The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1898-08-21
"The Nntion,s Nnrr.n

full as this one the nation would heartily
rejoice There is a great deal of val
liable information in this volume, and ii
is given IN clear and concise language.
The book is not large one, containing
little more than three hundred pages
besides the illustrations, which are many.
1t is aturacuyely bound and well printed
1t gives briefly the history of the Ameri-
can navy. from the time of its inception
in l7l5. TO the beginning of the war with
Spain. This history occupies about a
hundred pages. The second part OF the
book is devoted TO detailed descriptions OF
the ships and armament of our navy. and
the last chapter treats of the navies of
other nations as compared TO our own
There is no attempt at fine writing or
speculations 10 the future of our navy.
There are plenty of solid facts Contrary
10 the usual order of things. the preface
is 50 good summing up of the subject
and gives so good an idea of the general
scope Of the book that it is worth Quot
ing whole:
The past half-century has witnessed revoIu-
tioa IN all things connected with naval war
fare. The warship Of the p ST has vanished. and
another and a stronger has taken its place The
wooden walls Of the ships Of our ancestors have
oeen replaced by walls OF steel, the swelling sill
by The whirling screw, ST. Eimo's fire by the
searehiight, the seaman by the s.arneehan- @
and the reefer Of the sail by the HEAVIER of
coal. In short IN comparing the navy OF the
past with that OF the present, we fel con-
strained TO quote from ShakesI-a e-wi.h n sliqb.
difference il wording:
Nothing of it that can fade
But has suffered a sea c.iange
Into something new and strange
hn Of Il o.
strongly in evidence There is nothing else
which fills SO large a space in the worlds eve
II Is the one subject about which all our people
TAX 10y day and dream by night; in which
they feel an abiding interest and tlke a patriotic
pride Ten Years ago this was not the cas- Their
We had no navy, other than as a museum of
antiquities. Today navy is. for its size ner-
haps the finest in the world Ten yeas from
today 1t may take rank with the largest and
strongest IN the world. This country long held
back from the work of naval construction that
was actively pursued abroad. but has now en-
tered into it with all the American energy and
Inventive ability, and is giving less rs to- in
stead Of receiving lessons from the maritime
nations OF Europe.
1t is this evolution Of an American navy with
which we here propose TO deal. 10 give It's his
tory in war and peace its DEVELOPMENT. its
present condition, with descriptions of its new
vessels, and their equipment for ofense and de-
Tense; IN short, 10 present detailed account OF
the whole makeup of the floating engines OF
destruction which now represent our country
upon the seas.
1t is timely season for such work. now
that war has arisen in which our navy PLAYS
leading part, and plays II so well that our
people regard with admiration their sbips OF
war, and are eager 10 know what manner Of
thing this IS that call battleship or
a cruiser what IS meant by such new terms
as coming tower, barbette, rapid-fre gun sub
marine boat, and the like; and the significance
OF the many matters that have 10 do with
modern naval science and engineering These
are the questions which this book is written
20 answer, not in technical terms but in plain
and simple language, which all who read NAV
understand. II is offered to the American publi.
with the hope that it may fulfill its promise
In this respect
1t may be proper 10 say conce ming its IL
lustrations that they have been chosen with
The purpose of presenting typical examples cf
our different classes of war vessels, one of the
best OF each type being chosen, and also Of
Showing the various elements OF existing naval
construction, with the view that the iIustra-
lions may serve as a useful and convenient
commentary upon the text.
The account given of the first ocean
conflict in the history of the American
republic, on May II, HIS, off the coast of
Machias, Maine, is rather interesting;
and il is 10 be noted that the Americans
were led by one O'Brien. the Celt being
at the front Of the fight as usual. This
man, at the head of t'hirty-five of the
townsmen, armed mostly with pitchforks
and axes, took a sloop and chased an
armed British schooner down the bay
with The result that the British captain
was killed and his men surrendered. The
crew of the English vessel outnumbered
the Americans, and she had four six
pound guns and twenty swivels but there
seems 10 have been something the mat
ter with the men behind the guns
OBr.en took possession of the cannon
and ammunition, and went a-privateer-
tng, with fine results from the American
point of view This. with the action of
other Americans who followed suit, ex-
esperated the enemy so much that they
came with four armed vessels and bonn
barded Falmouth, now Portland, Me,
laying the whole town in ashes, and
driving the inhabitants out into the
cold Of late autumn. This aroused popu-
lar Indignation, and by purchase and
construction a considerable fleet was
gotten together. The navy of the United
States Of America came legally into ex-
tStence on December z of the same
year. by act of Congress
From this time the history of the navy
IS continued up 10 the spring of the pres
ent year, the destruction of the Maine
being briefly described, and the subse-
quent events of the war dismissed with
sentence or two as bearing no close re-
lation TO the real purpose of the book
and too important to be summarized at
this early date.
The second half Of the book is devoted
almost wholly to the new navy, the navy
Of ironclads. The evolution Of the IRON
clad IN European navies is described at
some length. and then comes a descrip-
don Of the modern warship. the princis
pies on which ii is built and the reasons
for its present form. It is safe 10 say
that the average reader. after absorbing
the information contained in the next
few chapters of the book, will have a
much higher idea of the completely of
the mechanism of this great floating fort
than ne ever did before The ideas of the
unschooled citizen with regard TO war
ships are still unconsciously shaped by
the books Of the past. the classic in the
worlds htera ture, and at every step IN
Mr. Morris book one is more and more
Thoroughly convinced Of the fact that
sae modern ibattleshiD is no more like
the old-fashioned battleship than an alli-
gator is like an albatross. One or two
of the points of contrast between the
old and the new ship are thus quoted:
The sail was yielded reluctantly 1t was still
al some use as coal saver, and continued to be
spread TO the winds, even while The strong en-
CINE was pulsing and revolving below But as
the demand for speed grew more vital, coal
won the battle over the wind. and the sail
gradually passed away. The mast has remained
but low iron column, Of use only as a look
out point, and 10 give a commanding height TO
some Of the smaller guns of a modern arrna-
ment. II has become the military mast" AMI
Its old significance is at an end As for the long
rows of portfolios in an old-time battle him eac1
with its black, threatening muzZle, they have
gone to return no more. The syst m OF old was
70 plant as many guns in a ship as she could
stsgger under, with the hope of overwhelming
m antagonist with the hail OF iron balls hurled
from her whole broadside in a devastating mass
few great guns borne aloft in a steel-clsd tur-