Transportation of Troops by Sea
[Illustration: Armament on an American transport.]
When rumors of war crowd upon one another until it seems inevitable,
the State Departments of the interested nations are not more anxious to
anticipate coming events than are the corps of war correspondents who
wish to follow the fate and fortunes of the armies. To be on the spot
when things happen is the secret of their success; but during the past
few years, when wars have been so frequent, it has been hard to decide
where to go. It is not always easy to get there after that decision is
reached, for in recent years war has been carried on in the most remote
and inaccessible places, and many weeks were often lost in anxious
travel before the scene of action was reached.
When I was leaving Havana, just after the American occupation, a young
officer there was ordered to proceed at once to the Philippines.
He packed all his belongings, arranged his departure, and caught a
steamer for Tampa in two hours, bidding only such friends good-by as
he happened to be able to hail from his cab on the way to the wharf.
I met him on the steamer, and all the way to Washington he fretted
and worried because steam could not drive the passenger coaches fast
enough. He feared the war would be over before he could reach the
Philippines; he counted the days until he could get there; he prayed
that Aguinaldo might not surrender until he arrived. I received a
letter from him a short time ago, and he is now praying that the
rebellious leader will surrender; and he added that it was the one
regret of his life that he did not miss that steamer at San Francisco,
as it would have given him two weeks more at home.
In London, last year, a young Guardsman told me almost tearfully that
he was ordered out to South Africa, but that he was sure Buller would
finish up the war before he could get there. More than six months later
I saw him in Pretoria, and he remarked hopelessly that he had come to
the conclusion that he was now a permanent resident of the Transvaal.
Having gone through similar anxieties myself several times during the
past few years, I had a little faith that the Boers would be able to
hold out until I got there, but I naturally studied the quickest way
to make the long journey. I was favored in that the new army transport
_Sumner_ was ordered from New York to Manila, and I secured a passage
direct to Suez. Not only was I helped along on that journey, but I had
an opportunity of studying the new American transport service.
The mystery and awe which always attend a great ship starting on a
voyage across the trackless ocean is intensified when the floating city
is filled with men of war, who are to face death in a far-off land for
their country’s honor; then the interest becomes appealing and tender.
Men who have left home for the front or the post many times before
now leave under new and more unknown conditions. Yet there seemed not
to be an officer on the _Sumner_ who doubted his return to his native
land after winning honor on the field. Already, however, several of
those officers who were my companions across the Atlantic and the
Mediterranean, and many of the men, have given up their lives in the
far East.
One of the most attractive and promising of the officers on the
_Sumner_ was Captain McIniston of the Fourth Infantry, over six feet
of man, and of powerful frame. He had won in Cuba several mentions for
conspicuous gallantry. But he had carried from Santiago the seeds of
tropic fever, which were going with him now. He was appointed, upon his
arrival at the Philippines, to command a little garrison, which the
insurgents immediately besieged in force. His fever developed rapidly
under the exposure and terrible strain of the siege, and at last, when
delirium had usurped his brain, he was shot dead, in a panic, by his
own soldiers--thus dying the most pitiful death a soldier can know.
The comment of the bulletin, “temporary insanity,” gave no hint of the
bravery, dutifulness, and suffering which had produced it, and which
called for a better fate.
The private soldier’s life while on a long ocean voyage is made as easy
and as pleasant as possible by the officers in charge, and the entire
trip is a rest from arduous duty. It is recognized that no serious work
can be done at sea by any man not accustomed to seafaring. A certain
number are detailed for assisting in the preparation and serving of
the meals, in keeping the quarters clean, and in a small guard detail;
but that is all. After the first few days out the men are put through
a regular amount of health exercise, which consists chiefly of walking
and running around the decks. When time hangs heavily, amusement is
ready. The army department of the Y. M. C. A. has been officially
recognized by the War Department, and men are detailed by the
Association to accompany the troops and furnish entertainment which may
occupy their minds. A variety of games, from tiddledy-winks to chess,
is provided, and the man in charge of this valuable work is active all
the day and evening in keeping the men amused. He arranges tournaments
and matches, and gives prizes for the winners. He suggests different
occupations for the idle men, and in this way does an immense amount
of good. The Association also provides reading matter sufficient to
occupy the minds of those who care to read.
