Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1842-12-17
Pye,.:c DOCUMENTS.
REPORT OF Tns SECRETARY OF TIE Navy
NAVY DEPARTMENT, Dec. 10

To he President ot' Tie ta,ted States
Sla have the honorto present The ioiio"'hs 'eP'''
in relation. to this Department:
The home squadron, authorized by the act "i inc Is,
a,v Of AUGUST ISL has been put III commission, au
placed under the command OF Commodore S,e"a'''
IL IS composed of the trigate lndepehuehcr ''e mug
shin now rnder the command oil Sap'a'h o.''"s'''''
tho fr,cale Constitution, Capt Parker the steam
s,,soe-; C,ot Newton the steam frgale Mississippi,
Cant Sa,er; the soop Falmouth, Commanoef Meln
tosb: the sonp Vandal'a, COMMANDER hen'sey' ''e
brp d ,lphin, Commander Knight, ana the senoohei
Grampus Lieut., Van Brun
The original design Of tins sqnndron was 10 c'"'EI
,lonp our own coast, with view TO extend 'he usua
protection trade but more particularly 10 "io.
assistance 10 vessels IN distress, TO make accufa
soundlnus and observations along cur shores, rom
itch che s might BE- formed; 10 afford vessels OF dif'
f,ent classes always ready to take the places u lhose
returning from different stations, ana TO perform any
occasional service for which vessels oil war hgnt oe
required. Finding, however, that II was
-, CO.. those purpnses aud that active employment
could not he gwen 10 IL Determined 10 assign 10 u 'e
dn;ies of the West ndia squadron, ana 10 Wilhuta"
,ha, squadron from ,e7vce inns mas accordingly osen
done and the c.uizinm ground OF lie nome squadron
No., ax,ends from the Banks Of Newfoundland 10 Inc
river Amazon ,uciudng the Caribbean sea and Inc
Gnlf Of Mexico. Tins service requires one or two
ANAL vessels IN adiii,cn 10 those originally assgheu
10 the souadror and these propose 10 aou'
1t ia found that the steam SHIPS Missouri ana !nrss's'
einp are unsui,ed to crnz,ng III Time OF peace lhei'
engines consume much iuei as 10 auu s"o'
10 their expenses ard The necessity t'al they sh'"o
reu-n IN port after short intervals oil Tune, TOT Hesh
l,as ,ertsrs Il impossible to send them on any
ds,,,, service They will be useful vessels IN time OF
war as guards coas, and haroors' ana as anHa
r;ps in fleets bat they cannot be relied on as
and are altogether too expensive ior se''Ie ~ s "
peace have therefore Determined 10 TAKE them gu.
r oomo,ss,on and snail substitute for them other and
ess expensive vessels. ; :;
The indie pe ndencc has not yet gone 70 sea- owing III
part to the fact that her crews have oeeh 'ahen o
eolI pl1ln
....,ry en,.c.men.s Of Commodore Stewart IN o'ier
services The rest Of the squadron has, nndef ms
ders, been kept actively and useuiy employed ana
promises 10 answer AL the expectations oil congress IN
establishing it A., h.
on,dron sre hc,y IN portan and such as require IN
the commander the best order OF qaai'hcaliohs ey
do not however, reqaire 80 many VeSse,s as vac NV
eStablah,ng tina. squadron a"'h"'!"'s' W., ~
Sore Is dee,fabe tina, the squadron should oe such
"a 10 he worthy of the best professional TanS ahG Id.
lent il - co,ai!y desirable that II Should nor ee So
large as to haze any por'ioa O. II inactive ~ az
signing 10 the duties OF the west iHdia sq''u"n'
and extending the crnizug ground TO HE No''hefh
hd,rv of the cruizinp ground OF the Brazil squad
ron the larger vessels may be- Kept on constant GUY
10 Ysindward In the mean tre, me staii+r V.ss''S
NAV in Ike monner, be- employed IN inc Nafiooeaii
90, and Gulf of Mexico, where the habors are 100 sa
H., - ,dc,;t thnse of LARGER size. The Impossibiy OF
hes,ioq nm the coast against the trade winds ana Gof
srear suggests The property Q! assuming Two OF
steam vessels al Tue dunn SIZE 10 mat GUY i"e''
would afford n sufficient protection Ia our commerce,
while they would 10 keep up The necessary IN.
