat-Pulling Trophy.
The English system of more general athletic
participation, rather than individual excellence,
has gained a strong hold on the Navy. No man
is "forced or entreated" to take part in any
sport, but every man that wishes is given the
opportunity for the asking. But, love as he may
the scrub games, the bluejacket of our "National
University," like his fellow-student of the college
on shore, can never give up the idea of the
'Varsity, and, afloat as on shore, we therefore
have the picked few upon whose efforts depends
the honor of the ship. In the pulling races, that
responsibility rests with the race-boat crew, those
well-developed oarsmen, twelve in number, who,
year in and year out, keep in training and strive
to retain their places in the boat in the eager
competition of the aspiring "oars." Every after-
noon, under the vigorous direction of their cox-
swain, they leave the ship for an hour's pull
round the fleet, and then go through a course of
gymnastic exercises that, for some people, would
in itself constitute a hard day's work.
The true test of those hours of preparation is
now at hand. The race-boats of the fleet, repre-
senting each of the seventeen battleships present,
104
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
are lined up between the two stake-boats at the
wide entrance of Guantanamo Bay. "Are you
ready?" Then the loud report of the one-
pounder in the bow of the referee's steam-launch.
They are off. It is a test of real oarsmanship,
for the boats are precisely the same as to size,
equipment, and weight. Like all navy boat-races,
it is a "one design" class race, in which the boats
vary only in the small features that the boat-
builders themselves cannot control.
The present contest is for the Battenberg Cup,
the handsome challenge trophy presented to the
Atlantic Fleet in 1905 by the enlisted men of the
British Second Cruiser Squadron, commanded by
Rear Admiral H. S. H. Prince Louis of Batten-
berg, R. N., "in grateful remembrance of the
many kindnesses, tokens of good-fellowship and
wonderful entertainments that were given to
them, in cordial friendship, by their comrades
across the sea.
!
""
In the letter forwarding this acceptable token
of good will, the request was made that the trophy
should be considered a perpetual challenge cup.
Many spirited contests have been held for it,
since it was first raced for in 1906, when the
honors went to the Illinois, and it has ever been
regarded as the most valuable racing trophy
among the many in the possession of the Atlantic
Fleet. The boats used are the standard twelve-

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8.
CHART SHOWING THE DISPOSITION OF THE SHIPS OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY ON FEBRUARY 12, 1914
In the Atlantic Ocean is found both the greatest numerical and the chief military strength of the
navy. Far to the north, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but not shown on the map, is the naval tug Po-
tomac, bound on an errand of mercy, to rescue the crews of American fishing vessels, but herself
caught in the ice-floes. At Portsmouth, N. H., a cruiser is undergoing repairs. At Boston the bat-
tleship New Jersey is being overhauled, the armored cruiser North Carolina and the cruiser Chicago
are in reserve, and a new submarine is being placed in commission. At Newport are four old tor-
pedo boats and a submarine in reserve or being fitted out.
At New York the battleship North Dakota is repairing, the battleship Arkansas is being dry-
docked, the armored cruiser Washington is acting as receiving ship, and a monitor and submarine
are preparing for sea.
At Philadelphia are stationed the battleships and cruisers of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, a repair
ship, a scout cruiser, two destroyers, and a submarine.
At the Naval Academy at Annapolis are five torpedo boats, and at the Washington navy yard
are two converted yachts, while at Norfolk are the battleship Vermont and a monitor. The battle-
ship Michigan is at sea, off Cape Hatteras, proceeding south to join the ships at Guantanamo Bay.
Charleston, S. C., is the regular base of the torpedo boats and destroyers in reserve, but only five
of the former and three of the latter, together with one submarine, were there on February 12. The
others were on the coast of Florida making their annual two months' practice cruise. At Key West
are three new destroyers engaged in "shaking down" trials; in Pensacola Bay the battleship Mis-
sissippi is being used for experimental aeronautic work; while at New Orleans a monitor and the
second submarine group are engaged in their annual manoeuvres and exercises.
Off the north coast of Cuba the Prairie and Hancock, transports, are returning with two regi-
ments of marines from a month of "advance base" work on the island of Culebra. South of Cuba,
at Guantanamo Bay and Guacanayabo Bay, are all the ships of the Atlantic fleet-except those sta-
tioned in Mexican waters-engaged in the regular winter practice work of fleet and division drills.
On the east coast of Mexico, performing an obvious duty, are seven battleships, two cruisers,
and one gunboat. At Cristobal, the Atlantic end of the Panama Canal, are five submarines with
their "mother" ship. Off the coast of Honduras an auxiliary is engaged in hydrographic surveying.
And finally about the island of Haiti are a battleship, an armored cruiser, two cruisers and a con-
verted yacht, keeping the unruly element in restraint and maintaining the peace.
In the Pacific Ocean, the Asiatic fleet has concentrated its main force in the Philippine Islands,
where we find three cruisers, two monitors, a gunboat, five destroyers, six submarines, and four aux-
iliaries. The remainder of the fleet, seven gunboats, are shown maintaining their station in the
Yangtse river in China and near Canton, where a patrol has always, of necessity been kept.
Moving eastward on the map, our next vessel is seen at the Island of Guam, serving as station
ship for the island government, which is conducted with conspicuous success by an American naval
officer. The same statement can be made of our other navy-governed possession of Tutuila, or
American Samoa, where a gunboat is maintained as station ship.
In the northern Pacific no vessels have yet been stationed. This is, however, only a temporary
condition as the completion of the Pearl Harbor naval station will make this base our most important
strategically, in that sea.
On our own shores, we find the Pacific Reserve Fleet of one battleship, the Oregon, eight cruisers,
two submarines and five auxiliaries in Puget Sound. At San Francisco are two cruisers, a gunboat,
four submarines, four destroyers, two torpedo boats and one auxiliary. Near Santa Barbara and
San Diego five torpedo boat destroyers with a parent ship are engaged in various exercises. Two
submarines and two armored cruisers are also in those waters holding target practice, while further
south, on the west coast of Mexico, are an armored cruiser, two cruisers, one gunboat and an auxili-
ary, maintained there for reasons well known. Still farther south the cruiser Denver is proceeding
to relieve the transport Buffalo at Corinto, in Nicaragua, where for some time the State Department
has considered the presence of an American warship desirable.
ATHLETICS IN THE NAVY
105
oared Navy racing cutter, and the length of the
course, three miles straight-away, between the
lines of battleships anchored in column of squad-
rons. The ship of the winning crew becomes the
proud holder of the trophy until challenged by
another ship of the fleet, when she must defend
her title against the challenger and any other
ships that may wish to enter the race.
In drawing up the rules governing the races
for the Battenberg Cup, a clause was inserted by
the American admiral that any British vessel
might also compete for the trophy, provided she
pulled in a standard American Navy racing cutter
loaned to her by one of the United States vessels
present, and that, should she win, her name
should be inserted upon the cup. During the
seven years in which the trophy has been com-
peted for thus far, only one British ship, the
cruiser Argyle, by her victory in the splendidly
contested race in Hampton Roads during the
Jamestown Exposition regatta, has won the
coveted distinction, and hers is the only name
so inscribed, though other English vessels have
shown their sportsmanship by challenging when-
ever possible. In 1908, H. B. M. S. Powerful and
Challenger made gallant efforts in Australian
waters, and, in the year following, the Drake
succumbed, only after a gruelling contest, to the
superior oarsmanship of the Minnesota's race-
106
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
boat crew, which in turn had to yield the palm to
the Georgia in 1910 and 1911, to the Missouri in
1912, and, during the past year, to the Florida.
But the Battenberg Cup race is only one of a
series of most keenly contested competitions held
each winter, spring, and summer, at Guantanamo
Bay and in Narragansett Bay, for the battleship,
destroyer, and auxiliary trophies. All these con-
tests are strict "one design" races, limited to
certain classes of boats, and sometimes restricted
even in the composition of their crews. The
Battenberg and Coffin trophies must be rowed
for over a three-mile straight-away course in
twelve-oared navy racing cutters pulled by the
regular race-boat crews; the Jamestown Cup,
presented in 1907, by the Board of Governors of
the Jamestown Exposition, is for racing cutters
manned by commissioned officers of the Navy
and Marine Corps; the Belmont Cup, originally
donated in 1897 as an apprentice challenge cup,
is likewise to be competed for in racing cutters,
but their personnel is limited to men of the deck
force of first enlistment. Then there is the
Drexel Challenge Cup, raced for since 1905, by
the enlisted men of the battleships' engineer
forces; the San Pedro Cup, presented by the
citizens of San Pedro in 1908, for sailing-launches
under oars; the Narragansett Bay Cup for
standard navy racing cutters not manned by

A SAILING RACE
ATHLETICS IN THE NAVY
107
race-boat men; the Dunlap Challenge Cup for
Marines; the Havana Cup, presented by the
United States Club of that city in 1899, as a
trophy for gigs, but now raced for in whale-boats;
the Duncan Cup for scratch crews in regulation
dinghies; and finally, the Pensacola Challenge
Cup, which is won on the greatest number
of points made in races for twelve-oared
cutters, double- and single-banked whale-boats,
and dinghies.
There are cups for sailing races also-races in
sailing-launches for the Colonial Dames Chal-
lenge Cup, races in whale-boats for the Neeser
Trophy, contests for cutters and dinghies, and,
during the winter and summer regattas, for the
Department Sailing Trophy. The greatest
interest prevails when these tests of seamanship
are held, but none, perhaps, appeals to the
men as much as the "free-for-all" race that
bi-annually rouses every officer and man in compe-
tition for the Thompson Trophy. For in this
contest any boat carried by any vessel of the
fleet, propelled only by sail power, may be
entered. No restrictions of any kind are
imposed; any amount or kind of sail, false keel,
additional rigging, bowsprit, jibboom, or spar,
may be used, and the originality displayed in this
contest may be said to be rivalled only by that
in the one-mile pulling race in sailing-launches,
108
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
$
where unlimited crews are allowed. In this latter
event, last summer (1913), one ship, taking
advantage of this leniency in the rules, not only
crowded every available oarsman on the thwarts,
but in addition massed the ship's band in the
stern sheets. The minute the starting gun was
fired, every oar caught the water, and the band
struck up the stirring air of "Marching to
Victory.'
99
While the boat racing is generally conceded
to be "jack's" favorite, and the Navy's time-
honored sport, the question of second choice can
really not be as satisfactorily settled. The
winner of the Fleet Championship Boxing Belt
in any of the classes of bouts held on board ships
of the Atlantic Fleet is no mean personage in the
eye of the thousands who witness the sixty or
eighty boxers entered in the annual tournaments
that form so great a feature of the smokers given
by the various entertainment committees of the
several battleships. The rules governing these
contests are most carefully laid down and as
strictly enforced. There are seven classes of
bouts, from bantamweight to heavyweight; six-
ounce gloves must be used in all contests; the
rules of the A. A. U. govern, except where they
conflict with the fleet athletic regulations; for
every bout there must be two judges and one
referee; no man may enter the ring until he shall
ATHLETICS IN THE NAVY
109
have been examined by the surgeon of the ship
to which he is attached, and pronounced physi-
cally fit for the contest; and no bout shall go more
than seven rounds of two minutes each, with one-
minute rests between the rounds. It is in the
evening that the scene is laid for these heroes of
the ring, and well does "jack" fit the setting to
the occasion. A large stage is rigged on the fore-
castle or quarterdeck, with dropcurtains and
regulation flies and wings. The band has
rehearsed a special program for the audience's
entertainment. Rows of chairs fill every avail-
able deck space, while on the turrets and cranes
and masts there is "standing room only" when
the ship's bell strikes eight. As a fitting intro-
duction to the main part of the program, the
ever popular minstrel show, with its songs and
dances, and jokes and sketches, holds the center
of the stage; and then follow the bouts, the star
acts, which appeal to every man from the admiral
down to the youngest bluejacket. At every favor-
able opportunity a smoker is given. Each ship
takes her turn in acting the part of "hostess,
thereby returning the hospitality of her consorts.
The captain entertains the captains of the other
ships; the wardroom invites all the officers of that
particular mess throughout the fleet; the junior
officers, their contemporaries; and so on down
the line to the enlisted men themselves. It is fun,
·
99
110
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
real fun, and everyone has a good laugh and a
good time.
But what of the National Game? To many a
landsman the sight of jack tars navigating the
base paths and sliding for home plate may seem
incongruous and un-nautical. Yet, strange as it
may seem, the bluejacket loves the sport as much
as the most rabid fan of professional baseball,
and, whenever the opportunity offers, needs but
little urging to get him out on the field when
a diamond lies within hail. It is seldom difficult,
therefore, to get together a good team from the
nine hundred men on board each battleship, and
even the auxiliaries and destroyers, and the tiny
submarines, have their nines, each as well
equipped, and, in many instances, as well trained,
as the average minor league team.
It is only in recent years, however, that base-
ball has been on an organized basis, with a full
schedule and a regularly accepted process of
elimination, aiming to bring together the best
teams of the fleet for the final championship
games. The official fleet baseball schedule now
comprises one big league, divided into six different
parts. The rivalries are first settled in each of
the four battleship divisions, the destroyer divi-
sion of twenty boats, and the division of auxilia-
ries. Each ship plays every other ship of its
division once in the preliminary series; then the

THE KANSAS'S RACE BOAT OUT FOR A PRACTICE PULL
ATHLETICS IN THE NAVY
111
leaders of the several divisions meet in a three-
game series, and lastly comes the final series of
five games between the two best remaining teams
for the twenty-foot-long championship pennant
and the gold baseball watch charms awarded each
member of the winning ninė.
As early as the first of January, the ships'
teams begin their "spring training trips," many
weeks before the big professional league players
pack their grips for the Southern training camps
in answer to the call of the diamond. For this
the Navy again has Guantanamo Bay to thank.
With the assembling of the fleet within its shel-
tered harbor, it is "baseball party ashore" every
afternoon after four o'clock, and on Saturday
and Sunday afternoons. For the first six weeks
the ships' athletic officers and the team captains
have their hands full trying out the hundreds of
candidates, and determining the final make-up of
their nines. One officer may play on each team,
if he can make it, but there is no favoritism shown
and every man must continually be on his toes
to keep the position he has won over his eager
competitors. The coaches are almost invariably
officers, Naval Academy graduates who played
on the Navy team in their midshipman days; but
the captains of the ships' teams are always
enlisted men.
Whenever circumstances permit, the complete
112
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
schedule is played off at Guantanamo Bay. But
sometimes the work of the fleet renders this
impossible, and the setting for the championship
games is then transferred to Newport, where the
sailors have been allowed the use of the splendid
diamonds in Wellington Park. Here, in the
summer week-ends, the final encounters are
staged. Every man that can be spared from duty
is on the side lines to cheer his favorite team,
and not a few of the inhabitants also visit the
field to witness the spirited contests between the
men of the different ships. All day Saturday,
practically, and Sundays after two o'clock in the
afternoon-church services having been held at
ten o'clock and the men's dinners at noon-are
devoted to outdoor sports, and, as one officer
justly remarked, this way of spending their time
is of vastly more benefit to the bluejackets than
keeping the seven or eight thousand of them
locked up in the ships or landing them simply
to roam about a small and half empty town.
Some diversion has to be furnished, and in base-
ball the Navy has found the solution of a
problem that for many years was the despair
of every officer and man afloat.3
Of the various other sports, the most impor-
tant, from the military point of view, are those
8 An interesting discussion of this question may be found in
Admiral Evans's An Admiral's Log, p. 349.