An incident of peculiar interest was the visit we paid to the Spanish
garrison when the _Sumner_ stopped at Gibraltar. Crossing the neutral
strip, the American officers, in full uniform, drove into the little
Spanish military town. It was with a natural doubt as to our reception
that we made this invasion. At once the strange uniforms engaged
attention, and then it was whispered and finally shouted that _los
Americanos soldados_ were visiting the place, and the crowds grew
greater to gaze at their former enemies. The salutations were of the
most friendly nature, and there seemed no trace of Spanish animosity. A
bunch of officers invited us to remain for the morrow’s bull fight, and
appeared genuinely sorry that their invitation could not be accepted.
They discussed the Philippine situation with friendly candor, sent
messages to old acquaintances, and rejoiced that they were not going
themselves.
[Illustration: British soldiers leaving the Sumner after having
exchanged uniforms with Americans.]
At Malta the _Sumner_ anchored only a couple of lengths from shore, and
her cable had hardly been paid out before several boat-loads of British
Tommies were alongside. Then followed an extraordinary exhibition of
fraternization. The soldiers of the two nations examined one another’s
equipment and uniforms and discussed their relative usefulness. They
finally began to exchange buttons from their blouses and tunics, and
before many minutes had passed the spirit of trade took their fancy.
A British soldier would admire the useful campaign hat of an American,
who in return would declare what a good souvenir the “dinky lid” of the
Britisher would make for his family at home, and the next moment they
would swap. Then the trading went into blouses, trousers, and shirts;
at least one entire boat-load of Tommies went back in the full field
uniform of the American army. What afterwards happened to them when
they encountered the strict sergeant the Americans conjectured with
grins.
The American colonel, however, put his foot down, and the amusing
episode had to end, for the regiment was going to land for parade the
next day, and there would not have been an entire uniform in the lot
had the men been allowed to keep on exchanging clothes.
The parade on British soil, in the presence of a British garrison, put
the men on their mettle. As the Philippine khaki had not then been
issued, they furbished up their worn blue suits until the uniforms made
an unusually good appearance.
Just before they landed, Captain McCoy stepped out to give them a final
word of advice. It was short, and it expressed what every man was
thinking already.
“Remember one thing, men,” he said; “you are going to be watched every
minute you are on shore by Britishers, so don’t forget that you are
Americans.”
Although the men were nearly all recruits who had never drilled
together, even as companies, they went ashore in a regimental formation
which did credit to our service. Every man marched and drilled as
though the eyes of all the British soldiers about were directed upon
him alone.
The British officers expressed much admiration for the men, and gave
our officers a good many hearty compliments. They were a different type
of soldiers from any they had ever seen; they had none of the fancy
steps or hackney carriage of the European soldier; they were, instead,
plain, solid men in uniform, nothing more; but they had the swing and
the soldierly alertness which stirs the blood with its promise. British
bands furnished the music for the American troops, and the old ground
of the Knights of Malta heard such tunes as “Marching Thro’ Georgia,”
“Rally ’Round the Flag,” and Sousa’s spirited marches, played for the
friendly tramp of the soldiers of the Republic in their first parade on
European soil.
The beautiful transport to which I bade good-by at Port Saïd is
as near perfection as a ship made on this earth can aspire. This
superlative has a right to be used. The people of the United States
have been made familiar with the details of their perfected warships;
they have even more reason to be proud of the superb completeness of
their ships which have been prepared for the comfort, health, and good
cheer of the American soldiers as they sail around the world. From
the dirty floating pens of fever and misery which brought our men up
from Santiago to Montauk, to the cleanly, shining spaciousness and
undreamed-of conveniences of such ships as the _Sumner_, is a far call;
it seems as if a century or two instead of a couple of years had gone
between.
