Los Angeles herald., 1909-02-07
AMERICAN FLEET
FNVOYAGEHOME
FROM GIBRALTAR
MEMORABLE CRUISE OF 42,OOO
MILES NEARS END
NO ACCIDENT YET HAS MARRIED
JOURNEY OF WARSHIPS
Vessels Take Southern Route for
Hampton Roads-Are Due to Ar
rive February q - World
Has Watched Progress
TBy Associated Press.I

by Associated Press.I
NIBRALTAR, Feb. 6.-With the
VT bands on board playing Home,
VI Sweet Home the American fleet
of sixteen battleships under Rear Ad-
miral Sperry left Gibraltar at II o'clock
this morning for Hampton Roads on
the last lap of it's famous around-the-
world cruise of $4,000 miles.
One hour later the vessels were well
clear of the land and steaming west
ward in double column formation at
a speed of ten knots an hour. They
will follow the southern route to Hamp-
ton Roads, a distance of 5000 miles,
and about 1000 miles off the American
coast they will be met and escorted
home by the third squadron of the At
lantic fleet under Rear Admiral Ar
mold.
The weather conditions at the time
of departure were glorious. The sky
was without cloud and there was just
enough breeze to curl the crests of the
sun-fiooded waves.
Nothing could have surpassed the
beauty of the marine picture as the
American armada weighed anchor this
morning under the shadows of the tow
ering Rock of Gibraltar and moved out
into the strait.
SklIl SHOWN IN ManeuVerS
The difficulty of operation of getting
the sixteen huge battleships out of the
narrow war basin of the port and un-
der way was accomplished with a
skill and perfection of maneuvering
and detail which won the admiration
of all the foreign naval men who wit
messed the proceedings critically from
land and sea.
Admiral Sperry directed the whole
operation from the center bridge of the
Connecticut.
At $50 o'clock the signal to unmoor
was given, and the great chains hold
ing the ships to the buoys were loos-
ened one by one until the vessels were
held to their anchorage by but a single
strand.
At S:55 a stream of multi-colored
signal flags on the flagship gave the
order to get under way to the Georgia,
the Nebraska, the New Jersey, the
Rhode Island and the Virginia lying at
the rear of the basin. AS the flags
came f1uttering down five minutes later
the designated battleships cast off their
last lines, and, like freed leviathans
seeking escape, they slowly swung their
noses in the direction of the breaches
in the breakwater.
Georgia Leads the Way
Twisting and turning to the changing
of the engine gongs, they crept out,
the Georgia leading the way, with the
lieutenant commander, George w.
Kline, on the bridge. Once outside,
Rear Admiral Wainwright's division
fell into formation and waited for the
second and third groups.
The second group consisted of the
Vermont proudly flying the battle Of
efficiency trophy at her fore; the
Minnesota, Ohio and Kearsarge, and
the third was composed of the Wiscon-
sin, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri and
Illinois.
Although it is not customary to fire
parting salutes, the Devonshire, the
flagship of Rear Admiral Sir Goodrich,
admiral superintendent at Gibraltar,
which had taken up a position at the
entrance of the harbOr, hoisted and
saluted the flag as the ships passed
out.
The band on the quarterback of the
Connecticut played the English an
them, while the musicians on the for
eign warships played 1.-THE Star Span
gled Banner" as the respective ensigns
were dipped.
Russians Signal Goodby
Admiral Goodrich and Admiral Lit
vinoff of the Russian navy signaled
Good by; pleasant voyage
Admiral Sperry replied laconically,
IndnKS.
Then the Connecticut steamed ma
jestically along the line of the wait
ing American vessels, took it's position
at the head of the column and set the
guiding flag, five of clubs.'
The fifteen other vessels wheeled
gracefully in behind the Connecticut,
and with the black speed cones run up
to the yardarm the imposing process
sion, which was over three. miles long,
moved to the south
The alignment of the ships was per-
feet, and the sight was so impressive
that the spectators croWding the ter
races Of the Alameda and Of the Eu-
ropa point could not restrain exclama-
tions of delight, while the American
passengers on two liners anchored close
inshore burst into cheers.
Looking from the rock of Gibraltar.
the water separating the ships seemed
gradually to be obliterated as the dis
tance increased until the sixteen huIIs
resembled a long, white line surmount-
ed by trailing plume of smoke. Sud
denly, off Cape Spartel, the line wa
Vered and broke into small parts.
Then, few minutes later. there were
two parallel lines instead of one. show
ing that the fleet had assumed its regu-
lar double cruising formation.
Express Satisfaction
rear Admlral Sperry, prior to the
departure of the battleships for
Hampton roads, expressed the great
est satisfaction with the results of the
around-the-world cruise. Said he:
This cruise marks an epoch in our
naval annals, for the fleet has found
itself-been welded into a unitv. An
aggregation of battleships irrespective
of the power and efficiency Of the units
is not fleet in the highest sense of
the term, until by long, faithful and
harmonious work on the part of the
personnel the spirit of the fleet has
been developed
"That now has been accomplished
The American people have come to ap-
preciate what it means to have a fleet
like this.
''The lessons of the cruise have been
many and it is no exaggeration to say
that the condition of the ships is bet
ter today than when they sailed from
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