THE CONNECTICUT'S LANDING FORCE GOING ASHORE
ATHLETICS IN THE NAVY
113
pertaining to swimming, shooting, and signalling.
All three are nautical sports, essential to the
bluejacket in his work, and their inclusion among
the events counting towards the Department
General Excellence Trophy has resulted in a
happy combination of play with work. Great
importance has always been attached to teaching
the men how to swim. From the day of their
enlistment as apprentice seamen, the bluejackets
learn how to take care of themselves in the water,
and with the opportunities afforded by the warm
waters of the tropical seas in the winter months,
there has been little difficulty in arousing a
general interest in the Assistant Secretary's
Swimming Cup. The money prizes offered by
the Navy Department for the enlisted men's rifle
team matches and the handsome trophy presented
by the citizens of Auckland, N. Z., in 1908, for
the officer's matches, also aroused from the first
a new feeling towards this phase of the navy's
work, and the great progress in marksmanship
with rifles and pistols that has within the past
few years marked the fleet's work, is sufficient
evidence that the right kind of spirit has been
aroused. Mention must also be made of the
Correspondents' Cup for Signalling, presented
by the newspaper men who accompanied the
Atlantic Fleet on its globe-circling cruise some
years ago, which trophy also aroused a new
114
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
interest among the men in their work on the
signal-bridge, and materially encouraged them
to attain perfection through constant practice by
day and by night.
This spirit of competition that has sprung up
in athletics has, without doubt, been a great asset
to the navy in reaching its present state of effi-
ciency. Officers and men have learned to play
hard as well as work hard. Drills, routine duties,
manœuvres, target-practice, and sports have their
allotted times in the fleet's annual schedule. Every
possible encouragement is given to athletics, once
the day's duty is done, and this happy mingling
of work with play has had a naturally excellent
effect upon both the physique and morale of all
concerned.
so.
THE SAILOR AS SOLDIER
Though it may be generally appreciated that
the two main branches of a nation's military force
are its army and its navy, whose fields of opera-
tion are respectively on shore and afloat, it is not
a matter of common knowledge that the navy,
unlike the army, is often called upon to operate
not only upon its own particular element, the sea,
but also upon terra firma. Yet this has ever been
The very first oversea expedition entered
upon by the United States navy, against the
Island of New Providence in the winter of 1776,
was an offensive operation in which the ships'
crews were called upon to attack the enemy upon
his own chosen ground. And since that date it
has been necessary for the navy, in more than a
hundred instances, to land parties of sailors and
marines in every part of the globe. The enemy
may not have possessed a single ship, yet the
navy has had to act in the field against him. In
Sumatra in 1832, in the Florida Indian wars of
1836 and 1841, in the Fiji Islands in 1840, at
Montevideo in 1868, at Alexandria, Egypt, in
1882, and in Nicaragua in 1912, our sailors have
been called upon to do what the army was not
in a position to attempt. The acquisition of
116
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
California in 1846 would never have been possible
had it not been for the presence of our bluejackets
under Stockton and Du Pont; the horror of a
fanatical massacre would have defiled the recent
history of China had not our naval brigades
co-operated with those of England and the other
allies in 1900 in relieving the besieged legations
and sheltering the foreign residents of Pekin and
Tientsin; and our Far Eastern policy would
never have had the position which it occupies
today had it not been for the stand taken by our
naval officers before the Barrier Forts of Canton
in 1854 and in the Salee River, Corea, in 1871.
Often the navy has also actively co-operated with
the army in shore operations, as at the Battle of
Bladensburg in 1814, at the first Battle of Bull
Run in 1861, during the dashing assault upon
Fort Fisher in 1865, and, more recently, in our
efforts to restore peace and quiet in the Philip-
pines. Even where the navy has had no actual
hand in operations, it still has been back of the
army and co-operating with it. No one can study
the campaigns of our own Civil War without
realizing how different would have been its out-
come had it not been for the part played by the
Union sea forces.
The task of peacemaker, then, has been a rôle
that the navy has been called upon to play, and
play well, on more than a mere score of occasions.

Bor M
THE WYOMING'S FORECASTLE
THE SAILOR AS SOLDIER
117
And it has been a duty calling for a display of
the rarest tact and diplomacy. For, though the
landing of a nation's marines and sailors on
foreign soil for the purpose of maintaining peace
and order may not, by international custom, be
construed as an act of war, the invasion of an
army expeditionary force would in all probability
be so regarded. The actions of the officers and
men employed in landing duty have an influence
upon a situation that is bound to be far-reaching
and is, in many cases, decisive.
It is, however, no case of "soldiering on a
rope.'”
"" Our bluejackets may have to learn most
of their infantry drill and manual of arms with
decks aslant, and may have a peculiar, deep-sea
manner of doing "squads right" and "port
arms," at the same time climbing toward the
starboard rail, yet when they go ashore, they
swing past the reviewing stand with a precision
of movement that would do credit to the foreign
legion of France, the best marchers in the world.
And what is more, the minute their services are
needed on shore, the instant the bugle-call sounds,
they stand ready to give an exhibition of courage
and conduct under fire, or under any other trying
conditions, that deserves more than praise. But
they hate it, hate it cordially and whole-heartedly,
for it is not sailoring in their eyes.
1 A seaman's term for "loafing.'
118
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
Yet the fact that, in practically every oversea
expedition in which the army and navy of a nation
have been concerned, the navy has furnished the
advance force in the landing operations, has time
and again emphasized the necessity of familiar-
izing the crews of our ships-of-war with the work
which they may be called upon to perform on
shore. To this end a limited experience in camp
each year has been found most desirable-a few
weeks of the winter and summer schedules when
the landing forces of each ship may be put
under canvas on the "beach," and drilled in the
essentials of scouting, patrol duty, and outpost
work.
Mention has already been made of the admi-
rable location which the navy obtained some years
ago for its winter drill ground in Guantanamo
Bay. The possession of that beautiful sheet of
water solved many of the battle-fleet's problems,
but none more than those bearing on the training
of its enlisted men as soldiers on shore, without
wasting their time with the various petty duties
that, during that particular portion of the sched-
ule, could as well be attended to by the "stay at
homes." The various rivers and inlets, beaches
and hillocks, furnish just the settings for the
practice of armed-boat expeditions, and for offen-
sive and defensive shore operations. Morning
after morning boatloads of bluejackets, provi-
THE SAILOR AS SOLDIER
119
In
sioned for several days and armed to the teeth,
can shove off from their respective ships and
engage in the various duties that, in time of actual
war, would be required of them in scouting and
reconnoitering, keeping navigation open in small
streams, surprising and boarding the enemy's
ships, and other details of blockade duty.
addition, the high bluff of Deer Point, on the
eastern shore of the bay, can be converted into a
real tent city. Twelve hundred and fifty men
may there be housed under canvas, and martial
law established on the sun-baked tidal-plain that
nature offered us for conversion into the finest
small-arms target range in the world. The blue-
jacket's training as soldier is thus actually begun.
Each ship of the navy has its allotted period
of shore duty, and, in order that there may be
no misunderstanding as to how her landing force
should be organized and drilled, the Navy Depart-
ment many years ago began publishing "Landing
Force and Small Arms Instructions," that
recently have been revised and issued in a five
hundred page volume, which covers every possible
contingency from first-aid to artillery regulations.
"Each ship and squadron," begins the opening
paragraph of the 1912 edition, "shall have a
permanently organized landing force, composed
of infantry and artillery." This force, for
purposes of instruction and in order that the
120
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
maximum number may be ready for service on
shore in an emergency, is as large as possible,
and is formed from the fighting-divisions of the
ship, the gun-divisions and the powder-divisions,
but it is doubtful whether, under actual service
conditions, ever more than one-half of this
organized body would be landed at any one time,
since a sufficient number of men must always be
left on board to care for the ship, move her
engines, and man her battery.
The unit of this organization is the section of
twenty-four men, commanded by one commis-
sioned officer and three petty officers. When
acting as infantry, two of these sections form a
company, and the joining of the several com-
panies into battalions, regiments, and brigades
follows closely that prescribed in the army regu-
lations, while the artillery sections conform to
the platoon and battery organization of the field
artillery service on shore. Of course the usual
special details are always included in every land-
ing force thus organized-pioneers, electricians,
and locomotive engineers to take charge of elec-
tric plants and railroad property, a gun-cotton
party to blow up bridges and fortifications,
signalmen, an ammunition-party, an ambulance-
party, and the necessary commissariat and
messmen. Every man is fully equipped for
"distant service.'
99 He has his packed army kit,
THE SAILOR AS SOLDIER
121
his rubber-blanket and overcoat, his rifle and
cartridge-belt, cup, water-filled canteen, and
leggings; also his rations, knife, fork, spoon, and
plate, and perhaps an additional luxury in the
form of a frying pan; and likewise his blanket,
extra clothing, socks and shoes, and watch cap.
Thus equipped, "jack" is ready to go anywhere,
and he goes!
2
In the larger landing forces there are also the
usual regimental and battalion staffs found in the
army regimental organizations. The regimental-
commander, appointed from among the captains
in the fleet, has the necessary officers detailed to
his personal staff-the regimental-adjutant, quar-
termaster, ordnance-officer, commissary, surgeon,
signal-officer, and aides-who are accountable
for the efficiency of their various branches. How
important their duties are is not often appre-
ciated. But the training they have received on
shipboard, due to the conditions of sea life, has
been such that they are almost invariably quali-
fied for the tasks devolving upon them, and the
resulting efficiency of our naval landing forces
has generally been due to the intelligent under-
standing by these leaders of the work before them
2 The organization of the battle-fleet into four divisions, each
of four ships, is the reason for the designating of the landing
force of a division (four or five battalions including the marine
battalion) as a "Regiment" and the total force of the fleet
(four regiments) as a "Brigade.''
122
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
and to the way in which that spirit has been
conveyed to their men in the company ranks.
Since various points have generally to be
considered before throwing a landing force on
shore in an enemy's country, the task of landing
a ship's or a fleet's armed force is one calling
for more than ordinary caution. The time and
place of such landings depend largely upon
circumstances and emergencies. Ever so many
factors have to be taken into consideration. The
enemy's position must be accurately known, and
the presence in the vicinity of fortifications or
defenses; the available charts have to be carefully
studied for the topography of the country to be
entered and the roads by which the force is to
advance; the beach in the neighborhood of the
landing place selected must not afford cover for
an enemy's force, and such landing place should,
if possible, be under a lee, where the rise and fall
of the tide have been ascertained, and where
there exist good holding ground for the covering-
ships to anchor, or safe waters for them to
manœuvre during the landing.
At the appointed hour, the embarkation takes
place. The cutters and large whale-boats are filled
with the infantry sections, one section complete
in each boat and seated so as to be ready to deploy
the instant the boats ground on the beach. The
artillery sections, with their three-inch field

Copyright by E. Muller, Jr.
THE U. S. S. THORNTON IN A GALE
THE SAILOR AS SOLDIER
123
pieces, are embarked in the sailing-launches and
large cutters. At the signal from the flagship,
the boats of each ship are formed in column, in
tow of their respective steam-launches, which are
armed with machine guns mounted in their bows.
Carefully shelling the beach, searching out all
points where an enemy may be concealed and
keeping up a heavy fire, the flotilla of boats
approaches the shore. Then at the whistle-signal
of command, the boats cast off, catch the water
with their oars, rush in under cover of the fire
of the steam-launches, and pour out their sections
upon the beach. In a moment the companies are
formed; in the next instant, the loose-knit lines
of skirmishers have disappeared into the country
beyond.
But the chief object of the fleet's visit to Guan-
tanamo Bay is to make full use of the wonderful
small-arms target range which the service has
been fortunate enough to find, practically ready
made, within hail of its moorings in the waters
of that bay. Not half a mile behind Deer Point,
at the head of a small inlet extending behind that
bluff, yet concealed from view from the bay, is
that remarkable tidal-plain, under water during
the rainy season, but dry and level as a ship's
deck during the winter months when the fleet
visits the Caribbean. The Bureau of Ordnance
of the Navy Department in Washington at once
124
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
appreciated this opportunity offered by nature.
It set to work with a will, and, with the expendi-
ture of a merely nominal sum, turned the sun-
baked plain into the finest and largest small-arms
target range in the world.
That no precious moments might be wasted in
making the trip to and from the fleet to this now
invaluable spot, it has been the custom, from the
first, to send on shore an entire regiment at a
time to camp on Deer Point. On its high bluff,
twenty feet above sea level, the bluejackets pitch
their tents, by companies and battalions, and
install their galleys, incinerators, and mess tents.
Here, under canvas, they learn the drudgery of
the soldier's life. The strict discipline of camp
routine is constantly enforced. While the stars
are yet blinking in the firmament, and the cold
night air still chills the pacing sentries, the bugle
blows the reveille. Over the waters of the bay
comes the sound of two bells. It is five o'clock.
A general rush down to the dock at the landing
place follows, a plunge into the refreshing waters
of the bay, a quick rub, a moment for dressing,
another to make beds (the men sleep in camp
cots on shore), and everyone is ready for the
breakfast now awaiting him. After that every
man carefully examines his rifle, wipes off the
grease with which he has smeared it after clean-
ing the evening before, and it is "Fall in" for

ON THE MARCH
THE SAILOR AS SOLDIER
125
the target range. At that moment the dawn is
beginning to break, the sun rises like a ball of
fire from behind the Cuzco Hills, and the day's
work has begun. "Forward March." The
regiment is off for the target-practice. From
seven in the morning to five in the afternoon
every man is "up and at it." Under the heat
and glare of the tropical sun, section after
section comes upon the range for instruction in
small-arms firing with rifles and pistols. Every
man receives individual instruction from the
section commanders, most of whom are expert
shots and veterans of Camp Perry and other
international matches. The mechanism and
workings of the Springfields have already been
carefully explained to the men, and all have been
through the monotonous sighting-drills on ship-
board until every man knows just how much of
his front sight to show and what is meant by a
full-sight, fine-sight, or half-sight. One by one
the men are put through the course of instruction,
first at slow fire, then at rapid fire and skirmish
fire. Then, if they have made a qualifying score,
they are graduated to the sharpshooters' course,
and finally to the expert riflemen's range. At
25 and 50 yards their scores are made with
pistols; at 200, 300, 500, 800, and 1,000 yards with
rifles. As in everything else that the navy does,
competition has become no small factor in the
126
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
final success of this phase of the bluejackets'
work. It is man against man, section against
section, company against company, and ship
against ship. Cash prizes, as well as medals, are
offered for excellence with small arms, while to
the ships of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Asiatic
Fleets making the best performances for the year
with these weapons the Navy Department awards
silver trophies that are highly prized by the crews
winning them. But the final reward to these
riflemen comes still later in the year when the
teams are selected, from among the officers and
enlisted men who have made the best scores, to
represent the navy in the annual National Small-
Arms Matches at Camp Perry.³
For weeks the reports of the Springfields are
incessant, the rattle of musketry interrupted only
by the booming of the three-inch field guns on the
artillery range in the hills beyond and the reports
of the one-pounders and gatling guns that,
mounted in the bows of the steam launches, are
covering the landing of some ship's battalion in
3 Among the many interesting rifle matches in which the navy
has in recent years participated may be mentioned the one held
at Portland, England, in November, 1910, between teams from
the U. S. S. Connecticut and H. B. M. S. Dreadnought, which the
former won by the score of 806 to 785. The Connecticut's team
was composed of four ensigns, one midshipman, one turret cap-
tain, one coxswain, one ordinary seaman, and two marine privates;
that of the Dreadnought of four officers, one petty officer, three
seamen, one corporal, and one private.

A SKIRMISH DRILL
THE SAILOR AS SOLDIER
127
the neighborhood of Lighthouse Point. But
there is also other work to be done. While five
hundred of the men from the ships' landing
forces then in camp are breaking records on the
firing line and marking the target-screens in the
pits, the seven hundred not thus engaged are
working against time on another part of the
tidal-plain which answers the purpose of a parade
ground, or among the Cuzco Hills, where a
veritable jungle challenges the skirmish lines of
the white-clad sailor-soldiers. What is to be
done is included in the hundreds of pages of
the regulations and instructions. Outposts,
patrols and scouting parties are sent to scour
the country far and near, the marching columns
are practiced in every art of advance- and rear-
guard duty, "hikes" innumerable are held until
the men become as familiar with the topography
of the naval reservation as they already are with
every compartment of their own ships. Once in
a while the battalions are sent over the twelve-
foot wall that circles the station grounds, while
at other times field works are erected, and the
men instructed in the details of extended order
drill and night operations. The infantry drill
regulations are drummed into all until the manual
of arms, the school of the recruit, and the school
of the squad are known by heart from cover to
cover. Two weeks of this work every man of
128
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
the deck divisions has, two weeks of hard, dirty
work, until "jack" longs for the day when he may
return to his home afloat, that one and only spot
where fresh water flows in abundance and where
he may keep his whites immaculate without
having to resort to his pail of water and cake of
salt-water soap three or four times a day.
But, while trudging along thus in soldier
fashion, the spirit of the sailor, that indefinable,
inimitable something, is ever there. It is always
breaking out in some manner, in a remark or in
an action, which gives an atmosphere of salt-
water ways to the infantry column never found
among the "dough-boys." Yet among "jack's"
thousand shipmates on board his own ship are
some seventy men who are soldiers by profession,
soldiers whose real work is upon terra firma,
though they are a branch of the sea service.
When the King of England, in 1664, created
the "Duke of York and Albany's Maritime
Regiment of Foot," he established one of the
most important and interesting naval innovations
ever devised by seaman or landsman. It was an
innovation indeed, a bold departure from tradi-
tion, but one that did wonders for the sea service
and thenceforth assured each ship a certain
number of trained marksmen and riflemen upon
whom the British naval captains came to depend
when there was need to clear an enemy's decks