The _Sumner_ is a fair type of all the new army transports now in use.
To begin with, she is well armed with four rapid-firing guns, and
belongs in reality to one of the class of unprotected cruisers. She
would make a formidable foe in battle. Any distrust of the value of
such ships in time of war is dispelled when one remembers the record of
the American liners _St. Paul_ and _St. Louis_ when they were converted
into cruisers; of the dashing _Gloucester_, which won immortality on
a Sunday morning at Santiago--only a light-minded yacht a few days
before; of the stout _Hudson_, a conscript tug-boat, which, under the
command of Lieutenant Scott, participated in the engagement of Cardenas
Harbor, and finally rescued the torpedo-boat _Winslow_ after it was
disabled and helpless under the enemy’s guns.
The transports are, in appearance, regular merchant-built ships; they
are not only armed, but they are fitted with every known appointment
for the comfort, health, and general welfare of the troops. Each man
sleeps in a comfortable bunk built on iron standards, to which are
fastened the springs on which rests a mattress. The seating capacity of
the tables equals the conveying capacity of the ship; yet, as soon as
the meals are finished, the tables may be folded away, leaving a large
deck room for the enjoyment of the men. Bath appliances of the latest
pattern furnish opportunities for cleanliness and comfort not excelled
in garrison. A store gives the men an opportunity to buy almost any
article necessary to their comfort or pleasure. All sorts of food
supplies, of a better grade than are usually furnished, articles of
clothing, games, candy, fruit, and all the ordinary articles in demand,
are to be found in the ship’s store. The prices charged for these
articles are only their cost to the government; and, as the government
buys in large quantities, the shop makes a very economical place for
the men to trade.
The hospital and drug store hold all that is wanted by modern medical
science. There is an operating-room containing every known appliance
useful in surgery; the whole room is finished in marble tiling,
while all the metal work is shining nickel. Here is the electric
apparatus necessary to operations, a Roentgen ray apparatus, batteries
for treatment of certain diseases, and, in fact, all the devices
and mechanisms used in a city hospital. The hospital beds are as
comfortable as could be made on ship-board, all being supplied with
necessary supports, bridges for removing the weight of the bed-clothes,
and tables for the use of the reclining patient.
There is a system of cold storage and ice manufacture which makes it
possible to carry a five months’ supply of fresh food stuffs for a
full complement of troops, so that the transport can take on a supply
of rations at a home port and not be compelled to replenish until it
returns again to America. The kitchens, bakeries, and laundries might
belong to a Fifth Avenue hotel, so perfect are they in every detail.
One of the most important and useful features of this magnificent ship
is the arrangement for supplying a cold-air draft during hot weather.
The fresh-air supply is so forced over ammonia pipes that it is cooled
and then discharged throughout the entire ship. Each cabin, each deck,
and every part of the great vessel receives its supply of fresh air
in this manner, so that even in tropical weather the interior of the
transport is very comfortable. During winter weather the air supply may
be heated to a sufficient degree to create warmth throughout the vessel.
The officers’ quarters are the final model of comfort. On the _Sumner_
there are accommodations for more than sixty officers. Thirteen
bath-rooms belong to them. These baths are the most perfect made by
scientific plumbing; each has a great porcelain tub, with its spray and
shower; each room is done in white marble tiles, with nickel fittings
throughout. There is a large dining-saloon and also a comfortable
smoking-room. In short, every comfort that is known, afloat or ashore,
for both officers and men, is included in these new transports, which
are in all respects a distinguished honor to our government.
In her fleet of splendid transports, of which the _Sumner_ is a
fair example, the United States now leads the world. Indeed, ours
is the only government that has a complete transport service of its
own regularly equipped. The others have a continuous use of hired
transports. The British abandoned their governmental transport service
a few years ago as a failure.
