The evening times., 1899-05-08
NAVAL BATTALION
PREPARES FOR Sea
Men Have Reached a High
Stage of Proficiency.
Arrangements for the June Cruise
Nearly Complete.
The Fern Undergoing Repairs~A
Large Quantity of Ammunition
Issued for Target Practice.

The members of the District Of Column
bia Naval Battalion are making active
preparations for their practice cruise,
which will take place during the latter
part of June Paymaster Beiber, who is
the officer held responsible for the busi-
ness arrangements of the cruise, Is very
busy making estimates for the needs Of the
crew of the vessel which, will take the
District sailor boys on their first deep
voyage.
The cruise will be one of instruction
pure and simple and there will be no holi-
day outing features about it. The boys
kind Of work and they are expected to do
it willingly. They are all Of them ready
for the task and it is not thought that a
single member will finch. The war with
Spain took a great deal Of the romance
out OF the life of the naval militia tar and
showed him that, although there was a
my's fleets and capturing prizes. at the
same time the work of the service was Of
the most arduous kind. Therefore. know
ing this, il was only the men who were
really in earnest that applied for enlist
ment when the District of Columbia Bat
TALON was formed.
The men have been drilled for about a
year now in the duties of the naval lat
talon.
During part Of that time they did lot
have any vessel to practice on, and all the
instruction given them, apart from the
manual of arms, which is the same as the
army, the men did not know the least
thing about a ship. After the war was
over and peace an assured thing, the Gov
ernment turned over to the District of Co
lumbia Naval Militia the converted cruis-
er Fern. This boat gained some little
fame before the war with Spain from the
fact that 1t was the Government dispatch
boat on which the Naval Court Of Enquiry
into the Maine disaster held its sessions.
1t was purchased by the Government and
used for a dispatch boat throughout the
hostilities with Spain. Guns were mount
ed en- its decks and it was one of .:amp-
sons fleet.
The receipt Of the boat by the amateur
sailors Of the District was one CT the most
notable events in their history, and they
have up to few weeks ago occupied the
quarters aboard the vessel. The men have
been put through thorough course of
seamanship by Commander Haines. who
is a graduate of the Naval Academy, as
are also several of his officers They have
learned the most intricate naval maneuvres
and have demonstrated several times that
they are thoroughly acquainted with the
various methods of handling the vessel.
During the blizzard. when it became
necessary for the District authorities to
break the ice that encrusted the surface
of the Potomac, the Fern was offered the
Commissioners by General Harries. as the
commander of the National Guard. to as
sist in this work. The labors of the off,
GERS and crew in this direction clearly
manifested their ability to handle their
craft. On February % the District Com
missioners and the National Guard Off
GERS were invited by the commander OF
the naval battalion to take cruise down
the river on his vessel. They accepted the
invitation and a number Of movements
were shown for the benefit of the distin-
guished party. All declared themselves
as greatly pleased with the work of the
naval militia, and some expressed great
surprise at the rapid manner in which the
men had mastered the details of manag-
ing the ship.
The Fern, for the last few weeks has
been in the drydock at the navy yard be-
ing repaired. but will soon be able to re-
sumo her berth at the Eleventh Street
wharf. The Navy Department has issued
to Lieutenant Commander Poole, who is
in command of the battalion during the
absence of Commander Haines, a quantity
of ammunition, and it is expected that as
soon as the Fern is again in condition for
a cruise, target practice will commence.
The commander of the battalion has been
told that he can use subcalibre ammuni-
tion in as large quantities as he desires
and it is thought that the preliminary
practice will be held with this class of
projectiles. The shells of these cartridges
are made to fit in the regular size guns,
but the charge of powder and the ball car
ried by them is very much reduced. The
regular navy uses the shells in target prac-
tice and the efficiency of the tars during
the late war may be attributed to the fire.
quent use of the reduced charges for the
great guns.
Several rounds of heavy ammunition
have been issued for each of the 6-inch
rapid firing guns on the vessel, and large
quantity Of powder and ball for the six-
Founders. Before this is used up 1t Is
thought the men will have become thor
oughly accustomed to handling the big
guns. and when they are called upon for
practice by the regular officers who will
command the vessel on the practice cruise
they will be able to give good account Of
themselves.
The progress of the Naval Militia has
been very gratifying to the officers in
charge and they have great faith in the
ability of their men to handle anything
that will come their way during the cruise.
This will be the first real sea experience
that some of the men have ever had. and