A WALL-SCALING DRILL
THE SAILOR AS SOLDIER
129
or board a hostile ship. Today only American
and British warships carry marines. The French
have their “Infanterie de Marine," but it is a
land force, and a land force only, for service in
the colonies and outlying possessions.
To some few it has seemed as if the marines
had outlived their usefulness on board ship. At
one time their banishment to shore routine was
actually decreed and effected. But the legislative
history of our marine corps shows that it was
created in the very beginning for sea service on
board vessels of war, and for sea service only.
Sea service brought it forth, and sea service has
perpetuated it. For one hundred and thirty-
eight years our own marines have slung their
hammocks between decks and done their share
of the work, and experience has demonstrated
beyond a doubt that they have worked well
aboard ship with the sailors, and that, on the
other hand, when exigencies have demanded
service ashore, our bluejackets have worked well
there with the marines. The recent campaign
4 In October, 1775, by special act of Congress. No question is
so little understood as the relation between the marines and the
navy. That useful and renowned corps was not originally formed
as an instrument to repress seamen, but because it provided
cheaply and readily a supply of reliable and disciplined men to
complete deficiencies when the ships of war were mobilized. It
is true that at times experience showed that the marines were a
useful counterpoise to the seamen, but this advantage was quite
secondary.
130
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
on Nicaraguan soil confirmed this beyond a
doubt.5
That the marine corps has become the mobile
force that it now is, is no doubt due to the sea
habit acquired since its establishment on board
vessels of the navy by a portion of its force and
distributed from that portion throughout its
entire personnel serving elsewhere.
The expe-
rience gained by its rank and file as a component
part of the ship's organization has had a worth
to them and to the naval service that can never
be overestimated. Only by service there has the
naval purpose of the marine been realized, and
the familiarity with naval methods acquired on
the forecastle by the private has had an effect
upon his individual efficiency that none can
appreciate more than he. To these conditions,
to the varied experience of its officers and men—
an experience gained in every sea and in every
clime-the marine corps owes the qualities that
have developed its personnel into the highly
trained, efficient mobile force of naval infantry
5 In the attack on Coyotepe Hill, a bluejacket from the armored
cruiser California, carrying the colors, was one of the first with
the marines to reach the enemy's trenches at the top, while at
Nindiri, a landing force of marines and bluejackets (the latter
with their snow-white uniforms intentionally soiled and besmeared
with mud lest they be removed from the assaulting column because
of their conspicuous "rig") rushed a practically impregnable
position with an enthusiasm worthy of Thomas's troops at
Missionary Ridge in 1863.
THE SAILOR AS SOLDIER
131
ready and available for naval use. Today the
corps is primarily an adjunct of the navy, a
mobile force, stationed on board ship, in the home
ports, and at the advanced bases, always ready
to act in conjunction with the navy in preserving
order beyond the territorial limits of the United
States and in occupying strategic points in
advance of the army when to move the army
would occasion war. The number on shore is
based upon the necessary brigade organizations;
the number afloat provides for a full detachment
on board each of the large ships of the fleets.
And it is this last detail, the actual cruising at
sea, that keeps the marine corps in touch with
naval conditions and so mobile that on a few
hours' notice it could start for any place where
its services were needed.
6
The marines make of the navy both an army
and a navy. They give the navy an army of ten
thousand men, a force of the most mobile char-
acter, which can be rapidly concentrated, occupy
important coast positions and, perhaps, go far to
settle an important war long before it is possible
for an army even to begin its concentration. The
marine corps can be carried to the most distant
points without effort, it has the best bases of
• The Marine Corps is the one branch of our fighting service
which is always recruited up to full strength. At the date of
writing (December, 1913), there was not a single vacancy in the
entire corps.
132
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
supply, and its acts, in most cases, cannot be
construed as war unless one wishes to make them
war. It is a great instrument of which we do not
always appreciate the value, an instrument which,
by a peculiar existing custom and international
understanding, if not by law, we can land upon
foreign soil for the protection of our own and
foreign citizens, without being precipitated into
a war. Even the President of the United States
and his Secretary of War did not grasp this
difference between the uses of an army and a
naval force a few years ago when the Nicaraguan
difficulty called for immediate action on our part.
A regiment of soldiers was actually under orders
to leave the Canal Zone for Nicaragua, when the
Executive, fortunately, was informed of his error,
the order rescinded, and the matter left to the
navy. Battles were fought, and we lost several
men, but it was not called war.

DISEMBARKING THE LANDING FORCE
THE WORK OF THE TORPEDO
FLOTILLAS
It
From the days when the might of Britain began
to assert itself in maritime affairs, the line-of-
battle-ship has been the unit of strength by which
the sea-power of nations has been judged. It
was so in the time of Nelson and Rodney, when
the decisive engagements were fought out with
the crushing force of the great three-deckers.
is so today. The Battle of the Sea of Japan did
no more than to confirm the lessons of the past,
giving tragic demonstration of the unalterable
fact that the ultimate deciding battle of a naval
campaign must be fought out, broadside to broad-
side, between the larger ships clothed with heavy
armor and armed with the most powerful long-
range guns. This has been the teaching of
history. But, within the past generation, three
engines of war have been successfully developed,
agencies of destruction which, in the future, are
bound to have a potent influence upon the
struggles for the control of the sea. They are
the automobile torpedo, the submarine, and the
aeroplane.
History, however, cautions us not to over-
estimate too hastily the prowess of these remark-
134
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
able inventions. The moment the torpedo rose
above the experimental stage, it was heralded
as "sounding the death knell of the battleship.”
No vessel afloat could withstand its terrible
effects; therefore, serviceable sea-going ships
were doomed; and the pneumatic dynamite gun,
which followed a few years later, was announced
as certain to accomplish what its predecessor had
failed to do. Then came the test of actual
service, and both the torpedo and the dynamite
gun were shorn of most of their terrors."
1
But if the nations of the world once again
realize that the trend of modern naval operations
is more and more toward the open sea, and that
the issues of future maritime wars will be deter-
mined in great fleet engagements between battle-
ships upon the high seas, where the submarine
will not care to venture and the torpedo boat
may not find its proper sphere of action, it does
not follow that the lessons of those years of
experimentation with torpedo craft have been
entirely futile. On the contrary, every effort has
been made to develop and perfect the torpedo,
and render it a practical weapon that can be
relied upon to fulfill its particular functions with
every probability of success. From a crude
affair, dangerous alike to friend and foe, the
torpedo has grown into a powerful projectile,
1 The same may be said of the ram.

1911 BY ENRIQUE MULLER
Copyright by E. Muller, Jr.
CHARGING THE TORPEDOES ON A DESTROYER
THE TORPEDO FLOTILLAS
135
seemingly endowed with wise control over its
own actions, and effective even at battle range;
while the frail torpedo-boat of the nineties has
given way to the cruising destroyer, capable of
service with her larger consorts on the high seas
of every latitude. But with this there has come
also a better appreciation of the true functions
both of the torpedo and of the vessel that is to
wield it, and a clearer understanding of the
proper subordinate sphere to which the activities
of both would have to be relegated under actual
service conditions.
2
When the Americans first taught the world the
power of the torpedo, that weapon was of the
most makeshift description. It consisted merely
of a powder-filled shell, mounted at the end of
a long pole guided by human hands from the
bows of a picket launch. Yet, crude as it
was, the destructive possibilities of the torpedo
received terrible illustration. No less than six
vessels were blown up by torpedoes during the
course of the Civil War of 1861, while twenty-
eight other ships were sunk through the agency
of submarine mines. The effects were far-
reaching. Their possibilities set naval men to
thinking.
The modern automobile torpedo, however, was
2 The function of the torpedo on board a battleship, however,
has passed from a defensive to an offensive weapon.
136
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
evolved from the brain of an officer of the
Austrian navy.
His ideas were crude and
unworkable, but his experiments so novel that
they attracted the attention of Mr. Whitehead,
who, in 1864, was managing an engine manufac-
turing company at Fiume. The Englishman's
mechanical skill in a short time perfected and
made practical the plans evolved by the Austrian.
From that day the new weapon grew by leaps
and bounds. At first it was exceedingly erratic
in its performances, and its speed, even for a
short distance, was only six knots, which was
somewhat disappointing. But the invention
showed such promise of further improvement,
that the Austrian government decided to enter
upon a series of experiments with a view to dis-
covering what its possibilities really were. So
impressed were the British Admiralty that they
also persuaded Mr. Whitehead to conduct like
experiments in England. This recognition by the
first maritime power in the world of the merits
of the locomotive torpedo had the inevitable
result. France, Italy, Germany, and the United
States followed her example in rapid succession,
until today every navy of importance is provided
with Whitehead torpedoes.
The modern torpedo has rightly been termed
a wonderful creation. In its nose or head it
carries a war charge of two hundred and fifty
THE TORPEDO FLOTILLAS
137
pounds of gun-cotton. Abaft the explosive
chamber is an air chamber containing the com-
pressed air which supplies the motive power.
Just behind the air chamber is located the
balance chamber wherein is all the automatic
steering apparatus for directing the horizontal
rudders, and abaft this are placed the engines
which revolve a shaft traveling down the axis
of the torpedo, at the extremity of which are
fixed two screw propellers. And in the after-
most compartment is another small air chamber
for the purpose of giving the torpedo the requi-
site buoyancy and containing the gyroscope for
guiding the vertical rudders. Such is the plan
of this remarkable engine of war, which today
can be made to speed through the water, at any
desired depth, at forty-two knots' speed, and
with an accuracy that is almost beyond belief.
But the torpedo is an expensive toy, so costly—
between five thousand and seven thousand
dollars-that no navy can afford to expend a
large number of them even for the purpose of
drilling the men who have to fire them in battle.
Yet such training is essential to success, and the
problem that long confronted the service was
how to do this without incurring the risk of
losing the torpedoes every time they were fired
in practice. The use of a small calcium phos-
phide torch, secured within the practice head
138
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
(used in times of peace instead of the war head
containing the high explosives), finally solved
this important question. Now it is possible to
fire a torpedo exactly as it would be in actual
service, for the torpedo, after expending all its
air, will rise to the surface and there float,
revealing its position by a trail of smoke in the
daytime, and a bright calcium flame at night.
The most serious obstacles to accurate torpedo
firing-its prohibitive cost and the enforced lack
of practice-have been surmounted.
Previous to firing, the various parts of the
torpedo have to be carefully adjusted. The air
chamber is charged with air at 2,250 pounds
pressure, which, the moment the weapon is
launched, is automatically fed into the cylinders
of the engine. Then the torpedo is loaded into
the tube, the tube door is closed upon it, and the
firing mechanism adjusted preliminary to eject-
ing the torpedo into the water. All is then in
readiness. The pointer takes his seat on top of
the tube, training it by means of a steering wheel,
and keeping his telescope fixed upon the target.
Two essential factors still have to be taken into
consideration before accuracy of fire can be
assumed, and these are the making of due allow-
ance, when firing, for the speed of the torpedo,
and the speed and course of the enemy, which
will not remain immovable to await the fast-
THE TORPEDO FLOTILLAS
139
difficulties an
approaching missile. These
ingenious device, called a "director," has suc-
cessfully overcome, and all three can be mechan-
ically solved in a few seconds when the moment
for action is at hand. The minute the cross-wires
of the pointer's telescope are "on," the firing
key is pressed. The compressed air charged in
the tube door acts as an impulse charge and
forces the torpedo through the open end of the
tube at the rate of about thirty-five feet a second.
As the torpedo leaves the tube, the starting valve
is released, the engine begins to turn over, and
the throttle automatically opens wide. The
torpedo is thus launched on its death-dealing
mission.3
The adoption of the torpedo as a weapon of
naval warfare was immediately signalized by the
advent of a class of vessel utterly unlike any
which had hitherto figured in the navy lists of
any country. It was seen that in order to give
torpedoes a wide sphere of usefulness, it was
necessary to build vessels of such a type that
these deadly weapons could be brought to bear
3 A single torpedo striking a battleship in her vulnerable under-
body would not, however, sink her. The injury caused by the
explosion of the gun-cotton charge would merely result in the
flooding of a number of the many water-tight compartments into
which her hull was divided, an injury that in time could be
repaired-yet an injury that might keep her out of the line of
battle long enough to ensure a distinct gain, and perhaps victory,
to the enemy.
140
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
with every chance of success yet with the
minimum of risk. The simple mode of firing
torpedoes from the larger-sized ships presented
too few opportunities of using them to advantage
offensively. What was needed was a vessel of
great speed and extreme handiness, which, on
account of its smallness of size and inconspicu-
ousness of shape, could steal in on an unfriendly
ship, under cover of darkness, and fire her
torpedo without being discovered. The range of
the torpedo, even in the latter part of the nine-
teenth century, was very short, so that surprise
was the essence of the torpedo-boat's being-
surprise and ability to get within torpedo range
before the dreaded guns of her antagonist could
pick her out.
The earliest torpedo-boats were diminutive
craft, mere steam cutters or pinnaces fitted with
spar torpedoes, and of such limited speed that
their activities were confined chiefly to sheltered
waters. Their value, therefore, was very prob-
lematical. The first boat built solely for torpedo
use was launched in 1873 for the Norwegian
government. It was a frail little thing, fifty-seven
feet long and seven feet wide. But by 1878 the
length of the boats built had increased to eighty-
four feet, and in 1886 to one hundred and twenty-
five feet, the speeds ranging from eighteen to
twenty-one knots. That was the year in which
THE TORPEDO FLOTILLAS
141
the United States navy acquired its first vessel
of the type, the Stiletto, built by Herreshoff at
Bristol, Rhode Island. We were very proud of
her in those days; yet she displaced barely thirty
tons and steamed only a trifle over eighteen knots.
Yet this was only the beginning. By the time
the torpedo-boat had been satisfactorily devel-
oped, and each power had acquired a fleet of
them, the necessity arose for a new type of
warship-a vessel fast enough to overhaul and
destroy these frail yet dangerous pests. At first
this new type was looked upon merely as a
torpedo-boat catcher, swift of speed and heavily
armed. But before long it became evident that
much more would be gained by adhering to the
old type of vessel, while increasing their size,
thus rendering them more seaworthy and
enabling them to keep the open sea when the
smaller craft would be restricted to operations
near shore. This spelled the doom of the old
torpedo-boat. The "destroyer" now became the
class favored by naval experts, and it was not
long before the value of their new selection was
tested under actual war conditions. The war
with Spain and the Russo-Japanese conflict put
the torpedo craft to new uses. With the exception
of a few brilliant dashes, their services were
solely those of dispatch boats, and for scouting
and other duties which took them upon the high
142
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
seas and called for extended cruising. Practically
all the work for which the unprotected cruisers
had formerly been intended devolved upon these
frail craft, until their sphere of operations
assumed such proportions that the necessity of
greater displacement and better sea-keeping
qualities became imperative.
99
Compared with the torpedo-boats used by our
navy in the war with Spain, the present-day
destroyers loom as big as ocean liners. Instead
of flimsy "boats" of one hundred tons we now
have swift one-thousand-ton sea-going "ships.
Long and narrow-abnormally long in proportion
to their beam—with a high-built forecastle to take
the heavy seas when steaming at full speed, and
squat, slanting funnels, they look every bit the
slinking, lurking "sea dogs of war." At twenty-
five knots' speed they can creep along, silently
and without causing smoke or wave, while their
radius of action is such that they can cover over
three thousand miles without having to refuel,
and, in case of need, they can speed one-fourth
that distance in forty hours.
Tactically, destroyers are employed in groups
to attack the enemy's battleships at night. At
full speed they sally forth, in wedge-shaped
formation, until, at intervals of half a mile from
one another, they scour the seas in search of their
quarry. Anxious eyes scan the horizon for a

