The herald., 1896-01-19
The Odd Work in the Newport Naval College by
Regular Officers of Uncle Sans Navy.
The Unique Course of Study
Were Based Upon
Presumption England Declared Wa-How Is Pro-
posed to Strengthen
Use OF

Should war actually be declared be-
tween the United States and Great
Britain this country will not be in
the helpless condition which foreign
and domestic speakers have pictured
1t. Within the past week some sneer-
ing German military authorities de-
clared that the United States is where
Germany was in the sixteenth CEN
tury, as far as the fighting strength of
its army and navy is concerned. The
absurdity of this statement is so ap-
parent that it needs no further COM
ment, but it illustrates in an exagger-
ated way, the foreign idea of Uncle
Ham's ability, or inability, to take care
of his interests.
Very little is known, outside of mill
tary and naval circles, of an ins titu-
ton which would prove a most i'm
portsbt factor to the United States
should the war take place. This is the
naval war college at Newport, r. l.,
and all Of the work done by it since its
! inception has been based on the exact
lines which the present emergency
contains. In other words, all the
study has been concentrated upon
the possibility of war with Great
Britain.
The students at the college are the
regular officers of the navy, and the
1895 class include men of all ranks
from the very young ensign to the very
old captain and commander. The
course of study is very unique and
quite unlike that followed in any gov
ernmental institution the world over.
Short-sighted officers at Washington
have time and time again questioned
the utility of the institution, regarding
it as a needless expense of public
money, but the present emergency
shows the fallacy of their complaints.
Captain H. @. Taylor of the navy is
the president of the college, and he
maps out the problems which the stu
dents solve, and it requires an abun-
dance of theoretical and practical
knowledge to accurately solve them.
It is generally supposed that when
man graduates at Annapolis he has had
all the schooling necessary to make of
him good and efficient officer. There
are many reasons which disprave this.
In the first place the nation has been
at peace for thirty years, and there are
gray heads in the service who have
never 6oeu DlL OI hCbudl war. DuTluS
that period there has been little squad
ron service. Ships more and more have
cruised sinRly. Naturally, naval ott-
GERS have insensibly lost sight OF the
ever pressing need of tactics, strategy
and other branches of the great art of
war.
Last year, 1895, was the most success
full in the history of the college. Be-
low is given the hardest problem which
the 1895 class had to solve 1t was
given out last spring on the supposi-
ton that Great Britain had declared
war against the United States,a and that
the British force would make a COM
bined,nav attack on the New England
coast supplemented by strong body
of troops from Halifax. Here is the
problem as originally stated
May 10-War is imminent. The
enemy is sembling in Halifax. He is
expected to descend upon the New
England coast. His probable plan is
to occupy the coast and chief cities
from Portland to Boston, thereby Sec
onding certain movements of his land
forces. His success depends upon his
completing his occupation before June