River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1902-08-28
WHITE SQUADRON LOSES.
Attacking Vessels in Mimic Naval
Warfare Surrender ut GIou-
cester, Mass

Rockport, Mass, Aug. 25-The ma
val search problem on the New Eng
land coast was terminated at
$40 Sunday morning by the signal
surrender; demand and uncondi-
tional,' from Rear Admiral Higgin-
sons flagship, and the reply Accept
surrender" from the fore truck of
the Prairie, Commander Pillsbury's
flagship. The battle between the
blue, or defending squadron, and the
white, or attacking squadron, was
thus quickly ended eight miles south
of Thatcher's island. The enemy had
Dor, having for its object Salem. A
preponderanec of fighting strength,
relatively GA points, represented by
the battleships Kearsarge, Alabama
and Massachusetts, Scorpion and a
torpedo boat, had overwhelmed the
As points represented by the auNil-
larry cruisers Prairie, Panther and
Supply. To speak from theoretic
standpoint, the white squadron was
entirely destroyed by the guns of
the defending battleships. Thus on
the fourth night the game of naval
strategy was brought to an end, it
having covered a period of unceas-
ing toll, sleepless nights, of anxious
and wearing vigil and of grave I'M
certainty to it's participants.
The destruction of Pillsbury's
squadron occurred at $40 Sunday
morning at a point just within the
outer limit of Gloucester harbor, not
over eight miles southerly from
Thatcher's island, off which had
been anchored since Wednesday,
when the war game was declared
opened, the three powerful battle
ships of the blue squadron. The
surrounding and putting out of ac-
ton" of the squadron in command
of Commander Pillsbury was the
eliminating incident in one of the
most interesting chapters in the
peace history of the American
navy. For the placing in operation
of the maneuvers of the warships off
the coast of New England the navy
had long prepared itself and had
long looked forward to them with
keen anticipation. AS planned by
the naval authorities at Washington,
two squadrons were to be put into
the game, one the blue, the defend
ing feet, and the other the white,
to be hostile feet bent upon effect
ING an anchorage in some unprotect-
ed harbor on the coast from Cape
Elizabeth to Cape Cod, opposed all
the time by the first named fleet.
This anchorage had to be maintained
against the defenders for period
of six hours.
Commander Pillsbury's white squad
ron consisted of auxiliary cruisers
Prairie (fagship), Panther and Sup
ply. The two former boats were each
assigned 20 points of fighting strength,
while the Supply was assumed to rep
resent five points.
Admiral Higginson's fleet was ac-
tually superior in the number of its
members. and, by the same arrange
ments made as to the Pillsbury ships,
it represented a grand total of 81
points of strength. The Kearsarge,
the Alabama and the Massachusetts
battleships, were given 20, the cruisers
Brooklyn and Olympia eight each, the
Cincinnati and Montgomery, Glouces-
ter, Mayfower and Scorpion three
points each, while number of torpedo
boats made up the remaining numbers.
To win in the mimic war the blue
squadron had to bring against the at
lacking vessels, Is it did early Sunday,
warships' superior in the combined as
sumed fighting power. Each side had
the right to capture individual craft
of the other fleet by overcoming them
in point of strength, and under the
rules of the game the captured YES
sells were to retire altogether from
the field of action.