,ercoursa bpt geen the commander OF lie squadron aaa
that portion II des.,ned 10 service IN tue uo" Vi e
ico Wuhou; the AID Of steam, that intercourse eou'u
not well be maintained; for vessel not pfopeeo "
seam entering the Gulf os Mexico IRON the "!ho"htu,
could no. regon her position without 'eu'ous aho
DANGEROUS passage through the Gull OF iofida.
The duties thus contemplated for the Home squadron
will aflnrd full employment for II, except during 'hs
hp
10 keep The sea- except IN the EoFte'n part Of us cos
ing ground -. n,,,.r, :,
Contain McCau.sy the r'sate Columbia, Captan Z
r Shubr,ck; the sloors "a! war leheofu' E"u'"e
Roeru,o: John Adams, Commander Cnnovef Decatur,
Commander Farrapu and the schooner Eehicrpfise,
I.,eu,enan, J. Wilson, all under the command o.
Commodore Morris. TINS squadron, have reason to
believe has Distinguished ,tse Tor good oiop' o's''
pne aud constant and strict attention 10 an 'e apP'o
priae duties and exercises Of the sqnacroh sefsce.
have also the pleasure 10 report That tae interests u o"
citizens committed 20 The care OF Comti"oore MOTIFS
have been fully protected ana secured; ana ma. ". -
la,ons with the countries wrih'n the range oil ms com
m,nd have been preserved the NEST favorable ana
honorable footing. 4,
afer the re,nrn of TIE frigate Brnndywine, in July
last the squadron, in tie Mediterranean, conssteu OF
only Two sleeps of war, The Fairfield, Gonmanaer is
n.li and the Preble Commander Voorhees,, uncer the
oommand Of Commodore Morgan. regret 10 ray, tna'
Commander Voorhees, d:cd ut Smyrna, on 'ne - ~
July las,-he an officer oil Il hgh ofotr VI "e.''
md hrs death is a serous loss TO his county Inc
p,ehl. Is nov under the command OF Commander
Nicholson, and Commander B'geIow has sueeeeoso
Commander Tattnal, who las returned 10 The onleo
States
On the 18th Of July last. The fga'e Congress, Gap
,oinp + Voorhees, sailed Tor the Mediterranean, and
on The goth day Of August last the Columbus ~, zap
thin Spencer was despatched to the same station. ne
,opadson nuw consists Of the Columbus, Congress-
Fairfield and Prebe, all under the command OF I'ih
moiore Morgan. Orders have been gwen, however,
assigning 10 Commodore Morris The COMMAND u 'he
Mediterranean squadron. aud 10 Commodore Morgan
that of The Brezii squadron Tins exchange IS made
in execution OF plan which propose for The manage,
mon, Of all our squadrcns, and of which shall speak
more al large in subsequent part of tts report
Our relations with the countr.ss OF the Msailelfa
mean have been preserved tie mos. friendly footing
with the single exception Of the Empire Morocco. In
consequence Of an outrage, offered BY G Subordinate
officer Of that Government, 10 tie iae Consu Ci Tue
limited States Mr. Carr, 1t vas deemed necessary 10
call on The higher authorities to disavow the ac' ana 10
punish the aggressor. THIS was promptly uone ny Soi
modore Morgan, and after many delays, and much IN
necessary fornali,y The part OF The Emperor, ample
redress was afforded by The public disavowal OF The OF
fence and the dismissal OF the Offending o!hcef I'm
modo.e Morgan appears 10 haze conducted 'n's aiaiF
with much skill and address, asserting, WIN proper
iirmness, the respect due 10 our nag, anu sammy
nothing in an arrogant or dicia,oriai spiil', nave
every reason TO b. satisfied with The par, ne mas BORNE
in his delicate transaction The ircnd'y rs!a'ons De-
tween the two countries arc row restored.
Tho squadron in the Pacific consists OF The irgate
Tinted States Captain Armstrong; eiooP Iysne : ON
mander S,ribng; sleep Yorktown, LEU. SUI
Loon Dale Commander Dcrnin, end the sehr. SharS,
,;ent EAGLE; all under The command OF Commodore
~ Al q ZONES The S.. LOUIS Commander foFres',
returned on the 10Th September last ana ner pace has
not yet been suppii'f ,, - :;