[Illustration: American transport Sumner in the harbor at Malta.]
[Illustration: A British transport taken from the merchant marine.]
The American fleet of transports has been built up entirely since
the war with Spain by the purchase and reconstruction of a number of
vessels from the merchant marine. It grew out of sheer and alarming
necessity.
When the war with Spain broke out, and it became necessary to transport
General Shafter’s army to Cuba, the government was compelled to use
every sort of vessel which the entire Atlantic seaboard could produce
to get a sufficient number flying the American flag to carry a little
army of 15,000 men a few hundred miles. So serious was the problem
that old side-wheelers were used, as well as a great number of ancient
craft that were barely seaworthy. This humiliating condition stands in
contrast with England’s readiness when the South African War called for
transports. She sent over 220,000 men several thousand miles by sea,
on British bottoms, without making so much as a ripple on the surface
of maritime commerce and traffic. The experience of Japan in her war
against China in 1895 might have taught us a lesson. After her first
army had sailed and landed and fought, operations were practically
suspended for months, as there were not enough ships available to
carry over the second army. But we do not learn our lessons that way,
and we required our own melancholy experience, both in the confusion
of the hired ships off Daiquiri and in their cruel inadequacy for the
broken-down soldiers on the return voyage, to teach us the need of
regular and model transports for our armies across the sea. In view
of this costly experience it seems like an unpatriotic thing for the
private lines now running to Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippines to
be engineering a movement to have our proud little national fleet of
transports abolished.
Our transport service is adequate for our present needs, but in the
event of a new war, which might require us to send an enlarged army
over seas, we are practically no better prepared than in 1898; for
there are no more ships in the merchant marine carrying the United
States flag which could be drafted into service than were in commission
then. There are practically no American ships in trans-oceanic service
outside those of the government. During the past year I sailed entirely
around the continent of Africa, through the Mediterranean, touching at
many of the important ports on the route. In all that time I saw but
two vessels flying the American flag. One was a little lumber schooner
from Maine, lying in the harbor of Madeira; the other was a bark, at
Cape Town, over which there was an immense amount of trouble raised
because the crew refused to take her out to sea on account of her
unseaworthy condition. Consul-General Stow was making an investigation
to estimate whether the hulk would float long enough to get back to an
American port, not to be condemned, but to be painted over and sent out
again, a disgrace to the nation. American vessels do not carry five
per cent. of our exports abroad, for what American tonnage we have is
suitable chiefly for coastwise and lake navigation. While England’s
red ensign of the merchant marine is seen over the stern in every port
of the navigable world, to our shame, a ship flying the stars and
stripes is a stranger on the seas.
On the other hand, we pay out $165,000,000 each year to foreign ships
simply to carry our products abroad. We need our own ships for our own
traffic. We may suddenly need them some day for availability in war.
There seems to be but one way in which to build up an American merchant
marine without waiting for another generation. That is to permit ships
to become naturalized. There are to-day hundreds of foreign-built ships
plying to our ports, knocking at the door of the United States to be
admitted under American registry, so that they may fly the American
flag, but because they are foreign-built they are debarred. Men,
women, and children are allowed to become citizens of our country and
to enjoy our privileges; why, then, should we not allow ships to do
likewise? Protection to the home trade of ship-building is the reason
for debarring those who want American registry. We need make no quarrel
with the good principle of protection when we remind ourselves that our
ship-building does not need such drastic measures as that; we build
good ships, and foreign powers are ordering even their ships of war
from our yards. It will be a greater benefit to all our shipping to
allow the flag to be raised over as many vessels as will accept its
protection, and in building up our shipping our ship-building industry
will increase.