Copyright by E. Muller, Jr.
LAUNCHING A TORPEDO FROM A DESTROYER
THE TORPEDO FLOTILLAS
143
glimpse of the tell-tale periscopes of the enemy's
submarines, should they be venturing from the
protection of their own fleet. The far-flung fan-
tail screen has then a double rôle to play—that
of attacker and that of defender-since it best
can clear the area about its own fleet of an
enemy's torpedo flotilla and protect it from
attack under cover of mist or dark by this most
dreaded of all forms of naval warfare. Still on
they rush, tearing through the water at a speed
of fifty feet a second. The enemy's fleet has
loomed up out of the obscuring mist. The
destroyers fling themselves upon the surprised
battleships. Bows on, they approach, rushing
into the blinding rays of the enemy's searchlights,
yet displaying so thin a black wedge to the
enemy's gunners, and coming on so rapidly, that
their danger of getting hit, even by a chance shot,
is small indeed. Suddenly they throw their helms
hard over, fire their torpedoes as they turn, and
then dash off, disappearing into the murky haze
as quickly as, a moment before, they had emerged
from it.*
The destroyer, like the noxious vapor from a
poisonous swamp, is the terror of the night air,
4 Used with wisdom the torpedo-boat becomes a most powerful
weapon; but used without practical knowledge of torpedo-boat
warfare, the torpedo-boat becomes useless for offensive operations,
and a weakness and hindrance to their own flag, as instanced by
the Spanish destroyers during the Spanish-American War.
144
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
As the sun drops into the sea, and while the moon
is yet beneath the horizon, the battleships lose
their air of unconquerable majesty and wish to
shrink unseen into the gloom; to be lost from all
eyes until the night has vanished and the sun
again rears its head, or until the moon comes to
dispel the shadows in which the destroyer is
hiding, ever ready to issue forth, unseen, un-
heralded, and unwelcome, and rush down upon
its blind prey.
But, if the fleet is plentifully supplied with
destroyers, it may rest easy from thoughts such
as these. Half its destroyers can then be scat-
tered about as night watchmen to guard the big
vessels against the hostile raids of the enemy's
speed craft, while the others, released from leash,
are launched forth to attack the hostile battle-
ships and thus compel them to restrain their
own destroyers for their own protection. And
for this double service, four destroyers to one
battleship is a proportion none too generous.
As at present constituted, the torpedo fleet of
the United States navy is divided into various
flotillas, of groups of five destroyers each, one
flotilla being assigned to each of the Atlantic,"
5 Accompanying the twenty-nine destroyers of the Atlantic
Flotilla is a larger vessel, the Dixie, which shadows her smaller
consorts as a hen does her brood of chickens. She is the tender
for the destroyers. Her work is with the flotilla only, and as such
she stands ready to render immediate help to any of the vessels
THE TORPEDO FLOTILLAS
145
Asiatic, and Pacific Fleets. These forty destroy-
ers are constantly maintained at sea, except
when the regularly determined repair periods.
recall them to the navy yards. Even in the depths
of winter must they be able to go rolling through
the mountainous seas of the Atlantic or to
weather the fierce typhoons of the Pacific, travel-
ing from base to base, trying out battle forma-
tions, or testing some new device of economy in
fuel consumption. They are always "on the go,"
always working close to the "top notch." Yet,
hard and uncomfortable as the life on board
these craft is, there is no service in the navy as
popular as the torpedo service. The complicated
manœuvres, many of them carried out on the
that may be in need of assistance. Between her decks are a
machine shop, a pattern shop, and a foundry. In the machine
shop alone are thirty-two machines, all independently electrically
driven, and no repair work is too difficult to be attended to on
board. As the destroyers' storerooms can contain only a limited
amount of stores, the Dixie carries gasolene, lubricating oil, and
fresh water for every one of them. Her Lillie quadruple-effect
sea-water distilling plant can furnish one thousand gallons of
fresh water an hour, her electric bake ovens have a capacity of
five thousand pounds of bread in twenty-four hours, and her ice
plant has a capacity of one ton of ice. Such provisions and sup-
plies the Dixie delivers to the destroyers daily. The smaller vessels
go alongside their "mother ship" to receive oil, fresh water,
"air" for torpedoes, and for repair work. But other than this
their movements are dependent only upon the orders of their
commander-in-chief. The Dixie, therefore, occupies a most impor-
tant position in the fleet. Her services are indispensable to the
flotilla, yet her own work as tender is often supplemented by the
many calls that are made upon her for laying mine-fields or for
mere ordinary gunboat duty.
146
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
darkest nights, the quick dashes, the very uncer-
tainty of it all, appeal to every officer and man,
and afford an experience and training that later
become invaluable.
Not only do the torpedo-boat and destroyer
owe their existence to the invention of the
torpedo, but certainly the latest of modern ships
of war, the submarine, would never have been
developed to its present status as one of the
essential divisions of a nation's fighting force
without its incentive. Yet the first efforts at
submarine warfare seem to have been made long
before the torpedo was invented. As early as
1190 a man is said to have constructed a leather
diving boat, and numerous suggestions were
considered to enable men to sink below the
surface of the water in order to bore holes
through the sides of an enemy's ship. But none
of these contrivances, when put to practical use,
had any fighting value, and one after another
they passed into history as nothing more than
interesting freaks.
6
It remained for an American, Robert Fulton,
to design the first really successful submarine.
Some years before, during our Revolutionary
War, David Bushnell had completed a vessel, the
Turtle, fitted with a small hand-screw propeller
and a detachable powder magazine, but he was
• R. A. Fletcher: Warships and their Story, p. 289.

MINE LAYING
THE TORPEDO FLOTILLAS
147
more anxious to find someone else to make the
attack upon the British fleet riding at anchor in
the offing, than to do it himself. Fulton, however,
actually made several descents on the Seine, in
France, in 1800, but when an attempt with pur-
pose was later made at Brest, he failed to do any
damage to the British ships there. Then came
the American shoemaker Phillips, with his cigar-
shaped boat. But, though successful on numerous
occasions, the inventor descended once too often
and no
one dared continue his experiments.
The years of peace which followed discouraged
further progress.
Then came the Civil War,
and with it the attempts of the Confederates
to break the blockade of Federal "Goliaths" that
was strangling them, through the medium of
"Davids."" Their first attack, upon the New
Ironsides, off Charleston, S. C., was so encour-
aging, that another vessel of the type was imme-
diately ordered. But in five experiments the
second boat sank five times, proving that the
submarine features of this class were decidedly
overdeveloped. Still nothing daunted, one more
trial had to be made, and this time the attack was
successful, and the Housatonic was torpedoed
and sunk. But the second David also and all her
crew perished.
The rapidity of the development of the sub-
7 The name given by the Confederates to their submarine craft.
148
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
marine from a seeming impossibility to a familiar
vessel, rapidly becoming, if not now, quite the
equal of any other craft, must always remain
acknowledged one of the remarkable achievements
of the present generation, and this not only
because of the accomplishment of the fact, but
because this evolution has taken place almost
without the knowledge of the general public,
owing to the air of secrecy which national govern-
ments have preserved about their submarine
equipments.
When the United States, in 1893, advertised
for designs for submarines, three inventors
responded to the invitation of the Navy Depart-
ment, and of these John P. Holland was the
successful bidder. His vessel, however, was
never completed, as she was planned to do things
no submarine can do. But a second model, the
Holland, launched in 1898, though a trifle uncer-
tain in its movements, like a baby learning to
walk, lived up to expectations, and the govern-
ment finally purchased it, and at the same time
ordered seven more of the same type, but of
greater size and power. These new submarines
were to be of one hundred and twenty-two tons
displacement, sixty-three feet long, and eleven
feet in diameter. For surface propulsion, a 160-
horsepower four-cylinder Otto gasolene engine
was to be used, while for submarine propulsion
THE TORPEDO FLOTILLAS
149
a 70-horsepower motor, fed by sixty storage
battery cells, was to be installed. These were to
give the vessels a speed of over eight knots when
running on the surface, and seven knots, sub-
merged, while the radii of action of the two
propulsors were four hundred miles and twenty-
one miles, respectively. The submerged control
was by means of stern diving rudders, at first
pneumatically operated, but later by hand. Their
armament was one bow torpedo tube and five
small Whitehead torpedoes.
Since that date, 1900, every new class of boat
designed has marked an advance in hull construc-
tion and in propelling machinery. The Adder
class was
was followed four years later by the
Cuttlefish class of three boats known as the B-1,
B-2, and B-3, somewhat larger and with greater
speed and radius of action. These boats were
so successful that further improvements were
experimented with, with the result that a prac-
tically new design was perfected in the Octopus,
which the government acquired in 1908.
boats built up to this time had had but one screw.
The Octopus was equipped with two, revolved by
powerful engines of a new design, which have
since become the basis of the designs of motors
installed in all our newer boats. In fact, the
Octopus was the first strictly modern submarine
ever built in this country. One by one the new
The
150
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
classes followed upon this now perfected design.
The D class of three boats was accepted in 1909,
three years later we had the two E boats, the
Skipjack and the Sturgeon. In 1912 four more
were acquired, F-1 to F-4, and the G, H, and K
classes are, before many months, to form part
of the navy's submarine force.
This increase in size, power, and endurance of
these submarines, together with the accumulated
knowledge and confidence which has all this time
been acquired by the officers and men in the
handling of these sensitive and capricious craft,
is rapidly winning for the submarine a confi-
dence that a few years ago was shared by only
a few. They can now cruise and manœuvre on
the surface, change their depth of submergence
with safety and rapidity, and readily manœuvre
submerged. Their tanks, to which water is
admitted when they are submerged, are con-
structed to withstand the pressure due to a depth
of two hundred feet, and the boats are fitted with
sufficient air pressure and pumps to fill and empty
them quickly. Their motive power, on the sur-
face, is the fuel oil engine, much safer and more
efficient than the old type of gasolene engine,
while under water they are propelled by electric
motors driven by storage batteries.
In cruising in harbor or at sea, and making
passage from one point to another, the modern

Copyright by E. Muller, Jr.
A SUBMARINE GROUP MANOEUVRING ON THE SURFACE
THE TORPEDO FLOTILLAS
151
submarines are navigated with the same appli-
ances, the same methods and by the same
landmarks, as their surface consorts. When
"steaming" submerged, with only the tops of
their periscopes exposed, their "ways" are the
same, except that all their bearings and observa-
tions are taken through the periscope; when
totally submerged, their movements are not
unlike those of other craft when shrouded in a
dense fog. It is impossible to see more than a
few feet through the waters of the sea, but the
depth at which they are cruising is never in
doubt, owing to the use of reliable pressure
gauges, so that the distance of the vessels from
the surface above is constantly known with great
exactness.
Before making a submergence, the submarines
have to go through the same operation of "clear-
ing ship for action" as do the large ships of
the fleet. It is a comparatively simple task. The
upper decks are cleared of bridges, deck fittings,
and life lines-all knocked down and sent below
within eight minutes. Then, in a few seconds
more, the vessels are completely sealed. The
holes in the hulls are covered by doors with
rubber fittings and made watertight by a turn
of a lever. A moment later, water is admitted
to the tanks in the hold to counterbalance the
major part of the floating power of the vessels,
152
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
and then to the tanks forward or aft to level
them. Gradually more and more water is
admitted, until the floating power is reduced to
from six hundred to a thousand pounds. Gauges
record accurately the results of each stage. The
submarines at this moment expose about ten feet
of their periscopes and are ready to begin a sub-
merged run. The motors are then started, and
the resistance of the water, acting upon the
horizontal rudders and the deck, forces the
submarines below the surface. Any desired
depth may be obtained by giving the proper
inclination to the rudders. In fact, the control
of submarines when running submerged is prac-
tically the same as the control of surface vessels
when steaming on the surface.
Life in such craft, when under way, would seem
about the most uncomfortable, suffocating, and
dangerous one possible. The accommodations
for the crews seem calculated for half the number
on board. The living rooms are in entirely too
close proximity to the whirring machinery; only
a thin sheet of steel separates the men from the
terrible torpedoes; the outside water is so close
that one can almost feel its moisture. But if all
these discomforts really existed and the life in
these craft were as harrowing as has sometimes
been pictured, how would it be possible to get
men to volunteer for service on board them? It
THE TORPEDO FLOTILLAS
153
is true that the bluejackets receive extra compen-
sation when engaged on submarine service, but
that little inducement, assuredly, would never
suffice. One thing, however, is certain. Though
the living quarters on board the submarines are
cramped and none too lavish, it is only when
actually cruising at sea that these craft have to
be continuously inhabited by the crews. In port
and at the navy yards, the regular tenders of
each division, such as the Ozark and the Tonopah
in the Atlantic, and the Alert and Mohican in
the Pacific, are the real homes of the men, and
furnish them with comfortable sleeping and
eating quarters. And then submarines are not
nearly so mysterious or dangerous as some would
have us think. Fatal disasters have, it is true,
occurred with lamentable frequency in the navies
of foreign powers, but the United States navy,
fortunately, has never yet had such accidents to
account for. This is not because our service has
not been liable to similar casualties, or because
our submarines have escaped only through
blind luck; but because of the excellence of the
construction and design of our models, and the
precautions taken beforehand against dangers,
by the Navy Department and by every officer and
man on board.
In view of what our submarine flotillas have
already done in practice during times of peace
154
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
there is little doubt that, should a war arise, they
would be able to prove their fighting value. They
possess every military characteristic essential
to the modern ship-of-war-sea-going and sea-
keeping qualities, invulnerability, and a powerful
and destructive armament. Their mobility is
shown by the distances covered by one division
during an eight months' absence from the navy
yards-25,000 miles on the surface and 3,800
submerged. One continuous run of 190 miles, in
less than sixty hours, was actually made, the
boats making but two stops on the way. And all
this time the submarines were separated from
their tenders and self-sustaining in every respect.
8
The work of the submarine flotillas of our
navy, is, then, one on which the boats and their
crews are actively engaged from one end of the
year to the other. Cruises, manœuvres, and
target-practices occupy every moment of the
time of the eleven submarines of the Atlantic
Fleet, of the four in the Pacific Ocean, and of the
six at Manila, P. I. One after another the ports
along the coasts of their respective stations are
navigated on the surface and in submerged condi-
tion, to the astonishment of the native sailormen.
Often thick or heavy weather is met, but fogs,
8 Yet it must not be forgotten that, though so well perfected,
the modern submarine has thus far been tested under peace con-
ditions only, and still has to score its first success in battle.
THE TORPEDO FLOTILLAS
155
gales, and snowstorms have been time and again
successfully weathered. All this has added to the
confidence of the officers and men in the reliability
of the weapons placed in their hands, and it is
this feeling that, above all else, has contributed
to records similar to the one made by the E-1 last
Fall, when, while running twelve feet under the
surface and at full speed, she made two center
hits in a ten-foot moving target at a range of
three thousand yards.
What permanent and definite changes these
serviceable media of naval warfare will, in the
future, make in pelagic conflicts, remains to be
seen. That they possess merit is incontestable.
Their influence is one that is bound to be felt, for
their presence must materially determine the
movements and disposition of an enemy's battle
fleet. But will the destroyer and the submarine,
even with the aid of so powerful a destructive
agency as the torpedo, ever be able to displace
the battleship from her proud position of Queen
of the Fleet?
GUNNERY TRAINING
The records of the past teach us that for the
proper conduct of war there must be an objective
and a plan. There may be several minor
objectives, and a plan may embrace more than
a single operation, but everything must become
subservient to the prospect of attaining the main
objective. The same conditions attach to the
preparation of a nation's fighting force for war,
and the proper training of its personnel in times
of peace for the decisive conflict that may at any
moment arise. The main objective of that train-
ing must be efficiency in war-efficiency in exactly
such essentials as spell victory.
This preparedness should constantly dominate
the military art. But, unfortunately, the object-
ive of that preparation is generally the most
difficult to keep in mind. The further we move
away from the actual experience of war, the more
difficult it is to keep the essentials in sight. After
years of peace, the systems of naval and military
training tend to become more and more based
upon the theorizing of tacticians. Then war
breaks out, and the defeated nation is brought
face to face with the tremendous losses it has

