Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-07-14
NAMES OF WARSHIPS
HOW THEY HAVE BEEN CHOSEN FOR
OUR OLD AND NEW FLEETS.
Methods Of Foreign Navies-Names for tho
boats 20 he Built at New
port News.
New York SUM-

CNew York SUM
The three new l.2to-ton gunboats now
under construction by the Newport News
ShipbuildIng Company have at length
found names those selected for them De-
ing Albatross, Penguin, and PorpoiSe.
These are all good. and have the merit
of continuing classes OF nomenclature
years ago begun, the two former following
the s9O-ton gunboat Petrol, and the Por-
poise the l.iS5-ton gunboat Dolphin. The
name Albatross. however, Is already
borne by a government vessel now In The
Bering-Sea fleet: but as she. though
commanded by a naval officer. does not
figure In the Official Register OF the navy.
being the Fish Commission vessel, this
is presumably considered no objection 10
applying her name also to one of the new
steel gunboats.
Navies like for some classes Of their
ships the names OF sea-birds or fishes or
marine animals. which are palpably APP
nropriate. England has ner Penguin.
Porpoise. and Dolphin as well as We. Re
our new fleet has interpolated between
the Petrol and Penguin, in the gunboat
class, two vessels of an entirely different
sort-namely Machas and Castine, for
the two 1O50-tonners. These last are sup
posed to he allied to the names OF revo-
lutiOnary battles, such as Yorktown, Ben
nington, and Concord, chosen for the
1.7cO-ton gunboats. a British schooner
in Machias harbor was captured by
party OF the townspeople In 1Iio, when
was considered an event worthy or COM
mcmoration In the navy, although 1t Is
not very widely bruited in general history.
Perhaps on the whole IL has been as well
to return TO the example set by Secre-
tary Whitney in giving such names as
Petrol to the lighter gunboats.
A REVIEW
These three new selections have now
supplied names TO the last OF the vessels
under construction, and the completion OF
the nomenclature thus far naturally sug-
gests "A review Of IT, When the new steel
navy was begun the existing list of names
was most incongruous and heterogeneous.
1t bore the marks of various periods OF
changing fashions. in some OF which In
dian names had been In vogue, in others
those of the classical mythology. and so
on. Relics Of these varying moods are
still found in a much-miXed state. Thus
among the single-turret monitors we nave
the Indian names Canonicus, Comanche.
and so on. while sister ships on the same
models are called Ajax, Jason, and the
like. The double-turret monitors intro
duce a still further variation. three OF
them. having the same displacement, be-
ing known as Miantonomoh, Amphitrite,
and Terror.
There has been for years statutes pre-
scribing how ships should be named.
Vessels Of the first class were TO be called
after States: sailing vessels Of the second
class after rivers, and steam vessels OF
that class either after rivers or principal
cities and towns; sailing vessels OF the
third class after cities and towns; steam
vessels Of the third class and sailing YES
sells of the fourth as the President might
direct. In those days. the number OF
guns was made the basis for classifica-
ton: but in process Of time there came
new ratings, to provide for ironclads'
and a rule was made that the latter
should be rated by tonnage measurement.
and other vessels by tonnage displace-
ment. First rates included steam vessels
Of not less than 1850 tons displacement
and ironclads Of not less than 1900 tons
measurement: third rates, of steamers OF
from 900 to 2,c00 tons displacement and
ironclads of from 100 to 200 tons meas
urement. An ironclad of 3,Sl5 tons
displacement had only 1,27G tonnage
measurement. Take all these facts. to-
gcther with the discretion of the Presi-
dent. or practically Of the Navy Depart
ment. in naming certain classes. and the
confusion Of the old list may be ac-
counted for
A BETTER SYSTEM.
Our new navy started of on better
system, and has kept to 1t tolerably well.
There has also been a simplificatlon OF
ratings making displacement the only tom
mage standard. We have our battle-ships
named for States, like the Indiana, ore
gon. and Iowa: our cruisers for cities.
like the Newark, Raleigh, Detroit. and so
on: we have discretionary names for
special classes, such as Gushing and
Ericsson for the torpedo boats, Kdtandln
for the ram, and so on. There have been,
IL is true some discrepancies and breaks,
as I'm the gunboats already spoken OF. III
might also have been possible to make
naming strictly follow rating, whereas
now we have the 9lJ0-ton armor-clad
Brooklyn named after city, ana the
G,3OO-ton Texas after a State, both being
first rates But the reason is that the
former Is Il ClulStl anu tiit iu'Noi q beNNN'~
ship.
Foreign services generally adopt names
of the same class for vessels OF the same
type. rather than Of the same rating or
tonnage That practice gives greater
variety of names, and also furnishes
clue to the placing of ships according TO
similarities Of construction. In our navy
there are far too few vessels 10 bear
the names Of more than small part of
the States and large cities, whereas In
some foreign services there might be
monotony in having only few classes
and adopting names only of provinces,
counties, towns. and so on.
FOREIGN NAMES.
Nearly all countries have prominent In
their naval nomenclature the names of
great rulers soldiers, or sailors. Thus the
big Russian ships give us names Of em-
perors; the Italians. such names as Dan
dolo: the English, what is known as the
admiral class such as Arson, Nelson,
Rlakc. Howe, and so on; the French,
similar class, like Admiral Baudin; and
also another. like Martel, Colbert. Hoche.
and so on. our own navy still retains the
Adams and the Franklin. and in the new
steel fleet has the torpedo-boats Gushing
H. L.. O.