The losses of the navy in the war with Spain were extraordinarily
small. There were but sixteen killed and sixty-eight wounded, of whom
two died later. But even more remarkable, and it reflects the highest
praise upon the service, was the state of health of the 26,102 men
during this war of 114 days (April 21st to August 12th, inclusive).
There were but fifty-six deaths in this period from disease, or at the
rate of 6.85 per thousand a year. There were but thirteen cases of
typhoid fever, and no death aboard ship from this disease and but one
in hospital. There were but eighteen cases of dysentery. The marine
battalion at Guantánamo numbered 588--21 officers and 567 men. There
was no death from disease; only nineteen cases of malaria and no
typhoid.
The whole was a very remarkable showing; one never equalled elsewhere.
And it should be remembered that it was in a climate, and indeed very
largely in the same region, where, a century and a half before, the
crews of some British ships were so swept by disease that they had
in some cases to be renewed three times in but a moderate period
of service. The health conditions of the American fleet showed an
enlightened care which reflects honor upon all concerned.
* * * * *
The situation left us by the Spanish War is one which can be maintained
only by a powerful fleet, though our acquisitions in themselves
scarcely add to the necessity of such a fleet, for meanwhile we have
built the Panama Canal. And while the canal has lightened our strategic
difficulties in that our battle fleet can now reach San Francisco from
the Caribbean in a fourth of the time it took the _Oregon_ to make
her celebrated passage from San Francisco to Key West, there is upon
us the heavy burden of the defence of the isthmus, its position being
in effect insular. It can only remain in our hands by our controlling
the sea. Fortifications assist in its defence for the time being, but
should we go to war it must finally go into the hands of the power
with a superior navy. And being thus isolated and having this insular
character, the canal and its fortifications should be in naval control
in order that there should be complete unanimity of effort in its
defence.
It is safe to say that however anti-imperialist one may be, there
is no American who would see the canal go into foreign control with
equanimity. The most pronounced would halt at such a danger. Thus
whatever one’s attitude may be toward the Monroe Doctrine, there are
few who would not uphold the contention that we shall not permit any
further extension of foreign influence in the Caribbean or in any part
of the neighboring Pacific littoral, or in neighboring islands such as
the Galapagos. This is not a question of extension of influence, but of
safety.
A word must be said as to the navy’s diplomatic work. International
law is mostly both made and administered by navies. The navy is thus
a great and constant school of diplomacy, the right hand of the
Department of State. We have had a notable instance, almost as I write,
in the events in Mexico, and from none have naval officers received
higher praise for their work than from the late lamented Secretary
of State, John Hay. It is duty such as this which gives the naval
profession its breadth and importance in peace, as great in its way, as
in war. And the diplomacy of naval officers is always in the direction
of peace, though it may sometimes be peace with a strong hand, as in
Admiral Benham’s most admirable handling of the situation in the harbor
of Rio de Janeiro during the revolt of 1895. He brought instantaneous
peace between the revolutionary forces and the Government; he upheld
international law, stood by the rights of our merchant captains, and
rendered a service beyond price to Brazil.
Such international uses of the navy accentuate the value of the Marine
Corps, now a naval army of 10,267 men and officers. Little has been
said heretofore in this book of this valuable, indeed invaluable,
force, as its duties are merged largely in the general duties of
the navy. It differs from the army proper in its mobility and
ever-readiness for foreign service. Its mobility is that of the navy
itself; its transport is ever ready; its supply train is the fleet.
It is an international understanding that seamen or marines may
be landed in any part of the world for the protection of life and
property, and that such action may even extend to the use of force
without being regarded as an act of war. There is no need to expand the
value of such a convention which gives the navy such an extension of
its field of forceful, and at the same time peaceable, action.
We speak much of our development into a world power through the war of
1898. We were such a power potentially as soon as we had a navy of a
strength to enable us to say to another power, “I forbid.” And we can
only remain a world power through a navy which can command safety and
peace. Linked to such power there must be political good sense and just
dealing. Long habit in obedience and in command, a life-long study of
international relations, a knowledge of the races of men such as no
other great profession can offer, an ideal which puts duty as its first
law; these enable the navy to furnish its just quota of both the high
qualifications mentioned. To it the country can securely trust its
honor and safety. It will ever do its duty.