A GUN CREW AT LOADING DRILL
GUNNERY TRAINING
157
A
suffered through indifference to the fundamental
teachings of forgotten struggles. Yet how often
has the knowledge thus acquired from actual
experience been blindly, if not deliberately,
ignored. The British Navy, with all the lessons
of Copenhagen, the Nile, and Trafalgar fresh in
mind, found itself at loss to account for the
victories of the American cruisers in 1812, the
true causes of which lay solely in its own lack of
discipline, ignorance of gunnery, and the general
demoralization of its seamen produced by uniform
success. But was the lesson remembered?
decade of peace, and the British navy had allowed
its system of training to become as unreal as in
the period immediately following the Napoleonic
wars. Today the service has again come into its
own, thanks to the mailed fist that was shaken
at it across the North Sea, but before that date,
only a little over a generation ago, as in 1812, the
true end had again been lost sight of, and smart-
ness at sail drill was the only thing sought after
in a fleet of ironclads, to which masts and sails
were a useless encumbrance. The raison d'être
of the ship-of-war had been forgotten.
"In preparing a ship, and disciplining her crew
for service, the fitness of her battery, skillfulness
of her crew in its use, and the preservation of
her military stores, should be regarded as among
the objects of paramount importance; for she
158
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
may in other respects be well provided, be clean,
neatly rigged, and have an active crew, but if her
battery be imperfect in its construction, condition
or appointments, or if, through carelessness, or
want of a proper estimate of its importance, the
instruction and exercise be neglected, so that her
gunnery is bad, she will most imperfectly fulfill,
in action, the chief purpose for which she is to
be employed.'”¹ The measure of battle efficiency
of the ship-of-war is her ability to deliver the
greatest number of hits in the shortest possible
time after an enemy is sighted, and this with the
least expenditure of ammunition. Her crews
may have to be trained to perform various drills,
their pride as sailors may require that they be
expert in seamanship, the conditions of life on
board ship may demand that the decks be holy-
stoned and all bright-work polished, but if this
training and the many duties of the daily routine
are indulged in to excess, and their performance
not properly subordinated to the true end-of
preparing the ship for battle-then all the work
will have been in vain.
Early in its career the American navy, thanks
to the active service required of it in the Revolu-
tionary, French, and Tripolitan wars, was brought
to the realization that the gun was the decisive
1 Simpson: A Treatise on Ordnance and Naval Gunnery, 1859,
p. 15.
GUNNERY TRAINING
159
weapon in naval battles. Exercising the guns
and clearing the ship for action became the
favorite pastime of the Yankee bluejacket, until
the War of 1812 found him on such intimate
terms with his thirty-two-pounders that the
English despaired of ever knowing to what his
"superior mode of firing" was due. But in the
years of inaction which followed the historic
naval engagements of that war, the service forgot
the very lessons it had inflicted upon its powerful
rival. "Frippery and gimcrack" were carried
on to a shameful extent, and gunnery came to be
overlooked more and more, until the Civil War
found our sailors as little prepared for real action
as the Guerrière's had been on the day they met
the Constitution.
The present-day revival of gunnery in the
American navy, however, dates from more recent
times. The first opportunity afforded our gun-
ners of demonstrating their marksmanship with
modern high-power rifled guns was sixteen years
ago. Up to that time, the conditions were such
that but little incentive was offered the service
to become trained as it should have been for the
battles it was suddenly called upon to fight. But,
fortunately for us, the enemy we met was not
only ill-equipped, but inefficient, and the storm
of shot and shell that burst upon the unhappy
crews of Montojo and Cervera completed their
160
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
demoralization. Yet, in spite of these over-
whelming victories, our gunnery had been poor,
very poor. Out of the total number of projectiles
fired at the Spanish squadron at Santiago, at
what today would be considered point-blank
range, not more than three and a half per cent
touched the enemy's vessels. The real test of
the ability of our gunners to hit a target under
all conditions had been a keen disappointment.
Something was wrong; immediate improvement
was imperative.
Owing to the conservatism of those in authority,
it was some years before the existing conditions
were remedied. The moment the change came,
the rejuvenation of American naval gunnery
began. Thanks to the inventive genius of an
officer of the British navy, that service had, some
years before, surprised the world with remark-
able records-percentage of hits of 80 per cent
by the vessel under his command, when the
average for the fleet was only 28 per cent²-and
we, in our turn, were able to take advantage of
this movement of reform and adopt the new
system on board our own ships. This was in
1902. With this beginning in scientific gunnery
2 What this improvement really meant was, that that officer,
in raising the percentages of his vessel's gunnery from 28 per
cent to 80 per cent, had more than trebled the value of his ship
in action, and that he might be said to have added two large
cruisers to the British fleet at no cost.
GUNNERY TRAINING
161
training came an era of intelligent and enthu-
siastic application of principles never before
possible, and it is due to this, and to the energy
and zeal with which the new methods of training
have been studied and developed, that the United
States navy of today, in hard, quick hitting, is
second to none.
How has this been accomplished? By arming
our ships with the best weapons and fitting them
with the best and most modern ordnance equip-
ment, by diligent drill and constant training, by
the proper development of the battery and turret-
divisions, each a basic unit of the ship's organi-
zation, and by an appreciation of the truth of
the maxim that no ship can profitably engage in
target-practice or even fire a few rounds until
her individual gun-crews have been trained to a
high degree of efficiency and every man of them,
from the turret-captain down to the youngest
member of the handling-room ammunition-crew,
can perform his small share of the work with
clock-like precision. Until this is so, the ship is
not ready to fire a single shot; and this elemen-
tary training requires money, labor, and time.
A sailor's preparation for battle begins the
moment he comes aboard ship. Within half an
hour of his arrival, he has been assigned a station
at a gun, with an older man to instruct him in his
duties. Then his training commences. The new
162
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
3
recruit is carefully observed by each of his
immediate superiors. He is studied both as to
his mental and physical fitness for the various
stations of pointer, trainer, sight-setter, plugman,
loader, shellman, and powderman, and then he
is tried out at the duty for which he seems best
fitted. If he gives promise of being able to do
well the thing for which he has been selected,
more thorough detailed instructions follow the
preliminary drills. He is taught each element
of his duty, and required to perform each opera-
tion over and over again. Even the smallest
details are most carefully impressed upon him,
for, in the practicing of these little matters, which
he would otherwise be likely to consider of no
consequence, he is taught to avoid the mistakes
of others schooled by actual experience. Thus
far every motion has been executed deliberately
and with care. But the moment the officer is
satisfied that his man has acquired accuracy and
confidence, there begins a process aiming at a
systematic increase in the speed of each operation,
3 The pointer and trainer are the members of the gun-crew who
aim, elevate, depress, and train the gun, and the pointer, in addi-
tion, fires the piece at the given signal; the sight-setter keeps the
lateral and elevation sights of the gun accurately and exactly
as he is ordered; the plugman opens and closes the breech-plug,
inserts the primer, and cocks the firing lock; the loaders ram
home the shell and powder-bags after they have been placed on
the loading tray; the shellman and powderman handle, respec-
tively, the projectiles and powder-bags and place them upon the
loading tray.

で
​Won
Copyright by G. W. Stilb
A SEVEN-INCH GUN CREW IN ACTION
GUNNERY TRAINING
163
since intelligent rapidity at drill is essential to
an intelligent rapidity that, in battle, must be
mechanical.
Then comes the next stage in the training. No
sooner has each member of the gun-crew been
developed in the performance of his individual
duties as pointer, sight-setter, plugman, or loader,
than the several individual units are fitted into
a homogeneous crew. Each man is shown just
where his own duties dovetail those of the other
members of the crew. This team-work is carried
on slowly at first, to develop co-operation and
overcome every tendency of interference, and
teach each man to fit into his proper place
naturally, almost mechanically. Every useless
movement is eliminated, and every physical
feature of gun, mount, ammunition hoist, and
sight is carefully studied, until perfection has
been attained.
How much of this perfection has been due to the
navy's use of the "dummy loader" invented in
1903, only the service itself can fully appreciate.
Formerly loading-drills had to be classed among
the most expensive of a navy's pastimes. Few
guns could survive many years of such hard
usage, and their breech-blocks were soon worn by
the constant slamming and denting of the quickly
thrown shells. But a marked economic improve-
ment resulted from this timely invention in the
164
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
saving of the life of the costly guns. The new
device was a facsimile of the breech and powder-
chamber of the piece, to the point where the rifling
begins. Loading it required motions identical to
those employed in loading and firing the real
weapons, and the same shells and powder-bags
(dummy ones, of course, filled with sand) were
used. The shellman had to have the same
strength and dexterity; the primerman had to be
quick and accurate; the plugman needed the same
cat-like spring to "man the plug" properly. In
no time the men themselves became enthusiastic
over the "sport." They quickly became expert
in lifting, handling, and loading the heavy shells,
and developed record times for elements of gun
service and operation that were truly little short
of marvelous. In a trifle over two seconds the
heavy breech plug is now swung open and to
one side; in three and two-fifths seconds the
steel projectile, weighing 870 pounds, is firmly
"seated," and in less than five seconds more the
four-bag powder-charge is rammed home. Then
half a second follows before the loading-tray can
be removed; another two and four-fifths seconds
elapse while the breech plug is being locked, and
the primer inserted-all this in less than a
fourth of a minute.
To the crack gun-crews of 1861 such records
would have seemed incredible. No IX-inch
GUNNERY TRAINING
165
smooth-bore of that day could have been handled
so rapidly. Even as late as 1886 the time in
which that weapon, weighing nine thousand
pounds and firing a 72-pound shell, could be
served from fire to fire was carefully noted as
not less than one minute and twenty seconds,
while the best record made up to that time by a
picked gun-crew was forty-three seconds between
fires-a record that was, however, discouraged
as dangerous to both gun and crew. But the
IX-inch smooth-bore and the other weapons in
use in our navy up to the Civil War, and even
into the days of the Spanish-American War, bore
little resemblance to the guns with which we are
today arming our Dreadnoughts and Super-
dreadnoughts. They resembled more the cannon
with which Philip of Spain crowded the gun-
ports of his galleons in the days of Drake and
Howard, and, except for the improvements made
in sights and gunpowder, the Yankee tar of the
nineteenth century had, after all, but little over
the red-turbaned buccaneer of the Spanish Main.
The American bluejacket's reliance in 1861, as
in 1812, was the nine-foot-long 32-pounder,—
weighing 54 cwts., and firing a 332-pound iron
ball with an 11-pound brown powder charge,
having an extreme range of 2,200 yards, with,
however, no possibility of accuracy,*-the long
4 Compare this with the beautiful, practically perfect, twelve-
166
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
gun which the Constitution and the United States,
the Wasp and the Hornet, had used with such
telling effect. Every four minutes, the log-book
of the Constitution tells us, Old Ironsides could
fire her broadsides, and fire them with clock-work
regularity. Deliberate firing, we would call it,
but hardly deliberate it would seem, when we
consider the guns and the carriages on which the
pieces were mounted, or the manner in which both
had to be handled. Even in 1861 these guns were
mounted on heavy, clumsy wooden carriages such
as crowded the gun-decks of the Victory at
Trafalgar, carriages on wheels, pulled this way
and that by ordinary tackles, and trained with
handspikes and elevated and depressed by means
of a wooden triangle, called a "quoin," shoved
in under the breech to keep the gun at the desired
angle.
Nor would such records as today are made
have been possible with the 13-inch breech-loaders
with which the Oregon and the Indiana were
armed in 1898. For it is only within a decade
that naval ordnance has emerged from the
experimental, transitional stage that followed the
introduction of modern weapons on board modern
inch steel breech-loading rifle of 1913, weighing fifty-six tons
and fifty feet in length (the Hornet of 1812 was only 106 feet
long), capable of firing an 870-pound steel projectile with a
340-pound charge of smokeless powder, and with accuracy, at an
extreme range of 24,900 yards.

THE BATTLESHIP KANSAS'S BROADSIDE
GUNNERY TRAINING
167
ships-of-war. Every feature of the mechanism
of those days placed a limit upon the speed with
which the pieces could be worked. "Groaning,
lurching complications" discouraged the officers
and the men at every turn. The gun-sights were
inaccurate and never intended for long-range
firing, and were besides improperly made; the
elevating and training gear on the gun-mounts
was poor, and the breech-blocks jammed all too
easily. But the spirit of 1812, the true fighting
spirit of the navy, was still there. Willing
workers took up the task of remedying the
defects, and it is thanks to their unselfish labors,
and to the splendid co-operation of their men,
"the men behind the guns," that the goal has at
last been reached.
It must not be supposed, however, that good
gunnery has been realized through rapid loading
alone. Team-work and the quick handling of the
shells and powder-bags are essential factors of
success, but they are still only half the work of
that human machinery which Admiral Erben
christened “the man behind the gun." The skill
of the pointer, who presses the firing key and
releases the 870-pound missiles also had to be
developed to secure the well-directed fire which
Admiral Farragut once said was not only essen-
tial to ultimate victory, but also very necessary
as a protection against an enemy's gun-fire.
168
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
The method of training which has brought this
about came to us from the British Navy, and
consists of an ingenious mechanical device,
whereby a small target is made to move across
the face of the gun, simulating the relative
motion of a ship under way. This target the
gun-pointer, sighting his piece through the
regular telescope-sight, must follow with his
gun, and fire at, by pressing his firing key, when-
ever the cross-wires of his sight (the lens of the
telescope has a vertical and a horizontal line
across it) are on the bull's-eye. A small card,
pierced by an electrically operated needle every
time the gun is "fired," registers the accuracy
of the pointer's aim, and shows him whether he
was "on" or not.5
In this there has been a radical departure from
the system we inherited from the days of sails
and smooth-bore guns, the invariable rule of
firing at the top of the downward roll, and the
only rule known to navy men of that day. The
native ability of the gunner then was the chief
asset of the service in target-practice and in
action. Telescopic sights, adjustable range and
deflection sights on the guns, fire-control, and all
the other refinements that are now so essential
5 It is interesting to note that the British Navy had such a
device in use on board its ships in the early sixties, and that their
system was shortly after introduced into the French Navy.
(Lewal: Artillerie Navale, 1863, Vol. II, pp. 1-3.)

ON TOP OF AN EIGHT-INCH TURRET DURING "DOTTER" PRACTICE

GUNNERY TRAINING
169
to hitting the mark, were then unknown quanti-
ties. The gunner sighted his piece by glancing
along the top of the gun, parallel to the center
of the bore—allowance being made, of course, for
the inclination of that line to the axis of the bore
due to the metal being thicker at the breech than
at the muzzle, by the line of metal, as it was
called-and fired at his own discretion. As the
ship hovered on the top roll of the sea, with her
guns pointing skyward just over the enemy's
royals, he would make a rapid mental calculation.
As the ship began the downward roll, he would
set himself for the proper moment and, the instant
he thought his gun bore on the target, pull the
lanyard, and then trust to the grace of Neptune
and his lucky buttons.
But better ordnance made possible better
methods of training, until the "dotter" sup-
planted them all and initiated the gun-pointer in
the secret of "continuous-aim firing"-the art of
keeping a gun trained on the target, regardless
of the oscillations of the vessel, during the whole
or a portion of the roll. It is this ingenious
device that has revolutionized the gunnery of
our navy, and made possible the remarkable
target-practice records of our fighting ships.
And what is more, it has brought about a system
of training that does not cost the country one
cent for ammunition.
170
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
The gun-pointer, whose one ambition in life is
to fire his gun six months later when target-
practice begins in earnest, has taken to the
"dotter" like a duck to water. It has given him
a new interest, a new incentive, in his work.
Whereas formerly he had no opportunity of
getting himself in training for the "big game,”
now he has the "dotter" at his service for the
asking. During drill hours and out of hours he
can and does practice his hand, eye, and nerve.
With his eye glued to the rubber flap of the
telescope and his hand on the steering wheel and
firing key, he fastens his gaze on the black speck
of the bull's eye like a hawk. If he makes a
mistake of a fraction of an inch the needle is
sure to wander out of the bull's-eye, and registers
a miss that in actual practice would mean yards
off the target. The elusive mark must be kept
in front of the waiting needle for minutes at a
time, and, to secure this perfect co-ordination
of brain and brawn, the tireless practice of an
enthusiast is requisite.
From a drudgery, gunnery has developed into
a game of contest. Every pointer, every gun,
every ship, and every squadron has been placed
upon a competitive basis. Consequently, a spirit
of rivalry has sprung up that, from the first, was
bound to have most beneficial results in what is
without question the most spectacular of contests.
GUNNERY TRAINING
171
And to the men, it is not only a matter of pride
and glory, but a question of increased pay.
Prizes are offered by the Navy Department for
the high scores with turret and broadside guns
of each caliber. All the members of the crews
to which prizes are awarded get a money prize
amounting to from five to twenty dollars each,
while each gun-pointer making a qualifying score
is assured an increase of from two to ten dollars
in his monthly pay. The winning crews, if their
scores warrant it, then have the right to paint
the navy "E," meaning excellent, on their turrets
and gun-shields, and every man of the crew is
furnished by the Department with a small letter
"E" to be worn on his sleeve for a year. What
an incentive these rewards should be, and are,
can be appreciated. But they are not the only
thing sought after. The honor of the ship stands
out pre-eminently as the one thought in every
officer's and man's mind while the competition is
going on, and the honor of carrying the trophy
of her class remains more eagerly contested for
than all the money prizes put together.
It is this phase of the navy's work, then, this
training in gunnery, that year in and year out
occupies the attention of every one in the service
from the highest in rank to the lowest in rate.
Our record is still young in years, but our system
has been so modified from the one we received
172
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
from the British Navy, that in the past decade
we may be said to have developed a system wholly
our own. Perfection has not yet, by any means,
been attained, but our personnel has been trained
in resourcefulness and initiative until, year by
year, the weak points in our methods are being
eliminated and the good ones strengthened. It is
our team-work, team-work inspired by competi-
tion, that has borne fruit, and it is this splendid
co-operation between the commissioned officer
and the enlisted man that will, when the crucial
test of battle comes, produce more hits-per-gun-
per-minute than any other conceivable factor.
TARGET-PRACTICE
It is indeed fortunate, in this age of great naval
armaments and extensive warlike preparations,
that the training of our fleets and squadrons
should be based upon a principle often proved to
be sound that the greatest asset a naval force
can possess is an effective and accurate gun-fire.
For, since the beginning, notwithstanding the
influences that the ram, the torpedo, and the
submarine have at times had upon marine
operations, the strength of a navy has ever been
in its shooting-or rather in its hitting—and,
in so far as that has been good, fair, or bad, so
has the navy concerned been strong, mediocre,
or weak. Ships have always counted for much—
without ships no guns could have been mounted
afloat-and men have counted for more; but what,
in battle, has counted the most, has been what
those men got out of the guns that were mounted
in the ships they manned. And that is the only
thing that really mattered.
Because of the crudeness of ordnance, excel-
lence in naval gunnery in years gone by would
seem to have consisted more in comparative
rapidity of fire than in actual accuracy. The old
smooth-bore cannon of John Paul Jones's day
174
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
were so weak that the ranges at which battles
were fought were necessarily very short. It was
a question of yardarm to yardarm, hard pound-
ing at close quarters, when ships fired broadsides
into each other at point-blank range, "so close,"
as the great Nelson himself remarked, "that our
shot cannot miss the object." And in this fight-
ing of broadside to broadside, the capability of
getting in two shots to the enemy's one, was the
factor that determined the victory.
Target-practice in those days, therefore, came
to be looked upon more as a test of the agility of
the gun-crews in ramming home the powder and
ball charges, than as a trial of the accuracy in
sighting of the gun-captains, who almost inva-
riably reserved the right of pulling the lanyards
of their own guns. If this was not the case in
our navy during the War of 1812, it, at any rate,
became the custom in the years of peace that
followed the Treaty of Ghent, when the sole
employment of our frigates and sloops was
chasing pirates and slavers and cruising from
port to port to display the flag abroad. Great-
gun exercises and target-practice, from realistic
drills held under conditions as nearly like battle
as possible, degenerated into mere shams. The
gun-crews manned their tackles and swung their
handspikes and ran their guns in and out of the
gun-ports, until they, and not infrequently their

