New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-08-20
The United States Many From 1910 to 1917
Blu Gherardi Davis

tubeY were increased III size anu hseNN'
rapid-fre guns were built Of greater and
greater efficiency, to meet the attacks OF the
cver-faster driven torpedo boats. At New
port we developed torpedo station OF vast
Importance, and more and more the Navy
grew, as have said, to be highly scientine
profession.
OF all the ships built by the Navy before
1888. however, none showed greater step
ahead than our four batteships-the Indiana,
Massachusetts, and Oregon 10000 tons) ana
the Iowa I'll 900 tons)-laid down in or after
1891. Very heavily srmored for those days.
they had as batteries four XIIl-inch guns IN
turrets, placed one forward and one aft OF
central superstructure, at each corner OF
which were turrets, each containing two VIII
inch guns. No foreign wsrship of the same
displacement had so heavy battery, and few
even larger foreign ships carried heavier
battery until the English built the King Ed
ward class-nearIy the last of the battle
ships built in England with other than all
big guns.
OF course, a XIII-inch gun of 1898 did not
compare to a modern XII-inch gun even.
They were quite short and their muzzle We
lccty was not very high, but they were eff-
cient, and those four battleships were the
wonder of their day. Long after continental
Europe was using breech-loading guns at
sea England chung to her muzzle-losders.
But when we once discarded the old smooth
bore guns and the muzzle-loading rifles
(some were converted smooth-bores) we
adopted the French interrupted screw breech
system and have never changed from II.
Onl, the small rapid-fre guns up to D.
pcurGers have different type of breech.
A Makeshift Fleet
When the Spanish war came the Navy, as II
is doing to-day and as it had done during
the Civil War, created makeshift heet
Of small vessels by taking over yachts, tugs
and other like craft, on which were mounted
one or more rapd-fre guns. In addition,
several steamships were armed and used as
cruisers They were given such excellent
names as Harvard, Yale, Yosemite, Dixie,
Prairie and Yankee. They all did fine
work. OF the yachts, the Gloucester (for-
merly C5rsair) was the most famous: she
is still in active service. Wainwright COM
manded her, and at Santiago distinguished
himself by his gallantry. Some yachts had
thin sheets of steel bolted to their sides
to protect their boilers and engines, but
the strangest craft sent to sea to be used
on the blockade were the tugs. l remem-
Der one commanded by a relative OF mine,
which was about as fit to be on the high
seas as canalboat. After very exciting
trip to Key West my relative was transferred
to a fine cruiser, but the tug dropped out OF
naval history. Energy was needed, ana
there was no lack of it, just as our oficers
and men showed the courage and resourceful-
ness which have characterized our navy from
its earliest days. Neither side shot very
well, but we were the better Of the two,
and we won because we had more and better
ships and better men. The blockade of Santi-
ago by Sampson was splendid piece OF WORK;
the cleaning up of the outlying islands in the
Philippines was tough job, with plenty Oh
work and very little glory. Of course, in the
memory of every one remain two events;
Dewey's victory in Manila Bay and the voyage
of the Oregon from the Pacific to Cuba. There
is always a glamour of romance attached
10 the Navy, and the Spanish war greatly
increased it.
In the two great sea fights of the Spanish
War manila first, and then Santiago) very
c,sat number of our warships took part,
and those who saw the return to New YORK
of SIMPSONS feet and later Of the Olympia,
with Dewey, will remember the name Of
mary ship w>gone to Rotten Row.
During the years which followed the Span
ish War we still further developed our navy,
in the line of battleships and
large cruisers. The larger cruisers, like the
West Virginia and the Tennessee (their
names have been changed so that the state
names might 60 to battleships), OF about
$4,000 tons displacement, were not, however,
all they should have been. Their armament
was decidedly light and their armor protec-
ton, except on the turrets leach had two),
was insignificant. But as cruisers able to
stay at sea and keep up their speed, even in
heavy weather, they were successful. In
the development of battleships we, however,
ciurg too savshly to the English models,
going so far even as to copy ships with two
smoke stacks after their fashion side by side,
sthwartships. The supermposed turret mod
Ell, like the Kearsarge, originating, believe,
with Admiral Sampson, has never been tested
in action, but certainly should have sug-
gested the turret arrangement soon 10 be
adopted in all-big-gun ships.
Stumbling About
We did not, however, hold to any particular
line of action. Instead, of building battle
ships in groups or divisions, or which were
even an improvement on what went before,
we sometimes improved on preceding mod
ell, sometimes we went behind it. Any one
running over the list of ships launched be-
tween 1898 and 1905 will notice this. We
were stumbling about, although officers in
our navy like the present Vice-Admiral Sims
were urging the Navy Department to
strike out boldly and change the whole
design Of battleships. We went on building
ship after ship with but four very heavy guns,
and with varied battery Of smaller guns,
sometimes in broadside, sometimes in turrets
and broadsde Admiral Sims. might add,
had developed our system of target practice,
basing it, to begin WITH on the English sys-
tenn, until our men could really shoot and hit.
neither Congress nor the
,,o r;o,. Strawberries NOR the RurPau az Con-