A SHORT BIBLIOGRAPHY
It would take a great many pages to give a complete bibliography of the
subject of the American navy. I must content myself with mentioning
only a few of the more prominent works.
There were two navies: that of the Revolution, which disappeared
wholly in 1785; and that of to-day, which had its origin in 1794. The
two most complete works regarding the former are those of Gardner W.
Allen, “A Naval History of the Revolution,” 2 vols., Boston and New
York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913, and Oscar Charles Paullin, “The
Navy of the American Revolution: Its Administration, Its Policy, and
Its Achievements,” Cleveland, The Burrows Brothers Company, 1906. This
latter deals chiefly with the legislative action respecting the navy
and its administration; it is the only one of its class. To these two
authors, Dr. Allen and Dr. Paullin, I desire to express my special
obligations.
The naval classic, J. Fenimore Cooper, “The Navy of the United States
of America,” a book which fascinated the author of the present volume
as a boy, carries one from 1775 through the War of 1812 only.
The publications of the Naval History Society, Vol. 1, being the
logs of the _Serapis_, _Alliance_, and _Ariel_ under the command of
John Paul Jones, ed. by John S. Barnes, 1911. Vol. 2 is “Fanning’s
Narrative,” also edited by Mr. Barnes, 1912. Fanning’s account of
the capture of the _Serapis_ by the _Bonhomme Richard_ is the best
existent. There are other volumes, all of much interest.
Robert Beatson, “Naval and Military Memoirs of Great Britain from 1727
to 1783,” by far the best work of its period on the subject.
Wm. Laird Clowes, “The Royal Navy,” a monumental work in which Admiral
Mahan, U. S. N., and Colonel Theodore Roosevelt had part, covers in
vols. 3-6 our Revolution and the War of 1812. It is a work of the
highest value.
The same should be said of Admiral Mahan’s books, “The Influence of
Sea Power upon History,” and “Sea Power in its Relations to the War
of 1812,” Boston, Little, Brown & Company, 1905. All his works are
important.
G. Lacour-Gayet, “La Marine Militaire de la France sous le Règne de
Louis XVI,” Paris, Honorè Champion, 9 Quai Voltaire, 1905, is the best
French history of the naval events of the time.
Henri Doniol, “Histoire de la Participation de la France à
l’Établissement des États-Unis d’Amérique,” 6 vols., Paris, Imprimerie
Nationale, 1892. This monumental work was prepared for the universal
exhibition of 1889 and is of highest value to the student.
Charlemagne Tower, “The Marquis de la Fayette in the American
Revolution.” A valuable work.
Henry Adams, “The History of the United States, 1800-1817,” 9 vols.,
New York, C. Scribner’s Sons, 1891. A book of the first rank and
importance.
Edgar Stanton Maclay, “A History of the United States Navy,” from 1775
to 1902, 3 vols., New York, D. Appleton & Company, 1902. One of our
best and completest histories on the subject.
Gardner W. Allen, “Our Navy and the Barbary Corsairs,” New York, etc.,
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1905. An excellent book and a complete
account.
E. Dupuy, “Americains et Barbaresques,” Paris, R. Roger et F.
Chernoviz, 99 Boulevard Raspail, 1910. A book very highly to be praised.
Robert W. Neeser, “Statistical and Chronological History of the United
States Navy,” New York, the Macmillan Company, 1909, 2 vols. folio. An
invaluable work for the student.
Robert W. Neeser, “Our Many Sided Navy,” Yale University Press, 1914.
Well done.
Theodore Roosevelt, “The Naval War of 1812,” New York, G. P. Putnam’s
Sons, 1882. A good and fair book.
The literature of the Civil War is so vast that barest mention can be
made of a few works only.
Loyall Farragut, “Life and Letters of Admiral D. G. Farragut,” New
York, D. Appleton & Company, 1891.
A. T. Mahan, “Admiral Farragut,” New York, D. Appleton & Company, 1903.
James Russel Soley, “Admiral Porter,” New York, D. Appleton & Company.
