Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1899-12-04
ANNAPoIIs MD. MONDAY. DEoEMBER 4, 1899.
PRACTICE SHIP CHESAPEAKE.
The Navy's New Clipper For Training
Naval Cadets.

The Navy's New Clipper For Training
Naval Cadets.
Today's Baltimore San with its usual
enterprise has a handsome cut of the
practice ship Chesapeake for training
the Naval Cadets. The Chesapeake is
now AT Charlestown. Mass. ready for her
trial trip. She is another vessel with a
Maryland name. The naval authorities
have met all efforts on the part Of Mary
landers to have battleship named after
the State by saying that there is sufficient
honor for one Commonwealth in the
names of the cruiser Baltimore. the gun
boat Annapolis and the practice ship
Chesapeake.
The practice ship which is ready for
her trial trip had an earlier namesake IN
the American Navy-ihe 80 gun frigate
upon which Commander James Lawrence
made his heroic defense against the
British ship Shannon. in Boston harbor.
in 1873. Although the earlier Cbesa-
peake was captured. Lawrence made the
story Of the fight one of which Americans
still feel proud. AS he was being car
ried below, mortally wounded in hand
to-hand struggle, he spoke the famous
words: "Don't give up the ship.
The new Chesapeake was undertaken
againt considerable adverse criticism. 1t
was contended that naval cadets should
be instructed on steam ships and not
upon sailing vessels. which are no longer
used in actual naval warfare. The ad-
vocates of the vessel who contended that
much could be learned on sailing ves-
sci which must remain a sealed book to
navigators il steamships carried their
point, and plans for the new craft were
drawn by Chief Naval Constructor
Hichborn.
The Chesapeake is clipper built, and
her estimated speed with a following
wind is IL knots an hour. Her stability
and strength was equalto any steam ves-
sci of her size. Though sailing ship.
she is modern war vessel in all other
respects, battery, wire rigging. interior
arrangements and equipment. Her bot
tom is sheathed with wood 4 inches in
thickness and coppered from the keel to
feet inches above the water line. Her
battery consist of six inch rapid-hre
guns on the covered gun deck and four
6 Founders and two I-pounders mounted
on the rail and worked from the flush
spardeck.
The Chesapeake is full-rigged ship.
spreading total sail area Of 1875
square feet, upon which she wholly de-
pends for propulsion. Her auxiliary
engines consist of two boilers for supply
ing steam to run the pumps, windlass
ao1 nIa~tv,~ 1see;ll;rr au1 ~aS,;r.~. t,rr
plants and for heating the vessel.
The cadets will have their meals on
permanent tables, so arranged as not to
interfere with passage about deck or
working Of the guns, Each Of the I8o
members of the crew who can be accom-
modated on the vessel will be provided
with locker for his clothes.
The captains cabin and officers quar-
ters are aft. Ample bathrooms are pro-
vided for the cadets-something they
never knew before on practice ship.
Forward ofthese rooms are 10 staterooms
for wardroom officers, and the wardroom
dining room, which extends across the
vessel. IS near by. Large quarters are
provided in the hold for supplies and
ammunition. Care has been taken to
provide the ship with plenty of boats.
The Chesapeake's dimensions are as
follows: Length on water line, Us feet;
breadth. 81 feet; mean draft. 10 feet 6
inches; displacement, i,17s tons. The
vessel was built at Bath, Maine, and costs
$75o 600, and has been overhauled at
Charlestown, Mass.
In 1895 the keel ofthe first Chesapeake
was laid at the Norfolk Navy Yard, but
she was not launched until August 1893.
Her dimensions were as follows: Length.
ISL feet; breadth. 10 feet; displacement.
I.24o tons; cost. sac, ,678. She carried
36 guns and crew of 343 men.