It is simply not possible for the United States to acquire, within a
reasonably short space of time, a sufficient shipping to occupy any
important position in the control of the merchant marine of the world
without admitting foreign-built ships. A large amount of American
capital has been invested for some time in foreign-built ships, the
desire of the owners of these vessels being to place them under the
American flag; but they have been prevented from doing so by our
government. It seems only fair that our citizens who have invested
their capital in this way should be in a position to realize the
benefits that would accrue by having them under the American flag,
provided they would agree within a reasonably short time to add to the
tonnage so admitted an equal amount of American-built tonnage, thus
building up a large American marine, and at the same time securing a
large amount of work to the American ship-building interests.
A Shipping Subsidy Bill, not unlike the one so long before Congress
would, if passed, materially help the merchant marine of this country.
It would make it possible for the United States to occupy a leading
position among the shipping interests of the world, instead of its
present insignificant place. To-day it is impossible for the United
States, with its scale of wages and larger amount of compensation to
seamen and officers, to compete with countries where there is absolute
freedom in the employment of help and in the scale of wages, without
some such assistance. In addition to this, the cost of ship-building
in the United States is so much greater than that of foreign countries
that the questions of interest, depreciation, and additional insurance
would make it impossible for the owner of American ships to compete
with foreign-built ships without assistance; and those countries which
have recently built up their merchant marine--notably Japan--have done
so by such help.
The matter of raising the American flag over every good ship that is
willing to fly it most immediately concerns the commercial world; but
there is another side of the question to be considered. So long as we
are friendly with Great Britain we shall undoubtedly be able to borrow
her ships with which to transport our troops or to use as hospital
ships; but if we should ever have any serious difficulty with that
country it would be very difficult for us to obtain a sufficient number
of ships to transport our troops without stopping all trade. We must
remember that most of the vessels of our new transport service formerly
flew the Union Jack of Great Britain. If it is thus necessary for the
United States to buy its ships of a foreign power for this service, our
lack of such material is conspicuous.
[Illustration: 1. The Eighth United States Infantry going ashore for
drill at Malta.]
[Illustration: 2. Colonel Jocelyn and Captain Croxton, Eighth U. S.
Infantry, at Malta.]
An excellent example of the advantage to our interests in offering
our flag to ships that desire it is afforded by the attitude of the
Atlantic Transport Line. That large fleet of steamships is owned and
governed by Americans. Ninety per cent. of the stock is held in this
country; more than half of the officers of the company are Americans.
The owners want the American flag to replace that of England, but
they are unable to accomplish their desire owing to the present laws.
This fleet would be a magnificent addition to the little shipping our
country has at present; not only would it be a valuable addition to
commerce, but it would be of inestimable value in time of war. In fact,
it would be almost like building fifteen or twenty extra transports,
for the line has proved its willingness to turn over its ships to the
government when necessary. The transports _Thomas_, _Sherman_, _Logan_,
_Sheridan_, _Grant_, _Buford_, _Kilpatrick_ were all formerly ships
of the Atlantic Transport Line, as were also the hospital ships, the
_Missouri_ and the _Maine_.
The two new ships built by this line, the _Minnehaha_ and the
_Minneapolis_, are undoubtedly better adapted for use as transports
than any other private ships afloat to-day. They are especially adapted
for the transportation of mounted troops, the most difficult problem
of ocean carriage. These two sister ships are among the largest
afloat, and have permanent accommodations for one thousand animals, so
arranged that a long voyage could be made without any serious loss of
stock. Their freeboard is exceptionally high, and their immense deck
room would allow transportation of many guns and troops. The cabin
accommodations are ample; in fact, if these ships had been especially
built for use as transports they could scarcely be constructed in
a more available manner. They are not as fast as some of the mail
steamers, but they are fast enough to keep up to any convoy, and
what they lack in speed they make up in steadiness. I crossed in the
_Minnehaha_ during the most violent part of the great storm that swept
across Galveston, and although the seas ran mountains high it was not
found necessary to put the racks on the tables save one day, and even
then they were not really needed. The steady running is due to the
broad bottom and the extra wide bilge-keels. If some heavy rapid-fire
guns were mounted on these ships, as they were put on the American
liners, the _St. Paul_ and the _St. Louis_, they would make the best
transports ever seen; they could go almost anywhere without convoy of
warships, and still take care of themselves.