DECK SCENE ON THE FLAGSHIP WYOMING DURING SUB-CALIBER TARGET PRACTICE
TARGET-PRACTICE
175
officers also, felt that they had done everything
necessary to ensure victory. But when the guns
were loaded and run out, and the broadside
trained upon the target, so many precious
moments were wasted while the orders were
given, slowly and deliberately, to "Handle your
match and lockstring," "Cock your lock," "Blow
your match," "Stand by-Fire," that by the
time the various details of the "manual" had
been strictly complied with, not a gun bore upon
its mark.
The introduction of the rifled gun, about the
time of the Civil War, and of the breech-loader
some years later, completely revolutionized these
revered traditions of naval gunnery. Long-range
firing now developed into a contest of skill in
which real accuracy became possible¹ and one in
which hitting the mark was no longer merely a
matter of chance. At that moment, the moderni-
zation of naval ordnance began. It is true that
the full realization of this improvement did not
come until the closing years of the last century,
and that practical results were not obtained until
several years later. But a beginning had been
made, and that, considering the centuries which
had elapsed without material progress, was a
1 Because, since the shot no longer had to be rammed in from
the muzzle, a closer fit of the projectile in the bore of the gun
became possible.
176
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
great deal. The perfection of breech-loading
weapons was gradually accomplished, until today
we have such remarkable, finely adjusted mechan-
isms that the old "Long Tom" seems a crude
toy compared with the twelve-inch rifle carried
by our modern battleship. And then there has
been the development of the telescopic sight, an
American invention, and the perfection of various
systems of fire-control, without either of which
accurate shooting, at the excessive ranges today
practiced, would be well-nigh impossible.
2
But after all, it is what the men behind the guns
get out of those guns that counts the most. This
we realized in 1812, and appreciated again in
1861. But in the period that followed the close
of the Civil War, the lessons of those years of
active service were quickly forgotten. No sooner
had the last shot been fired than the whole
country seemed to lose all interest in the navy
which had become the greatest among the fleets
of the world. The powerful effect of the blockade
in throttling the supplies of the South and thus
reducing the Confederacy to inanition was not
yet understood by the great majority of our
people. A number of officers, fortunately,
remained alive to the needs of the service during
2 The art of transmitting the correct ranges from the fire-control
party in the tops observing the fall of the projectiles to the guns
in the turrets below.
TARGET-PRACTICE
177
that period of retrogression and urged them time
and again, until the birth of the White Squadron
furnished the popular incentive for the recon-
struction of our fleets and made possible a revival
of interest in naval gunnery. With better ships
and better weapons placed at its disposal by
Congress, the navy once more took heart. Even
then, the difficulties to be overcome were many.
The time-honored traditions of the days of sailing
ships and ships of wood could not be adapted in
a day to a steam and steel fleet. Everything had
to be changed, and readjusted to the new condi-
tions. Then came the war with Spain, and the
discovery that, though the gunnery of the few
vessels then composing our battle-fleet was
probably not inferior to that of any other navy
of that period, our shooting had not been as
wonderful as our overwhelming and decisive
victories had led us to believe. This disappoint-
ing realization, however, had most beneficial
results. In a few years, the entire system of
gunnery practice in our navy was practically
revolutionized. Hitting the mark became the
chief aim of our officers and bluejackets, instead
of being merely a secondary feature of their
work. A special office of Inspector of Target-
Practice was, in 1901, established to supervise
this important phase of the navy's work. Earnest
efforts were made to ascertain the reasons
178
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
for our failures and to remedy the existing
defects in materiel and in the development of
the personnel. Mistakes were made, some of
them costly, but the experience gained was
never forgotten, and the causes of error, once
discovered, were immediately removed.
Whereas in 1896 a shot every five minutes from
a turret-gun and one shot a minute from a six-
inch gun were considered satisfactory perform-
ances, fifteen years later two shots a minute
could be fired with regularity from the twelve-
inch guns, and eights shots in the same period
from those of six inches in caliber, and this
rapidity of fire was obtained without any loss
in accuracy. In fact, the records show that the
navy's percentage of hits in that time actually
improved from three and one-half per cent in
1898 to about twenty per cent in 1911, while the
ranges at which the practices were held had
correspondingly increased from 3,000 yards to
11,000 yards. All relics of the old system were
gradually abandoned. The small triangular sail,
the "bull's-eye" of an imaginary target 100 feet
by 25 feet, which formed the basis of our navy's
smooth-water target-practices until the true navy
spirit reasserted itself in 1902, was consigned to
the scrap heap, and, instead, full-sized target-
screens, to be hit and not merely fired at, came
into vogue. Little by little target-practice was

Copyright by E. Muller, Jr.
A SALVO OF TWELVE-INCH SHELLS LANDING. A VIEW OF BIG GUN-PRACTICE FROM THE SHIP TOWING THE TARGET RAFT
TARGET-PRACTICE
179
developed as an art and a science.
As each
successive step was met, new suggestions were
made and carried out, until in 1909 the battle-
fleet formally adopted long-range firing at moving
targets. And all this was accomplished during
the past few years because the Navy Department
in Washington sought the true solution of the
great problem and trained the men of the service
in the right way really to use the guns with which
our ships had been armed.
One phase of this gunnery training we have
already followed, that phase which develops the
eye of the gun-pointer, the acute hearing and
power of mental concentration of the sight-
setter, the strength and dexterity of the shellman,
and the agility of the plugman. But, valuable as
this system is, it is only one phase of the training.
It teaches the gun-crews only how to "man their
tackles, swing their handspikes, run their guns
in and out of the gun-ports, and train their
broadside upon the target." Each man as a unit
and each crew as a team have been trained so
that each element has become a perfect-fitting
cog in the great gear train, and each part has
been carefully adjusted and oiled. But that great,
complicated machinery has not yet been set in
motion. Not a shot has been fired. Practice
under actual service conditions is the test that
still has to be met, the practice in which the
180
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
!
efforts of every officer and every man, from the
admiral on the bridge down to the coal passer in
the fire-room and the bluejacket in the ammuni-
tion handling-room, are concentrated to attain the
ultimate purpose-battle efficiency.
In order to bring out this co-ordination of all
the units with the least effort, our navy has
established a series of practices, a kind of "course
of study," in which each of the various stages
is gradually mastered until the final practice of
the year finds each ship primed for the fray. The
setting is staged on the Southern Drill Ground,
a patch of the ocean particularly free of traffic,
off the Virginia Capes, within the area bounded
by Latitudes 36° 45′ and 36° 55′ N., and Longi-
tudes 75° 35′ and 75° 45′ W. Here the entire
battle-fleet assembles each spring and fall, imme-
diately following the winter and summer exercises
in the Caribbean Sea and in Narragansett Bay
respectively.
The first of these practices is Elementary
Target-Practice, which, as its name implies, is
a demonstration of the fundamentals of gunnery.
Until a few years ago it was always held in
smooth water and with anchored targets, but now
the firing takes place in the open sea, at a range
of about two thousand yards, with small targets
just sufficiently large to catch well-aimed shots.
All the guns have been properly calibrated (that
TARGET-PRACTICE
181
is, set to hit the spot aimed at at the same given
range, the telescopic sight-line and the bore-sight-
line converging to a point at that distance), the
ballistic properties of the powder are known, and
the ships steam across the range at set speeds,
firing their guns individually at towed targets,
whose speed and course are also known. Thus
all the conditions are accurately known, except
the personal equation of the man. It is to deter-
mine this, to test the value of the weeks of
systematic, detailed training, that this practice is
held. Only one gun is fired at a time, and each
pointer fires at his own target. Accuracy and
rapidity of fire are sought, but accuracy is desired
above all, for to qualify as gun-pointer a very
high percentage of hits is required. It is the one
practice of the year in which the gun-crews, the
gun-divisions, and the ships, are keenly pitted
against one another. The guns of large caliber
are fired in the daytime, while the smaller guns
fire at night, under conditions similar to those
they would encounter in repelling the attacks of
torpedo craft.
That the competition in elementary practice
may be equally fair and favorable to all the gun-
pointers, and that the conditions of sea and
weather, in so far as possible, shall be the same
for all the ships, every effort is made to assemble
all the vessels of each fleet which is to conduct
182
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
the firing. The practice of each ship is, therefore,
held in the presence of all her consorts, the
record of each gun-crew is intently watched by
all the other crews in the fleet. The competition
and interest thus aroused furnish an incentive
never possible under the old régime.
Having trained the individual, developed the
gun-crew, perfected the mechanism, and learned
from the elementary practice what to expect
under favorable conditions from the firing of the
individual, the navy next enters upon the final
stages of the training for battle efficiency. The
forms of firing now become more and more
advanced in character, the conditions are not the
same for all the ships, and competition is sacrificed
to realism. It is real Battle-Practice. The firing
vessels have no knowledge of the course, speed,
or distance of the moving target. The only
known factor is that somewhere on the horizon
at a distance of a dozen miles are columns of
smoke which mark the enemy at which they are
to shoot. At full speed, the firing ships steam
toward their targets, and, when within range,
open fire at whatever distance they choose, the
minimum range, however, being strictly defined
by the rules. The turret and main battery guns
are fired together, two at the same instant in
"salvos," and then all simultaneously. The
whole practice is completed in four minutes,
TARGET-PRACTICE
183
precious moments indeed, for, if a ship fails to
make a qualifying score, she has no other chance
to make good.
Then comes Divisional Practice, the final step
in the development of the fleet for action, and by
far the most spectacular and most imposing phase
of the whole work. The ships of each battleship
division are formed in line of battle, making their
approach and delivering their fire under actual
battle conditions. No possible elements of real-
ism are omitted. The silhouettes of the towing
ship and its tow of targets, representing the
battleship division of the enemy which the firing
ships are to engage, are barely visible. But, at
the signal from the admiral commanding the
division, the ships let loose the full power of
their tremendous broadsides, following every
move of the flagship and simultaneously obeying
her signals. The control of the division has at
last been obtained so that all the guns can be
used as a unit.
How even a single hit is registered at the
excessive ranges of the battle practices of today
is, to the landsman, inconceivable. Even the navy
man of a decade ago would have thought it
preposterous. But in that day the ordnance
material now mounted on board our ships had
not yet been developed, the "dotter" and the
"loading machine" had only recently been
184
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
introduced, the telescopic sight had not been per-
fected, and the science of properly directing a
vessel's fire was still in its infancy. Remove from
our navy any of these assets, remove only the
telescopic sight, and the range of the batteries
of our Dreadnoughts would be reduced to one-
fourth their present limit.
Twenty-three years ago there was no such
thing as a telescopic sight. The guns of the
world's navies were equipped with open bar
sights-the one at the breech being adjustable
to give proper elevation to the gun-which were
no more accurate than those we had in the Civil
War. The sights being mounted on the guns
themselves precluded any possibility of accurate
aim at the moment the piece was fired, owing to
the violent recoil of both gun and gun-carriage.
Then came the invention of the telescopic sight,
and its practical test on board the gunboat
Yorktown, in 1892. But its superiority over the
old open bar sight was not, at the time, sufficiently
appreciated by the service or by the Navy
Department. Today, however, every gun in our
navy is equipped with it. Instead of showing
inexactly, it shows exactly, the object at which
the guns are being aimed; it clears up the target
wonderfully, besides enlarging the old field of
vision some four or five times; it does not recoil
with the gun, because it is attached to the mount