John Randolph Spears, “David G. Farragut,” Philadelphia, Geo. W. Jacobs
& Company, 1905.
James Russel Soley, “The Blockade and the Cruisers,” New York, Charles
Scribner’s Sons, 1890.
A. T. Mahan, “The Gulf and Inland Waters,” New York, Charles Scribner’s
Sons, 1883.
Daniel Ammen (Rear-Admiral), “The Atlantic Coast,” New York, Charles
Scribner’s Sons, 1883.
“Battles and Leaders of the Civil War,” New York, The Century Company,
1888.
All these are very interesting and valuable.
For the Spanish War, John D. Long (ex-Secretary of the Navy), “The New
American Navy,” 2 vols., New York, The Outlook Company, 1903.
F. E. Chadwick, “The Relations of the United States and Spain,” vols. 2
and 3 being “The Spanish War,” New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1911.
There are admirable bibliographies in the works of Dr. Paullin and Dr.
Allen covering the periods of which their books treat. The reader is
referred to these and other general bibliographies for more complete
information than can be given here.
A WORD ABOUT THE AMERICAN BOOKS
The American Books
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To vote regularly and conscientiously and never to have been arrested
for disorder is not the be-all and end-all of good citizenship. The
good citizen is he or she who bears an active hand in cleansing and
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however small; who takes an increasingly intelligent interest in all
that contributes to the country’s welfare, and feels a keenly patriotic
hope for the future of the nation.
For such citizens THE AMERICAN BOOKS are designed--a series of small
volumes on current American problems. The keynote of the series will
be the discussion of distinctively American movements and questions
connected with the future prosperity of the United States.
The series was planned long before the great war, but it has derived
added importance from the position which that great struggle has given
America on the face of the globe. The United States, standing aloof
from the suicidal bloodshed of the Old World, has necessarily become
the peaceful arbiter of the earth’s destinies and the flywheel to keep
the world’s industry revolving.
An inquiry into the meaning and tendency of American civilization
to-day is thus not only a matter of interest but of patriotic duty.
The publishers wish THE AMERICAN BOOKS to be a series of brief,
authoritative manuals which will attempt to lay bare some of the
problems that confront us to-day; written in popular terms that will
inspire rather than discourage the casual reader. The series should
prove not only of great interest to all American citizens who wish
to aid in solving their country’s pressing problems, but to every
foreigner visiting this country who seeks an interpretation of the
American point of view.
The publishers wish THE AMERICAN BOOKS to be written by the best men,
and to this end they seek the widest publicity for the plan. They will
be glad to receive suggestions as to appropriate titles for inclusion
in the series and will welcome authoritative MSS submitted from any
quarter. In particular they submit the plan to the consideration of the
American colleges where the problems of the country are being studied.
In science, literature, business, politics, in the arts of war and the
arts of peace, the publishers will seek writers who have stood for
fearless achievement or equally fearless failure, who will build up A
LIBRARY OF GOOD CITIZENSHIP.
(_For complete list of volumes in this series see opposite title
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FOOTNOTES:
[1] This phrase had its origin in the advocacy, by a Dr. Banyan, of a
purely vegetable diet.
[2] Colonial Records of Pennsylvania, XI, quoted by Paullin, 389.
[3] See Paullin, “The Navy of the American Revolution.”
[4] Allen, 1, 47.
[5] Lacour-Gayet, “La Marine Militaire de la France sous le Règne de
Louis XVI,” 142.
[6] Clowes, “The Royal Navy,” III, 401.
[7] Jones Mss., July 28, 1777, quoted by Allen, 1, 183.
[8] The identical commission for which Conyngham came near suffering
was found a few years since in a Paris bookshop and is now in the
collection of Navalia formed by the late Captain John S. Barnes of New
York.
[9] Van Tyne, “The American Revolution,” 305, referring to Washington
Writings (Spark’s ed.) VI, 441 and VII, 159. N. Y. Docs. Rel. to Col.
Hist., VIII, 800.
[10] Memorandum dated July 15, 1780, sent by the hands of Lafayette to
Rochambeau.
[11] Clowes, “The Royal Navy,” III, 396.
