The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-03-03


two chase guns on the spar deck. Above
these two classes came the 44-gup frigate,
a very powerful rate. which was favored
by the United States Navy and received a
development of strength then unprece-
dented.
Being such as here described. the frigate
was essentially. though not exclusively.
the appendage of fleet of line-of-battle
ships Wars are decided not by commerce
destroying nor by raids, however veXa-
tious, but by fleets and armies; by great
! organized masses; that is. by crushing.
not by harassment But ships of the line.
to perform their function must keep to-
gether, both when cruising and when on
i the field of battle, in order to put forth
| their strength in combination. The in
| Vulnerable detached services that must be
discharged for every great organized force
| need for a feet to be done by vessels of
| inferior strength, yet so strong that they
cannot be intercepted or driven off lightly
by every whipper-snapper of an armed
ship that comes along. Moreover. fact
| not always realized. speed-speed to has
ten on n mission, to overtake foe or to
escape acknowledgements upon size and
masts that can carry sail and hold way
| amid heavy seas. Hence the frigate. NOT
! the lighter sloop. was indicated for the
/ momentous duties upon which depended
| the intelligence and the communications
| of the fleet Such leading considerations
| are needed to be stated and to be kept in
| mind. for they affect the warfare of the
! last decade of the century quite as really
| as they did that of the first and a paper
would indeed be incomplete which confined
itself to indicating points of difference. Of
progress, so-called and failed to recog
nize those essential and permanent condi-
tions which time will never remove. Fri
gates and sloops have disappeared in name
and form. In motive power and in arma-
ment. Their essential functions remain
and will remain while war lasts.
DUTIES OF THE FRIGATE.
The truth of this statement will be evil
dent from brief mention of the duties
frigates actually used to perform. While
attending the feet. not merely a part of it.
! the frigates were thrown out far in adj
vance and on each side. as cavalry on land
scours the country toward or through
which the army advances. The distance
to which they would be thus detached
miles, and the absence to days. rejoining
being assured by the assignment of a rem
devious or by an adequate knowledge OF
the admirals intended movements. 1t viii
be recognized that when thus alone fri
gates might meet equal or superior forces.
to resist or to escape from which both
strength and speed were needed An ex-
treme and particular case of such service
was the watching of an enemys port by
one or more frigates. when they had to
keep close to the entrance, although a fleet
might be within. Again, frigates were
placed in certain central positions. rem
devious known only to the superior Off
GERS. where they cruised steadily, having
information as to the whereabouts of the
fleet or instructions for expected vessels.
They were there centres OF intelligence,
round which the movements of the whole
body revolved.
When the feet was actually in touch
with hostile feet. in pursuit, or when
expecting battle. the frigates were placed
between their own force and the enemy;
pearer however, to the latter, as the es-
sential point was to keep knowledge Of his
whereabouts and probable intentions
Such position was at times extremely
exposed. The frigates had to avoid equal
ly capture and being driven and shaken
off; they must keep close. yet not be
caught. When engagement ensued they
passed through to the off side of their own
fleet. where they were dispersed at inter- I
walls abreast the main line, Ike the file |
closers of military line ashore. Here /
they fulfilled one special purpose besides |
others. AS the fleet fought with broad |
sides only, its ships were ranged one ahead I
of the other. Consequently signals made /
ON the masts OF the admiral could not be /
seen always by those ahead or astern of /
him; but the frigates in the other line I
made the same signals. repeated as it /
was said. where they could be read more |
certainly But frigates did also more haz- /
ardous work. They went to crippled ships /
of the line and lowed them into other po- !
sitions, into or out Of fire, and at times |!
the admiral summoned frigate alongside |
to carry a message to some part Of the 1
battle. Il noticed says Marryatt in one |
of his novels. the look OF pride on the face ,
of our officers when It appeared that the ,
loss on board our frigate was greater than /
that of some of the ships in the line
For such offices it is evident there were /
wanted strength and a weight which the
corvette did not have. A corvette would |
make poor work of towing a heavy ship, /
and could not carry as surely the sail /
needed to maintain a position At the I
same dime IL should be observed that ex-
cess OF size above the requirements stated .
should be exceptional. In the opinion of /
the writer the i4-gun frigate in her day
possessed a lighting force and weight Of Z
body in excess Of tina, required by the or I
binary functions of her nominal class. For
exceptional reasons a few Of the type were
permissible in large navy. On the other (
hand, 1t may be inferred, from the long
experience of the British navy and the re-
sultant practice, that ships of twenty
eight twenty-four. and twenty guns,
though often styled frigates, were not
found satisfactory as such. In the distri-
button of tonnage between size and num-
bers, 4 mean must be found and it must
be added that just mean Is a very differ
ent thing from compromise. These con-
sideratioHs also apply to present-day
problems
EARLY SHIPS OF THE LINE.
In the feet ship, or the ship ,ol the line.
as the opening century styled the class of
vessel known in the closing days as the
battleship, our predecessors had reached
mean conclusion. The lne-of-battle ship,
or the ship Of the line, as more usually
called differed from the frigate generical-
ly, in that it had two or more covered
decks. There were one or two cases OF