The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-01-25
THE WHITE SQUADRON.
Never Before Has Our Country Look
ed So Well On Water.

Washington, Jan. 24-Never before
has the majesty of the United States
been represented by so large and use
full a fleet of warships as that gath
cred of the southern coast of Florida,
within direct striking distance of the
island of Cuba Whether the ships are
called into action or not, an eXamina-
ton of the squadron now engaged os-
tensibly in drill, but really in watch
ing the progress of events across the
narrow channel which separates the
Dry Tortugas from Havana, shows
that it was not collected for dress
parade purposes.
For year the navy department has
been preparing for this very emery
ency, and the result is a fleet such as
has never been seen before ready for
service in American waters.
The North Atlantic fleet, now under
order of Admiral Sicard, with head
quarters at Tortugas and a telegraph
address at Key West, is made up of
the battleships Maine and Texas, the
monitor Terror, the armOred cruisers
New York and Brooklyn, the cruisers
Detroit and Montgomery, and the tor
pedo boats Gushing, Dupont, Ericsson,
Foley and Porter, with the dynamite
cruiser Vesuvius. and the little dis
patch boat Fern.
fleet. With the exception of the Cush-
ing torpedo boat, which was put into
service in 1890, not a ship in the fleet
has been in commission for five years.
They are the flower of the new navy,
and the 16 fighting machines are
manned by 337 officers, 1884 men, be-
sides the marines. The batteries of the
heavy ships are simply tremendous
When in action, the fleet will be throw
Y-fa
addition of 80 rapid-firing rifles. All
this is for long-range business, and is
in addition to the secondary batteries
of low-calibred guns. The torpedo
fleet is armed with 10 1S-inch White
head tOrpedoeS and the ships them
selves are fitted with tubes for send
ing out % more, making a total eff
fective battery of 90 marine engines,
besides the Vesuvius, mounting three
dynamite guns.
The Maine, which has been selected
TO make the trip to Havana, is a bat
tleship of the second class and is re-
garded as one of the best ships in the
new navy. She was built at the Brook
Ign navy yards and is SIS feet long, 81
feet broad, q s mean draught, and $3.50
tons displacement She has two 10-inch
vertical turrets and two military masts,
and her motive power is furnished by
twin screws with triple expansion en-
gines having a maximum horse power
of 9,293, capable of making a speed of
17.5 knots. She carries four 10-inch and
six 6-inch breech-loading guns in her
main battery and. seven 6-pounders and
eight 1-Dounder rapid firing guns, four
III her secondary battery ard
four Whitehead torpedoes.
The big protected cruiser Brooklyn |
almost equal to a battleship herself, |
is fitting out at the New York navy
yards, ard Captain Cook, who COM
mands the ship, was at the navy de- /
partment this morning expecting to sail /
the latter part of this week to join 4
Admiral Sicard's squadron. The gun /
boat Nashville and the training ship |
Essex are at Port Royal, S. c., within .
easy call, and the entire navy may be
said to be in a state of preparedness
hat is gratifying to the officials in view
IF the limited resources placed in their
hands by congress.