The Washington times., 1902-10-12
AMERICAS VICTORIOUS NAVY.

Marvellous as it may seem. the story
/ of hazards and achievements in the army
| has been told by hundreds of writer's.
and grand victories of the navy have
hitherto been but briefly sketched. But
for the navy the Union would have been
destroyed by the aid of foreign sympa-
thizers pouring in money. provisions.
and munitions of war to the Confeder
acy. The navy captured New Orleans.
the great city of the South, controlling.
the entrance TO the Mississippi River,
and but for the navy. Grant says he
could not have taken Vicksburg. nor
operated successfully against Richmond
The growth of our navy was one of the
marvels OF the age. and it was a power
of no small magnitude in crushing the
rebellion. 1t was second only to the
army itself. and has glorious record
in the salvation OF the nation
1t cost the Government. in round num-
bers, $3.50, 900, coo or S121, GOO eco for each
year of the war, or $40. .0G0 900 per month.
or nearly third of million dollars for
every day of the war.
1t employed over 500 vessels of war,
and over 90, 900 men. which force greatly
exceeded that CT any other nation in the
world.
1t guarded over 1000 miles of coast.
including bays, rivers, etc. effectuaily
preventing the importation of irms and
munitions of war and so compelling the
earlier exhaustion of the Confederate
forces.
1t captured the immense number of
/ Jos blockade runners, many of which
CT rot Of a--1,
300 captures per annum, or almost one
each day during the entire war.
The barest facts, betray enthusiasm
in describing naval battles: novelsts.
poets. and painters delight in the theme.
and the people who read them thrill
with emotions seldom stirred 10y the
stories of other conflicts. Whence
comes the charm? Perhaps from the
everlasting mystery of the sea. whicl,
never ceases to fascinate young and
old possibly the meeting of two .ppos
ing ships on treacherous element is n
scene no ina gipation can resist What
ever be the cause, the fact remains that
from the time men began to go down
to the sea in ships" their encounters
with their enemies have had peculiar
interest.
The legends of the Northmen are full
of wild maritime adventures. The Ro-
mans and the Anglo Saxons. who skirt
ed the coasts of England and France in
their primitive boats. did not seek en-
counters upon the water, but when they
met their barbarous ferocity vas in
creased ten-fold. During England's
long-vaunted supremacy over the seas
in later times her naval battles have
formed some OF the most dramatic
events of her history.
The same interest adheres to the
American Navy Romance, patriotism.
and sentiment are entwined in its his
tory. From the day when John Paul
Jones taught England that the rebelious
oolonists could he aggressive and at
tack her successfully on the water as
well as on land. down TO the present,
the navy of the United States has met
all the requirements in emergency The
list of heroes and their deeds need not
be given here. They are known to all
men. What schoolboy does not know
the story of the Constitution and its
tomnanders. and how with that now IA
nous frigate they won renown for
themselves and their country? In what
American household is not the name of
Perry and the tale OF his great victory
more familiar than other events of that
troubled time when our Union was yet |
new and outside enemies assailed it?
Brilliant were the achievements of our
navy in those days. and great was the
increase OF respect for us among other |
nations. So impressive was the lesson |
that II has lasted to this day. and has |
caused these discreet countries, once Sc |
threatening to a supposed feeble foe, TO |
refrain from further hostilities.