The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-08-25
White Squadron as Last Effort Tried to Anchor in GIou-
 cester Harbor
ATTACKING FLEET FIRST
 SEEN BY APPRENTICE BOY
Smaller Fleet Was Quickly Surround ed and "Put Out of ActIon"-War Game Has Been of Great
 Benefit to Navy.

Rockport, Mass. August 24.-The naval search problem on the New England coast was terminated at 5:40 this morn ing by the signal "surrender;. demand an unconditional, from Rear Admiral Higginsons flagship. and the reply "ac- cept surrender from the foretruck 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 Thacher's island The enemy had most signally failed to make harbor, having for It's objective point Salem. preponderarcc Of fighting strength, relatively GA points. represented by the battleships Kearsarge, Alabama and Massachusetts. Scorpion and a tor pedo boat had overwhelmed the 45 points represented by the auxiliary cruis- CTS Prairie. Panther and Supply To speak from q 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 period of unceasing toll, sleepless night, of anxious and wearing vigil and of grave uncertainty to It's participants.
 The destruction of Pillsburys squadron occurred at 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 de- clared open. the three powerful battle ships of the blue squadron.
 Put Out of Action.
 The surrounding and putting out of the action" of the squadron in command of | Commander Plllsbury, was the culminat- i ing incident in one of the most interest," ing chapters in the peace history of the American navy. For the placing in oper- ation of the maneuvers of the warships ( if the coast of New England. the navy had long prepared itself and had long looked forward with keen anticipation. As planned by the naval authorities at Washington, two squadrons were to be put into the game one the blue. the de- lending feet the other the white, to be a hostile fleet bent upon effecting an anchorage in some unprotected harbor on the coast from Cape Elizabeth to Cape Cod, opposed all the time by the first named fleet This anchorage had to be
 
 period of six hours. Commander Pills bury's white squadron consisted of aux Hilary cruisers Prairie 0lagship). Panther and Supply The two former boats were each assigned twenty points of fighting strength, while the Supply was assigned to represent five points.
 Admiral Higginsons fleet was actually superior in the number of It's members and represented grand total of 97 points faf ofrosa afrfh nerA hA 1al< and the Massachusetts. battleships were given 20. the cruisers Brooklyn and Olympia eight each. the Cincinnati and Montgomery, Gloucester, Mayfiower and Scorpin three points each. while a num- Der of torpedo boats made up the re- maining numbers.
 What Was Necessary to Win.
 To win in the mimic the blue squadron had to bring against the at tacking vessels. as 1t did early today, warships superior in their combined as- suemd 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 vessels was to retire altogether from the field of action In the defeat of Pillsbury, the defence with three battleships, the Scorpion and with a single torpedo boat. had 64 points, so that the balance was against the att tacking squadron. Throughout the mimic war there was placed in operation sys- tenn of coast defence which was admitted ly of credit to those who engaged in 1t The problem wes so complicated that on the war vessels here tonight the weeks work is viewed with satisfaction for the one reason. If for no other. that tho squadron has had invaluable practice. The final event of these war movements VI tha Of li.o ffr.rr developments.
 The capture came at the end of a night filled with rumors to the location Of the sttscking squadron. At 9:3o o'clock last night three battleships of the blue squadron got under way iE a hurry and sailed eastward The intention was to move on to Portland. and if that had been carried out Admiral Higsinson. as 1t later developed. would have swung the balance of his fighting fierce to that end the coast line Pillsbury had intended he should. but which was not done on &C., Elizabeth.
 Deflected His Course.
 Higginson, however, defiected his course back to Gloucester after a swing seaward in response to a rerert that the enemy had not been signed when 1t was be- leved he had been. but in the last hours of the night Pillsbury sailed to- ward Cape Ann from outside and as it proved. right | nder the very guns of the defending squadron.
 Comma nder Pillsbury. when still out to sea- after maneuvering headed straight for Salem harher. But the desired van tage point was never reached.
 When his boats had arrived off Mag nolia they were sighted by the signal station on Bakers Island. A message was sent to the station at Rockport here and the torpedo boat Barney was sent out to notify the blue squadron. The sta- tion here had before this been inform ed that Higginson's battleships had been sighted of Gloucester and that later they had returned to their berths under the lee of Harper's Island. The Barney's commander was mystified therefore. when after rounding Straitsmouth he saw no evidence of the presence of the Kearsage. On hazard the Barney was