The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-08-24
THE NAMES OF WARS.

brooklyn Citizen
THE NAMES OF WARS.
Nisnomcrs In the American Navy-Ths
Ships of other Countries.
In speaking Of the class Ia which his shiT
belonged. one or The officers of the French
gun.,cssol Blsson, now in this port, remark
! cd 90 "a reporter of ire New ! Ork Times
/ that nothing is more bcwilderng 10 the for
| oign naval officer that the systcm Of nomen
claturc EMPLOYED i'm classifying the ships OF
/ thr [ nlted states navy. at il more puz'
cling" BE- said, "thar that of any Other
country possrcoing a navy and IN support
! of h', news he cited a number of instances
which tended 90 show the entire lack ol
system in he American classification.
According to the present system. if such
il may be called, the nited states cruisers
OF the first and second rate are given the
names Of cities such as Chicago, Philadel-
pha. and Baltimore. but these include
wooden and steel ships alike and the class
Iication " Che Hartford, Richmond, and
Omaha. with the Charleston, Boston, and
Atlanta is conflicting in every way. Among
naval officers these vessels are known in
discriminatcly as cOryetics, sloOps, and
frigatcs. while their rig varies from the
schooner TO the brig and the ship. Inc bat
tie ships are named after states, such As the
Maine and Texas, hut these two vessels.
having the greatest displacement and heaN-
lest armOr are classed in the Navy Reg
lister as socond.rate Under this sort OF
classification it puzzles good many officers
% know Just where the S,lOo-ton vessel is to
Doe Classcd.
some of the third-rate vessels of the
United states Navy are named after battles
Of the Revolution. such a. the Concord.
Bennington. and Yorktown. These names
Are by no means distinctive. however, or IN
dicative ~ class inasmuch A. there are
i'm the same list the old side-Nhcclcrs built
in the 4 :, and given Indian names. such As
the Missouri, >aranac, and lallapo0sa.
There are also ln this same list i've double
turrctCd and twelve sngle-turreted m0ni-
tors. such As the MiantOnOmah, Monadnock,
MahOpac. Passaic and Nantucket. As
though 10 make il designed puz1ling and III
tricate. there are ON this list the l.9O0-ton
wooden cruisers. with ancient smOOth-bOre
batteries. such as the Ossipcc, SWatara,
Gulcna, and Marion, whose names signify
nothing and whose classification with a
HETEROGENEOUS lot of monitors and steel
cruisers only goes % make confusion con-
founded.
I'm a similar sense the names Of all the old
vessels are confusing. There appears TO
have been at one time a sporadic effort To
immOrtalize the names of the great Ainerl-
can leaders. such as Adams and Franklin.
Later the tendency ran 10 fancy names
such a. Ajax. Terror, Alert. Petral. and
Nesu,ius. an Of which are ieebly significant
when placed side by side with the grand old
Congress. Constitution, Constellation, and
Independence.
"My country" said the French officer
who pointed out these CNtraNagant MS
nomers I'm the American NaNy, has
"A very distinct system Of nomencla-
ture. Each name signifies the clas :
to which the vessel belongs, and con-
sequently there is no confusion. The
hrst-class ships Of the French Navy
have the emphatic and significant names OF
Devastation. Formidable. FOurdroyant'
Terrible. Redoubtable, and Triumphant.
Next comes a class bearing NEUROLOGICAL
names. such as Neptune. Ihetis. and Ma
Jade. and this same class has subdivision
OF four drst-class cunbOats named after the
four rulers Of he'll. VIZ. Acheron, Cocyte,
PhlcgetOn. and >tyN.
Tie thirl-class contains the names OF
the great persons who have contributed o.
the making of French history. such as Mar
tel IlOOhe. Richclieu. Colbert, and au1an'
while another class has the names OF the
most celebrated French Admirals, Baudin,
saint Barhe. ana Dupcrre. The names OF a
smaller class, known as the animal ships.
are Caiman. ALLIGATOR, Taurean, Quill
and rgre. The coast guard vessels are dis
tinguishcd by the names Of the elements.
Fulminant. fonnere, and Iempete. All of
these names are distinct and each class j.
clearly defined. The French naval officer
never has any difficulty IN pla eng ship OF
his country just where 10 belongs
An examination of Brassey'- new annual
for 1890 reveals system of British naval
nomenclature almost as easily defined a.
that Of the French service. These classiii-
cations appear 10 have been quite as plainly
marked for generations back. from The early
religious ideas shown IN King Harry p
Grace de- Dicu down 10 the time of the span
ish Armada. Then came KING Charles
~Oyraigne of the Seas. and in later years
ROYAL William. Nowadays there is seen
the bold and terrifying name, Oi lnieNlble.
Dreadnaught, COnquerOr, Tnunderer, and
Warrior: the neurological names Of Her.
cules. \eptnc BcllcrOphOn. orion, and
AgamemnOn; The Admiral class, in
Guiding the COllingwOOd, Arson. Mel
son, and Blake; the river class. i'll
Guiding the Forth, Thames. and severn;
the coryettcs, named after precious
stones, such as Diamond, opal, sapphire,
and Tourmaline; the sloops. named after
birds. such Osprey, Buzzard. Penguin, and
COrmorant, and the torpedo boats, with the
significant names Of GrasshOppcr. Sandily,
and Rattesnake. Each OF these groups de-
fines "A class. There is no confusion of liz
tenningled names, having no dependence
upon or connection with one another.
4 further examination of Brassey shows
the simplicity OF. the Italian nomenclature.
The first class is made up Of yOcanOes, such
rs Etna Nesuyio, and samboli; the vessels
If the second class bear the names Of distin-
cui.hed men. such rs DandolO. Nospucci.
and Christophe Colombo; and the same ar
raugement extends throughout all the YES
sells Of the navy. I'm The Russian navy the
first-class is distinctly composed of ships
bearing the name of the Emperors, such rs
Alexander H.. Nicholas l., ana Catherine
1