DIVISIONAL TARGET PRACTICE
TARGET-PRACTICE
185
instead of to the piece itself, and the gun-pointer
can, therefore, keep his eye constantly fixed to
the eye-piece; and, lastly, used in combination
with the admirable elevating and training mechan-
isms now employed-and thanks also to the
"dotter" with which our gun-pointers are being
trained—it enables both pointer and trainer to
keep the cross-wires of the telescopes continuously
upon the target.
But, while the introduction of the telescopic
sight solved one important essential to accurate
gunfiring, one of the greatest difficulties had yet
to be surmounted, and that was the measurement
of the range and a proper control of a ship's fire
after the initial range had been established. It
was an embarrassment that the seamen of the
old navy sought vainly to overcome. In the early
years of the nineteenth century, the ingenious
expedient of utilizing a large pendulum hung in
the main hatch was adopted to control a vessel's
fire when she rolled in a seaway and the smoke
of the discharge of her broadside obscured the
enemy from view. Systems of signals were also
devised to secure the proper angle of elevation
for the lee guns or of depression necessary for
those of the weather side. But our wooden navy
of 1812 and our ironclad fleet of 1865 never,
even with these ingenious innovations, obtained
satisfactory results.
186
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
Today, on the other hand, we have an elaborate,
highly scientific, system of fire-control. To the
inventive genius of many do we owe the delicate
instruments upon which the efficiency of the
hitting power of our guns has become so
dependent. For it must be remembered that,
in the firing of naval guns at sea, accuracy is
not dependent upon the expertness of the gun-
pointer and sight-setter and loading-crew alone.
There are other conditions which directly affect
a vessel's gun-fire. There is the distance to the
target, the temperature of the gun, the condition
of the powder, the density of the atmosphere, the
wind, and various other factors that directly
affect the flight of the projectile. But, broadly
speaking, it may be said that if the pointing and
the sight-setting are accurately done and the
range is definitely known, a bull's-eye will be
scored.
It is evident, then, that the primary necessity
is to know the range or distance. This our ships
obtain through the co-operation of two important
agencies the range-finder and the spotter, the
first of which determines the exact ranges and
transmits them to the guns, while the latter, and
the more nearly human of the two agencies,
accurately estimates and quickly corrects the
errors due to the conditions already mentioned.
As the surveyor measures a base line with his
TARGET-PRACTICE
187
steel tape, sets up his transit at the ends of this
line, measures the angles, and then calculates the
distance from the base line to the object, so does
the range-finder do its work. Only it works out
this mathematical problem automatically within
its steel shell, and divulges only the result of its
ingenious method of calculation-the distance-
to the observer operating it. The length of the
range-finder's base line depends upon the size of
the instrument, and this, in some cases, is as
much as twenty feet. At each end are object
glasses, directed toward the distant vessel, while
on the opposite side, at the center, are the eye-
pieces for the observer. The image received
through the left hand glass is seen by the
observer in the lower half of the field of his eye-
piece, while that coming through the right hand
one is reflected in the upper half. These images
represent, respectively, the lower and the upper
halves of the vessel sighted. When the range-
finder is out of setting, these two halves are not
properly aligned, but by turning a small thumb
screw, the observer can move a deflecting prism
along the axis of the tube and thus more accu-
rately superpose the images that have been
focused by the glasses at the ends. The instant
the alignment is secured, the observer glances
at a small horizontal scale on which the exact
distance is indicated, and this distance is commu-
188
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
nicated to the fire-control station below deck,
where the necessary allowances for the speed of
the enemy, his course, and the various other
factors, are made, before the corrected range is
telephoned to the sight-setters at the guns.
There is, perhaps, no other spot on the modern
battleship where so much energy is crowded into
the flying minutes, as this fire-control station.
It is decks and decks below the conning tower
and turrets, sheltered behind massive armor
plates, and reached from above only by ladders
perpendicular and ladders aslant. The doors
and walls are padded; the room is practically
sound-proof. Plotting
Plotting boards, target-bearing
instruments, range clocks, speaking tubes, tele-
phone wires, switchboards, and other devices,
for which the bluejacket has invented the all-
descriptive term of "gadgets," fill the available
spaces, while on every side are range indicators
on which the thousands of yards pop up with
amazing frequency. The fire-control force is
seated about the room, some at the plotting table
in the center, the others at their various stations.
From every part of the ship comes news of the
enemy, of his movements, of the range, and of
the different happenings in the turrets and on the
bridge. With the lessening range comes a tension
that defies description. The orders fly thick and
fast. There is a perceptible rocking of the ship
TARGET-PRACTICE
189
as the broadside is fired. The muffled roar of
the salvos is heard over the telephone. Then
come the corrections from the spotters in the
tops, a few rapid calculations are made on the
plotting board on the table, and then everything
is ready for the next salvo. The fire-control
station is truly the heart of the ship in action.
But the accuracy of the range-finder and the
skill of the fire-control party in the sound-proof
room below would avail little were it not for the
"spotter" stationed in the top of the mast, one
hundred and thirty-five feet above. His task is
one that requires good, strong eyesight, calm,
accurate judgment, and intense interest. For he
must always be keenly alive, and make up his
mind unhesitatingly as to where the shots fell,
and give his corrections quickly for the next
salvo. The tension under which he will have to
work in battle, and under which he does work in
target-practice, is enormous, and the duty is one
for which he must receive daily training³ in
order that his eye and brain may work in perfect
synchrony. With glasses glued to his eyes, he
follows the falling shot. From the flash of the
gun, he must be on the qui vive. Your watch
ticks off the seconds of the salvo's time of flight-
ten-eleven-twelve seconds. As the second hand
3 For this daily training, without the expenditure of ammuni-
tion, a dotter of fire-control has been devised.
190
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
jumps to thirteen seconds, a group of fountains
of white water leap up about the target. In that
instant the spotter must judge just how far the
shrieking shell struck "short," "over," or to
the right or left of that distant mark, and it is
this correction which, telephoned to the fire-
control station below and then communicated to
the sight-setters at the guns, enables the pointers
to get on, and then stay on.
When the Dreadnoughts come on the range,
however, all that personal element is hidden.
The captain is in the conning tower, the pointers
and trainers are behind the twelve-inch armor of
the massive turrets, the gun-crews are at their
battle stations, the spotters are concealed from
view in the tops, and the fire-control party is in
its little room down below the water line. Not
a human being is about the decks. Rails and
stanchions have been unshipped on the forecastle
and quarterdeck, hatches battened down, ladders
housed, and life lines rigged. All the boats are
swung inboard and chocked up on the boat deck,
while below cabin doors have been stowed away
in the passages, pictures and electric fans laid flat
on the bunks, and all china and glassware put
away in some empty storeroom to lessen the
chances of breakage when the guns are fired.
"Stand by!" The targets are in sight, five or
six miles to port. A string of bunting runs up
TARGET-PRACTICE
191
the Admiral's signal halyards. It is the order
to open fire. A blinding white sheet of flame
leaps from the forward turret of the leading
ship. A cloud of yellow gas rolls out over the
waters and momentarily shrouds the vessel from
view, and, as the seconds fly, you hear a dull,
ominous roar. A boiling, whirling white column
springs up in front of the target, almost to the
height of the tops of the towing ship, and falls
in graceful cascades, drenching the target raft.
With a rush and a roar the shell goes ricochetting,
spinning, with tremendous velocity, until it
strikes the water for a second time and then
skips along the surface for a few hundred yards
more before it finally flops under.
Another ranging shot, and then the full force
of the ship's broadside is let loose. The vivid
flashes come singly, by pairs, by salvos. The
water about the target is whipped into boiling
geysers by the falling shells. Two projectiles
strike, one just over, the other just under—a
perfect "straddle." A shell tears through the
target-screen, another strikes the raft itself,
while a third carries away the top of one of the
masts.
Inside the turret the scene contrasts strangely
with that outside. The steel-walled chamber is
dimly lighted by the rays of the battle-lanterns.
Its white interior seems strangely clean and
192
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
peaceful. In the extreme rear of the turret is
the small booth in which the turret-officer is
stationed. Here he is in telephonic communica-
tion with the fire-control officer, and at the same
time in immediate control of his own men at the
guns mounted on either side of the steel bulkhead
that separates the two pieces so that an accident
in one compartment may not affect the crew at
the other gun. Pipes and tubes, electric bells,
and signal indicators line the walls. The breech
of the great gun takes up most of the available
central space. The gun-crew are at their stations
about it, every man stripped to the waist. The
heat is oppressive. Streams of perspiration show
on the men's brows. For the hundredth time, the
turret-captain examines every part of the breech
mechanism and tests the firing circuits, while the
gun-captains give the final instructions to their
men. Presently the pointers and trainer bring
the gun to bear upon the distant target.
turret revolves beneath their feet. "Coming on
the range!" is the word received over the tele-
phone from the fire-control station. "Stand by!"
The visual clicks at intervals, and the sight-
setters check their corrections. "Load!" From
the handling room below the ammunition car
comes up with a rush. The 870-pound shell is
pointed into the breech and shoved into the gun
by an electric rammer that untelescopes wickedly
·
The