[12] For a full description of vessels of the galley period, see
Admiral Jurien de la Gravière, “Deniers Jours de la Marine à Rames,”
and Lane-Poole, “Barbary Corsairs,” Chap. XII.
[13] Adams, “Works,” VIII, 373.
[14] “Dip. Corres. of the Revolution,” IV, pp. 95, 149.
[15] “Works,” VIII, 372.
[16] Adams, “Works,” VIII, 218.
[17] Jefferson’s Correspondence “Definitive Ed.,” V, 88 and 386.
[18] Allen, 56.
[19] Cooper, I, 240.
[20] The following is the full list: _United States_, 44; the
_Constitution_, 44; _Constellation_, 38; _George Washington_, 24;
_Portsmouth_, 24; _Merrimack_, 24; _Ganges_, 24; _Montezuma_, 20;
_Baltimore_, 20; _Delaware_, 20; _Herald_, 18; _Norfolk_, 18;
_Pinckney_, 18; _Retaliation_ (captured), 14; and eight revenue vessels
of from 10 to 14 guns.
[21] Letter to Paine, September 6, 1807, “Writings,” IX, 136.
[22] Condensed from Cooper chiefly and from Allen.
[23] See Allen, “Barbary Corsairs,” 192.
[24] William Shaler (many years consul at Algiers), 133.
[25] E. Dupuy, “Americains et Barbaresques,” Paris, R. Roger et F
Chernoviz, 99 Boulevard Raspail, 1910.
[26] Jefferson, “Works,” V, 189.
[27] Chadwick, “Relations of U. S. and Spain,” I (Diplomacy), 106.
[28] Gallatin to Jefferson, September 15, 1805, “Writings,” I, 241-254.
[29] Annals of Congress, 1802, 1803, 255.
[30] Told the author by General C. F. Adams. See also “American Histor.
Rev.,” April, 1913, p. 521.
[31] The British accounts were often so inaccurate and garbled, and
in James’s “Naval History” so frequently glaringly untrue that only
little dependence, in some instances, can be placed upon them. For a
discussion of this phase, see Roosevelt’s “Naval War of 1812” passim.
Part of this account is condensed from this latter.
[32] Roosevelt, 129.
[33] Cited by McMaster, “History of the United States,” IV, 901.
[34] Roosevelt, 178.
[35] Roosevelt, 187.
[36] Condensed from McMaster, IV, 33.
[37] “The Croker Papers,” I, 44.
[38] Roosevelt, 71, where a careful analysis of several pages is given
to this subject.
[39] “The Public Life of Sir George Prevost,” 136, quoted by Mahan, 362.
[40] Report in Canadian Archives, 1896, Lower Canada, p. 31. For some
mortifying details in this subject see Mahan, “The War of 1812,”
363-365.
[41] The most complete account of this battle and events connected with
it is in Mahan, 377-381, largely drawn on in this account.
[42] Instructions to Peace Commissioners, August 14, 1814.
[43] For a complete account see Mahan, “War of 1812,” II, 391, 396.
[44] Quoted by Maclay, “History of the Navy,” II, 82.
[45] Quoted by Soley, “Admiral Porter,” 41.
[46] Not so young, however, as was, when appointed midshipman, an
admiral under whom the author served in 1865, S. W. Godon. He told me
that he was appointed at so early an age that for some years he was
taken by a servant on quarter day to the navy yard to draw his pay.
[47] Spears, 112.
[48] Chadwick, “The Causes of the Civil War,” American Nation Series,
Vol. XIX, 124, 125.
[49] Spears, “Farragut,” 159, 160.
[50] The inventor of the revolving turret was Mr. T. R. Timby, who took
out a patent in 1841 and received a royalty of $5,000 for each turret
built by Ericsson.
[51] Spears, 152.
[52] Cable, _Century Magazine_, April, 1885, p. 922.
[53] Spears, 166.
[54] See Long, “Our New Navy,” Chadwick, “Relations of the United
States and Spain,” I, “Diplomacy,” II and III. “The Spanish War.”
[55] By standing close in and going aloft, the usual anchorage in
the bay is visible. (Commander Dayton’s report, “Report of Bureau of
Navigation,” 1898, 219.)
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:
Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.