"COMING ON THE RANGE!""
TARGET-PRACTICE
193
and "seats" the projectile with a mighty thud
in the rifling of the barrel. Four powder-bags,
weighing over eighty pounds each, follow the
shell into the breech with amazing rapidity. The
plug swings smartly home, closing the breech,
the primer is inserted, and the lock cocked.
"Ready!" Up where the pointer stands, abreast
of the gun, a tiny red light appears, electric bells
ring, then-a dull roar and a sharp jar. The
gun recoils back three feet and then returns to
"battery," its original position, with astonishing
ease. The plugman spins the handle of the
breech plug, the 1,700-pound steel plug swings
open to the accompaniment of a hissing as a blast
of compressed air clears the bore, and then the
next charge is loaded.
We hear a great deal about the short life of
these big guns, of the few times they can be fired
before others have to be installed to replace them.
But nowadays much has been done, by improved
construction and through a better knowledge of
the powder used, to greatly increase the number
of rounds that can be fired. As is generally
known, the interior of the gun is rifled, that is
to say, it has spiral grooves in it throughout its
entire length. Copper "driving" bands are fitted
to the shells, and the impact of the explosion
forces these into the rifling grooves, preventing
the escape of the propelling gases and giving
194
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
the projectiles the twist that steadies them during
their flight. The terrific energy generated
by the explosion of the 320-pound smokeless
powder-charge in a twelve-inch gun may be
gauged by the fact that the projectile leaves the
muzzle at the speed of 2,900 feet per second-
with an energy that, translated into lifting power,
would suffice to hoist one of our present-day
Dreadnoughts two and a half feet into the air.
Now, such a generation of heat by explosion
within a confined space is bound to result in wear,
and the "wash" of the rapidly moving white-hot
gases tends to smooth out the rifling. Well-
fitting bands and "gas-checks" on the shells
somewhat minimize this wear, but the accuracy
of the gun must suffer in the end, and the only
thing to do then, is to reline the bore, the cost of
which is only a fraction of that of a new gun.
"A reckless expenditure of the funds of the
Navy Department!" Hardly. Some of the Ser-
vice's Congressional critics may consider target-
practice a wanton extravagance, and advance
pet theories to support their contention, but
target-practice, nevertheless, must be held. It
develops the team-work of the ship and the team-
work of the fleet as no other exercise can. It
often furnishes information of such importance
that it has had a very great bearing on subsequent
ship designs and has enabled the materiel bureaus
TARGET-PRACTICE
195
of the Navy Department to improve the designs
of our more modern battleships. And target-
practice at times teaches the Navy even more.
The visit to the fleet of Mr. Harrington Emerson,
an expert in efficiency, revealed to that interested
critic a state of affairs such as he had not found
anywhere else in this country. Instead of anti-
quated methods and poor results, Mr. Emerson
found, to his surprise and delight, the most
marvelous efficiency. He saw the American
Dreadnought fire a salvo of twelve 12-inch guns
in thirty seconds, while steaming at full speed,
and hitting a sixty-by-thirty-foot target eight
miles away, with six shots out of twelve fired.
One hit every five seconds! Mr. Emerson was
fascinated. He forgot that he was a central
authority on efficiency, and became, for the time,
a student. Are not the men and the methods by
which such results as these are produced entitled
to respect?
Naval gunnery is, indeed, wonderful when you
consider the conditions under which it is held.
A target-screen, one-tenth the area of the broad-
side of the hull of a battleship, appears as a fast-
moving dot upon the windy sea. The target is
rolling and pitching; the ship that is firing at it
is rolling and pitching, yet the target is pierced
again and again. The more you know about the
attendant difficulties the more creditable does the
196
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
But that best
best of our naval shooting seem.
must not narrow our horizon. Other navies are
likewise drilling their squadrons, and other fleets
are holding long-range target-practice. Our
pointers are doing good work on the Southern
Drill Ground every spring and fall, but is their
best shooting always better than the best records
made by the pointers in other navies? That is
a question that only the test of battle can answer.
In the mean time, every effort must be made to
maintain the high standard of efficiency devel-
oped by our navy in 1804, in 1812, in 1862, and
again in recent years—a standard that brought
us victories in the past, and that, if lived up to,
cannot fail to bring as decisive successes to our
arms afloat in the future.
4 The battleship Arkansas last September established a world's
record with one of her twelve-inch turrets. During Elementary
Practice the two guns fired six shots in 57 seconds at a moving
target, at 2,000 yards, making a perfect score. On the other
hand, the British battleship Centurion, made a record during the
past year with the Percy Scott fire-director system which, if
reported correctly, is indeed remarkable. The two 13.5-inch guns
in one of her amidship turrets fired eight rounds and scored eight
hits in 2 minutes and 35% seconds at long range, using a target
only fourteen feet square.
APPENDIX
APPENDIX I
That naval officers, as a class, are ready to
undergo any hardship, to incur any risks, and to
sacrifice life itself in the performance of duty in
time of war, or at the call of humanity in time of
peace, requires no extended proof. Out of the
thousand instances which crowd upon the recol-
lection, we need only mention Richard Somers,
who calmly met his fate in the mysterious and
awful explosion of the ketch Intrepid off Tripoli;
Tunis Craven at Mobile, whose ship became his
coffin because, in the nobility of his nature, he
could not help stepping aside from the ladder
which led to safety and saying, "After you,
pilot"; John Talbot, who sailed 1,200 miles in an
open boat to summon assistance to the ship-
wrecked crew of the Saginaw only to perish in
the surf at Hawaii; George De Long, whose tragic
end established a standard of Christian heroism
which few may reach and none may surpass.
The bedrock of our navy has been its organi-
zation; its soul, honor; its demand, courage; its
inspiration, love of country; its crown, glory.
But its keynote, its foundation stone, is obe-
dience and that also has been its ruling impulse
200
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
in practically every
every instance of fortitude
and self-denial, with which our naval annals
abound-obedience to the letter, and when the
letter fails to carry the man deeply enough into
the dangers and trials which beset the path to his
goal, the letter disappears and the spirit takes
its place as the guiding principle.
When Wadleigh, in 1881, was looking for
possible survivors of the Jeannette's crew, it was
this spirit which carried him in a wooden cruiser,
the Alliance, beyond Spitzbergen-above 80
north latitude-farther north than any vessel
of her description had ever been before; and
much farther than such a vessel should go, unless
justified, as Wadleigh was, by an overwhelming
if mute appeal. Says the chronicler of this
extraordinary expedition, "if the ship had been
nipped, she and her whole complement of one
hundred and eighty men would have disappeared
from the face of the earth without ever making
a sign."
The same fidelity to a lofty ideal of obedience
joined to sympathetic humanity actuated Berry,
when his own vessel, the Rodgers, sent to De
Long's relief, was burnt to the water's edge in
Behring Sea. Hearing from the Chukches the
rumor that strange white men had landed some-
where on the northern coast of Siberia, Berry
started out with a scant native escort and
APPENDIX I
201
tramped over one thousand miles along that
bleak shore, in the winter season, hoping against
hope that he might arrive in time to succor.
Nor can the historian recall a finer picture than
H. B. M. S. Calliope, steaming out of the harbor
of Apia, in the teeth of the frightful hurricane of
1889 and, as she passed the Trenton, the only
vessel beside herself still afloat out of that large
assemblage of shipping, receiving the cheers of
a crew gallant and generous in the very face of
death.
When Greeley's fate was shrouded in mystery
and the whole country trembled between hope
and fear of tearing aside the dark veil, upon the
Navy it called to do the impossible. And by it
the impossible was done. Leaving far astern of
them old experienced Arctic voyagers, Schley
and Emory forced their way in gales of wind,
which opposed them with cruel, demoniac fury,
through snow and ice to reach Cape Sabine not
only greatly in advance of any previous record,
but at the very last instant when their coming
could avail. Even twenty-four hours later few,
if any, of Greeley's party would have been alive
to save.
Happily the achievements of the Navy during
peace are not always so tragic and gloomy.
Oftentimes they are humdrum, unheralded, over-
looked, almost unknown. And none the less
202
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
valuable are its many services of this kind. In
order that the navigator may plough his way
along our shores in security, the navy mapped
the dangers visible and hidden and sounded out
the safe passages from Calais to the Rio Grande,
from Tia Juana to Cape Flattery. That a suc-
cession of able superintendents of the Coast
Survey have directed this work does not detract
from the credit due the officers and men of the
navy who, until 1898, in season and out of season,
sounded and took angles and kept their parties
busily employed gathering the facts and figures
upon which the cartographers have built their
worthy and enduring monument. And the same
thing is seen all over the world today. Whenever
a ship is not engaged in drilling and firing at a
target, her officers and crew rest themselves by
making surveys of remote and uncharted waters.
In this country, the appreciation of these labors
is confined to the few who interest themselves in
such matters, but abroad it takes the shape of
generous public recognition. For example, his
compatriots only know Sigsbee as the captain
of the ill-fated Maine, but across the ocean he is
a man whom kings delight to honor and to
decorate for his notable improvements in deep-
sea dredges and sounding apparatus.
These investigations of the ocean's secrets are
not always free from inconvenience and misinter-
APPENDIX I
203
pretation. When Pillsbury was measuring the
width and depth and strength of the Gulf Stream,
he anchored the Blake one day in some hundreds
of fathoms by a grapnel and a light wire rope.
A coasting schooner passing that way, her
skipper's curiosity was aroused by the sight of
a vessel apparently stationary in spite of wind
and current, so he tacked under the Blake's stern,
hailed Pillsbury and asked him what he was
doing. "Oh, nothing important," replied the
latter. "I'm just anchored." The voice of
indignant skepticism came booming back over the
sea, "You are a d-d liar!"
The world is indebted to the late Professor
Dana for his scientific system of mineralogy
which encountered little difficulty in displacing
the more empirical forms by which it had been
preceded. But Dana's view of things was
broadened by his years spent on board a man-
of-war in Wilkes's Exploring Expedition, and
the navy, or at least the opportunities which the
navy afforded, may rightly claim even a slight
share in placing the laurel wreath upon that
worthy brow.
And the navy, too, furnished a painstaking
philosopher who wrote that epoch-making book,
the Physical Geography of the Sea, which told
the sailors of these United States, and of every
other civilized power, how to navigate the oceans
204
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
broad and the waters that wash their own shores.
Is it not pertinent to inquire what it would cost
the nautical world to erase the name of Maury
from history's page?
And lastly there is that great engineering feat,
the construction of the Panama Canal. And in
no other connection are facts-bottom facts-so
imperatively essential. For it was the navy, by
its faithful and laborious study on the spot of
the many suggested lines across the great isthmus
that collected the information and supplied the
necessary data for this colossal undertaking.
Can it be said, in the face of such a record of
achievement, that our navy has not earned the
gratitude of the American people as a civilizing
force during times of peace?
APPENDIX II
THE NAVY OF THE UNITED STATES, ORGANIZATION
AND DISTRIBUTION, FEBRUARY 1, 1914
ATLANTIC OCEAN
ATLANTIC FLEET
Wyoming (fleet flagship)
First Division: Florida, Arkansas, Delaware, North
Dakota, Utah.
Second Division: Louisiana, Michigan, New Hampshire,
South Carolina, Vermont.
Third Division: Rhode Island, Georgia, Nebraska, New
Jersey, Virginia.
Fourth Division: Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, Ohio.
TORPEDO FLOTILLA
Birmingham (flotilla flagship)
Dixie (tender)
First Division: 5 destroyers (in reserve).
Second Division: 6 destroyers (in reserve).
Third Division: 5 destroyers.
Fourth Division: 5 destroyers.
Fifth Division: 5 destroyers.
Sixth Division: 3 destroyers.
Seventh Division: 3 destroyers.
SUBMARINE FLOTILLA
First Division: Severn (tender), 5 submarines.
Second Division: Tonopah (tender), 5 submarines.
Third Division: Ozark (tender), 3 submarines.
206
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
FLEET AUXILIARIES
Two supply ships (Celtic and Culgoa).
One ammunition ship (Lebanon).
Four tugs (Patapsco, Patuxent, Ontario, and Sonoma).
One repair ship (Vestal).
One mine depot ship (San Francisco).
One hospital ship (Solace).
One torpedo training ship (Montana).
One yacht (Yankton).
SHIPS IN RESERVE
Atlantic Reserve Fleet
Battleships: Idaho, Maine, Missouri, Alabama, Illinois,
Kearsarge, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa,
Massachusetts.
Armored Cruiser: Tennessee (flag).
Scouts: Salem.
Repair Ship: Panther.
Reserve Torpedo Divisions
At Annapolis, Md., 1 destroyer, 4 torpedo boats.
At Charleston, S. C., 5 torpedo boats, 1 submarine.
At Newport, R. I., 1 destroyer, 3 torpedo boats.
PACIFIC OCEAN
PACIFIC FLEET
Pittsburgh (flag), California, Maryland.
TORPEDO FLOTILLA
Iris (tender), 5 destroyers.
SUBMARINE FLOTILLA
First Division: Alert (tender), 4 submarines.
Second Division: Cheyenne (tender), 3 submarines.
APPENDIX II
207
FLEET AUXILIARY
Glacier (supply ship).
SHIPS IN RESERVE
Pacific Reserve Fleet
Battleship: Oregon.
Armored Cruisers: West Virginia (flag), Colorado,
South Dakota.
Cruisers: Albany, Charleston, Chattanooga, Milwaukee,
St. Louis.
2 submarines, 1 tug (Fortune).
Reserve Torpedo Division
At Mare Island, Cal., 4 destroyers, 2 torpedo boats.
ASIATIC FLEET
First Division: Saratoga (flagship), Cincinnati, Galves-
ton.
Second Division: Elcano, Helena, Quiros, Samar, Villa-
lobos.
Third Division: Callao, Wilmington, 1 tug.
Fourth Division: Monadnock, Monterey, Pampanga.
TORPEDO FLOTILLA
Pompey (tender), 5 destroyers.
SUBMARINE FLOTILLA
Mohican (tender), 6 submarines.
FLEET AUXILIARIES
One transport (Rainbow).
One tug (Wompatuck).
208
OUR MANY-SIDED NAVY
SPECIAL SERVICE AND UNASSIGNED
SPECIAL SERVICE
One monitor, 1 armored cruiser, 1 gunboat, 1 supply
ship, 2 tugs, 3 yachts.
GENERAL SERVICE
Atlantic Ocean: 2 cruisers, 2 transports, 4 gunboats,
1 tug, 8 fuel ships, 26 tugs.
Pacific Ocean: 3 cruisers, 1 transport, 1 gunboat, 4 fuel
ships, 7 tugs.
IN RESERVE
One armored cruiser, 5 cruisers, 3 gunboats, 2 torpedo
boats, 6 fuel ships, 1 torpedo practice ship.
SURVEYING DUTY
Three vessels (Eagle, Hannibal, Paducah).
AERONAUTIC STATION SHIP
Mississippi
REPAIRING
One cruiser, 1 fuel ship.
OUT OF COMMISSION
Four cruisers, 2 monitors, 5 torpedo boats, 10 gunboats,
1 transport, 1 hospital ship, 2 fuel ships, 1 repair
ship, 11 converted yachts.
APPENDIX II
209
FITTING OUT
Two battleships (New York and Texas), 1 cruiser
(Brooklyn), 2 destroyers, 6 submarines.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Three battleships, 12 destroyers, 11 submarines, 3 gun-
boats, 2 fuel ships, 3 tenders to torpedo vessels.
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SHIP
First Lieutenant
APPENDIX III
CAPTAIN
Executive Officer
Officer-of-the-Deck
Ordnance Officer
Navigator
Chief Quartermasters (2)
Division Officers
Medical Officer
Marine Officer
Junior Marine Officer
First Sergeant (1)
Sergeants (2)
Corporals (6)
Privates (63)
Trumpeter (1)
Drummer (1)
Band (16)
THE
Junior Medical Officer
Commissary Steward (1)
Hospital Steward (1)
Pay Clerks (2)
Engineer Officer
Pay Officer
1 Yeoman
Warrant Engineer Officers (3)
Assistant Engineer Officer
Ship's Cooks (13)
Bakers (4)
Yeomen (4)
[Officers' Servants (33)]
Fire-room force
Engine-room force
Hospital Apprentices, 1st Class (2)
Hospital Apprentices (4)
Chief Machinist's Mates (3) - Machinist's Mates and
――
Chief Water Tenders (3)
Blacksmith, Coppersmith
and Water Tenders (14)
Firemen and Coal Passers
(212)
Electrical Gunner
Chief Electricians (2)-Electricians (22)
Radio Ch. Electrician (1)-Radio Electricians (3)
Ordnance Gunner-Chief Gunner's Mates (2)-Yeoman (1)
Fire Control Officer-Electricians (2)-Gunner's Mates (3)
Torpedo Officer-Chief Gunner's Mate (1)-Gunner's Mates (7)
Turret No. 1
Turret No. 2
Turret No. 3
Turret No. 4
Turret No. 5
Each
Turret No. 6
5-inch Battery For'd-
5-inch Battery Aft
Chief Turret Captain (1)
Gunner's Mates (2)
Boatswain's Mates (2)
Coxswains (2)
Seamen (21)
Ordinary Seamen (28)
Electricians (1)
Masters-at-Arms (1)
Gunner's Mates (2)-Boatswain's Mates (2)
Coxswains (2)-Seamen (10)-Ord. Seamen (20)
Gunner's Mates (3)-Boatswain's Mates (2)
Coxswain (1)-Seamen (18)-Ord. Seamen (26)
Masters-at-Arms (1)
Ship's Quartermasters (5)
Signalmen [Sea. and Ord. Sea.] (16)
Chief Master-at-Arms (2)-Yeoman (1)
Chief Boatswain-Chief Boatswain's Mates (2)
Chief Carpenter-Chief Carpenter's Mates (2)
Coxswains [Str.] (4
Sailmakers (1)
Sea. and Ord. Sea. [Special] (27)
Carpenter's Mates (6)
Shipwrights (6)
-Shipfitters (3)
-Blacksmith (1)
-Plumbers (2)
-Painters (4)
-Printer 1)
APPENDIX IV
THE WEEKLY ROUTINE ON SHIPBOARD
DAY
MORNING
FORENOON
DRILLS
MONDAY
AFTERNOON
EVENING
Battery or
divisional
Fire and
collision and
divisional
Ship's work
Boat exercises
Seamanship
instruction
Same as
Monday
Mending
Bag inspection
Night sig-
nalling or
other exer-
cises
Same as
Monday
'Night sig-
nalling
Searchlight
exercises
In port 1st
TUESDAY
and 3d
Bags and
hammocks
Same as
Monday
WEDNESDAY
Mattress
covers
THURSDAY
Boats and
bright
wood work
General
Quarters
FRIDAY
Same as
Monday
Same as
Monday
Same as
Monday
Hose and
canvas
Air bedding
Overhaul bat-
tery. Inspect
material
Commanding
Officer's
Inspect bedding
Same as
Monday
HOLIDAY
SATURDAY
General
cleaning
Inspection
Quarters for
SUNDAY
divisional mus-
ter and inspec-
tion at 9.30
HOLIDAY
INDEX
INDEX
Aeroplanes
•
Alignment and interval between ships
Amalgamation Law of 1899
Amusements and recreations
Anchor drills
·
Annual schedule
Arkansas, U. S. S., record made by
·
Asiatic Fleet
•
•
.133
18, 23, 78, 90
..37
5, 61-63, 109
32
12, 16
..196
.9, 12-14, 16, 126, 145
.99-102
•
.61, 94, 96-114
1, 7, 9, 12-14, 16, 35, 85, 126, 144
Athletic finances
Athletics and sports
Atlantic Fleet
•
Barbary Powers, dealings with, in 1815
Baseball
Battle efficiency pennant
• •
.14
110-112
Berry, Heroism of
Boat racing
Boxing and wrestling
Bridge, Admiral Sir Cyprian, R. N., quoted
• •
British Navy, ingenious devices learned from
Bugle-calls
Bushnell, David, inventor
"Busy season’’
Caimanera
California, the armored cruiser
Calliope, H. B. M. S., at Apia
Camp Perry
Captain, the
·
Captain of Marines
Caribbean Sea
•
Centurion, H. B. M. S., record made by
Chaplain, the
91, 92
.200
.60, 61, 96-98, 102-108
•
..108, 109
.36, 67
136, 160, 168
•
5
146
.2, 17
28
130
..201
.125, 126
•
39, 40, 42
43
.1, 26, 27, 123, 180
.196
Chief Engineer, the
•
Cleanliness and order
•
Clearing ship for action
Coaling ship
Collision drill
.43
.43, 78
42, 57, 70
..52, 151
.52
52
216
INDEX
Competition: athletic, 98, 114; between ships, 53, 60, 91, 92;
engineering, 83, 86-89; gunnery, 125, 126, 171, 181, 182;
in the Navy, 20, 34, 172; mast against mast, 95.
Connecticut, U. S. S., the
Courage of engineer's division
Coyotepe Hill, attack on
Crack shots of the world
Craven, Tunis, heroism of
Cruise of Atlantic Fleet around the world
Cuba, agreement with
Culebra
Cuzco Hills
Dana, James Dwight
Daniels, Secretary
"Davids"
Deer Point, camp on
•
Delaware, cruise of the..
De Long, George, heroism of
Discipline
•
Diving boat constructed in 1190
Dixie, the
"Dotter" practice
Dreadnought, H. B. M. S., the
Drill, necessity for
•
.8, 126
..79
.130
•
.34
.199
85-89
.26
•
26, 27
.33,125
.203
..15
.147
•
.33, 97, 119, 123, 124
...77
•
.199
40, 41, 100, 101
.146
•
.144, 145
168-170, 183, 185, 189
.126
•
.51, 52, 59
Drills
"Dummy loader''
E-1, record made by
Economy of coal and oil
•
•
.5, 32, 60
163, 164
.155
86, 87, 93
Efficient handling of ship as essential as accuracy of gun
fire
Electrical Schools
•
Electricity on battleships
Emergency repairs
Emerson, Harrington
Engineer department
Erben, Admiral, quoted
•
Evans, Rear Admiral Robley D.
Evolutions, practice in
Examinations
Executive Officer
Fare
Farragut, Admiral, quoted
Fire-control
·
•
•
•
.10, 79, 80
•
72, 73
.72, 73
.20, 88, 89
• •
195
..50
167
30, 86, 98
•
•
11, 33
71
41, 42
.44, 57, 58, 63
167
• •
176, 185, 186, 188-190, 192
INDEX
217
Fire quarters
First Lieutenant
•
Fleet Athletic Board and rules
Fleet exercises
Fleet formation
Fletcher, R. A., quoted
Fulton, Robert, inventor
"Games, greatest of all"
General quarters
"Goliaths",
•
.51, 52
..42
.99, 100, 105
.21, 23, 32
•
•
24
146
146, 147
•
.3, 17
.52
.147
51
Great Gun Drill
Guantanamo: city of, 28; naval station at, 28, 29, 30, 31, 97, 111
Guantanamo Bay
•
1, 17, 26-35, 97, 106, 111, 112, 118, 123
Gunnery: 156; American unpreparedness in, 158, 176, 177;
British unpreparedness in, 157; loading, aiming and
firing, 163-175; revival of in present-day, 159, 160,
177, 178.
Gunnery Officer
Hampton Roads
Hicacal Beach
•
Holland, John P., inventor
Housatonic, the
Hudson River, fleet assembled in
Japan, opened to foreign trade
Japanese squadron at Port Arthur
Justice in the Navy
Key West
Library
Lighthouse Point
•
London Times quoted
Machinery of the ship
Makaroff, Admiral
Manœuvres
Marine corps
•
.43
•
17, 105
.32, 97
•
•
.148
.147
•
.1, 8
.14
.24
.41
.26
.48
.127
•
..67
78-80
.24
18, 19, 21
.43, 128-132
Marine force: American, created 1775, 129; British, created
1664, 128.
Mascots
Maury, Matthew Fontaine
Medical Officer
Mediterranean, American fleet in cruise to
Missionary Ridge, attack in 1863
•
...62
.204
.43
•
15, 20
''Movies''
Music
.130
..63
.15, 63, 108
218
INDEX
Narragansett Bay
Naval efficiency
•
17, 106, 180
viii, 67, 78, 84, 92, 93, 121, 122, 130, 131, 156-159, 180
43
Navigator
Navy, the: at Alexandria, Egypt, in 1882, 115; at Bladens-
burg in 1814, 116; at Bull Run in 1861, 116; at Canton
in 1854, 116; at Fort Fisher in 1865, 116; at Montevideo
in 1868, 115; at Nicaragua in 1912, 115, 130, 132; at
Sumatra in 1832, 115; diplomatic and social duties of,
14-16, 117; in California in 1846, 116; in China in 1900,
116; in Civil War, viii, 116, 135, 147, 164-166, 176, 185,
196; in Fiji Islands in 1840, 115; in Florida Indian Wars
of 1836 and 1846, 115; in French War, 158; in Philip-
pines, 116; in Revolutionary War, 146, 158, 166, 173;
in Salee River, Corea, in 1871, 116; in Tripolitan War,
158, 196; in War of 1812, 157, 159, 165, 167, 174, 176,
185, 196.
Navy's help in constructing Panama Canal
Nelson, Viscount Horatio
New Ironsides, the
Newport, R. I.
New Providence, expedition against in 1776
Night target-practice
Nindiri, attack at
Officer-of-the-Deck
·
•
•
..204
.6, 133, 174
147
•
112
.115
.22
130
•
.42
Ordnance, Bureau of
Oregon, cruise of the
Organization of the enlisted force
Organization of the Navy
Organization of the ship
Pacific Fleet
•
Pay and allowances
Pay Officer
•
Petty Officers' Mess
Phillips, inventor
•
·
Physical welfare of the men
Pillsbury, scientist
Promotion
Punishment
Radio Service Schools
Range-finder
Rations, see Fare.
Reciprocating engine
•
.33, 123
.77
.46
•
.9, 37, 38
.36, 38, 49, 50
.9, 12, 13, 16, 126, 145
.44, 46-48, 50, 58, 69, 70
.43, 58
.45
147
·
40, 45, 76, 97
..203
.47, 48, 50, 71
40
73
•
185-187, 189
.78, 80-83
INDEX
219
Recruit, training of
Repairs on Kansas while under way
Reserve Fleets
Responsibilities, how divided
Rewards and prize money
Rifle match at Portland, Eng., in 1910
Routine on board
•
Russo-Japanese conflict
Santiago, Battle of
Schley and Emory, heroism of
"Scrub and wash clothes''
Sea, training at, essential
Seaman-Gunners' Classes
Searchlight drill
Ship: construction of, 54; daily life on
•
Ships: deterioration of, averted, 6, 7; peculiarities of
Shore operations
Signals, response to
Sigsbee, Captain Charles Dwight
Simpson, quoted
Smoking-lamp
'Soldiering''
Somers, Richard, heroism of
Southern Drill Ground
Special Service Squadrons
Speed of battleship varied
Spotter, the
Star Spangled Banner, playing of the
Steer, Lieut. A. P., I. R. N.
•
•
161-163
88, 89
9
.3,4
34, 126, 171
.126
.5, 12, 56-64
133, 141
22
.201
.57
5, 6, 10, 11
.73
.23
.2, 3, 55-64
.6
117-128
• •
11, 19, 38, 90
•
202
.158
57,59
33, 117, 118, 124
•
• •
199
180, 196
•
9
.90
4, 186, 189, 190
15, 56
23
Steerage, the
Stiletto, the
Submarines
Swimming
Systematic methods in engineering
Talbot, John, heroism of
•
.44
141
•
133, 134, 143, 146-155
•
.32, 60, 61, 98, 113
83-85, 89, 92
Target-practice, 17, 33, 34, 118, 124, 174, 175, 177-179;
elementary, 180-182; battle, 182, 183; divisional, 183-196.
Target range at Guantanamo
Telescopic sight
Torpedo craft
Torpedo destroyers
Torpedo service, popularity of
Torpedoes
199
.33, 34, 119, 123, 124
176, 181, 184, 185
..134, 135, 140
.141-146, 155
.133-140, 149, 155
.145, 146
220
INDEX
Training for ship duty
Training for trades
Training stations
Trenton, U. S. S., at Apia
.3-5, 11, 70, 71, 73-75, 189
.65, 66, 68-70, 72, 74, 75
..69
•
..201
Trophies
Turbine engine
•
.99, 104-107, 113, 126
79-83
Two Hundred and Three Metre Hill
..29
Villeneuve, quoted
6
Wadleigh, heroism of
.200
War with Spain
•
. 22, 26, 36, 37, 141-143, 159, 160, 165, 166, 177
Ward, quoted
Wardroom mess
Warrant officers' mess
Whitehead, inventor
Wilkes's Exploring Expedition
.40
43
45
.136
..203
UNIV. OF MICHIGAN,
NOV 13 1914
VA
58
Neeser R
N38
Our many-91
navy
271265
David R. Kinsh
326 Thompson
Ruby F Han
611 Church St. 8


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