Were it permitted by the laws of this country these ships, as well as
every other of the Atlantic Transport Line, would fly the American flag
immediately.
Hospital ships have played an important part in the wars of the
past three years, and they have become a necessary adjunct to the
transportation department of the army. All of our new transports are
fitted out with hospital appliances; but separate vessels for nothing
but hospital work have been equipped, and have done excellent work in
both the Spanish-American and the South African wars.
When the negotiations were opened by the United States Government for
the purchase of ships to be used as transports, it was also determined
to fit out one as a hospital ship, to be used with the fleet or to be
stationed at any port which the operations might include. Mr. B. N.
Baker, president of the Atlantic Transport Line, tendered to the
government the choice of his ships for hospital service, fully manned
and free of expense to the government, and furthermore made his offer
to cover the indefinite period of “the continuance of the war.” The
_Missouri_ was chosen as the ship best suited to the work, and she was
found so valuable for this purpose that, after the war, the government
purchased her at an exceedingly low figure.
The _Missouri_ has had a romantic life ever since she has been afloat,
and has seemed destined to be a life saver and general benefactor to
mankind in distress. On April 5, 1889, the _Missouri_ overhauled the
_Denmark_, of Copenhagen, which was in a sinking condition, having
on board over seven hundred souls. The _Missouri_ stood by and threw
her entire cargo into the sea in order to take on this load of human
freight. Not a soul was lost, and the heroism of that day’s work was
rewarded by decorations and medals from nearly every kingdom of Europe.
The insurance companies offered to pay the loss of the cargo, as though
it had been lost by wreck; but the owners would not accept this,
taking the entire loss themselves. In 1892 the _Missouri_ carried the
gift of a load of flour to the famine-stricken people of Russia, the
company furnishing the crew, fuel, and cost of transportation. During
this year she picked up two more ships at sea--the _Delaware_ and the
_Bertha_--and towed them safely into port. There is thus a poetic
fitness that this ordinary freighter, which has been the cause of
saving thousands of lives, should have become a regular hospital ship
in the government service.
In recognition of this magnificent gift, prompted by true patriotism,
Congress passed the following resolution:
“_Resolved_, by the Senate and the House of Representatives,
That in recognition of the patriotism and generosity of Bernard
N. Baker in donating the use of the steamship _Missouri_ to the
United States, with the services of her captain and crew, during
the war with Spain, the cordial thanks of Congress are hereby
tendered to him, and Congress hereby authorizes and directs that
a gold medal with appropriate design be prepared by the Director
of the Mint, and that said medal be presented to him by the
President of the United States at such time as he may determine.”
Mr. Baker repeated his generous offer when he gave the _Maine_ to the
American ladies in London to be fitted out as a hospital ship similar
to the _Missouri_. Lady Randolph Churchill (now Mrs. Cornwallis West,
Jr.) took the matter in charge and worked unremittingly until the ship
was sent to South Africa fully equipped. From October, 1899, to July,
1900, the _Maine_ ministered to the needs of the sick and wounded from
South Africa. Then she sailed for Chinese waters, there to undertake
the nursing of the British and American soldiers alike. All this time
she has been manned, coaled, and run by Mr. Baker entirely at his own
expense.
The transportation of troops at sea is a problem of the first
importance in war. The government of the United States has solved
it for the present by purchasing and equipping a fleet of model
transports. Great Britain has solved it by abandoning her former
fleet of government ships and using her immense merchant marine. Her
conspicuous success in carrying promptly and comfortably over 200,000
soldiers to South Africa shows that the resource was ample and that she
fully understands the work. The men in khaki fared well on their long
journey to the south, and the absence of any complaints speaks well for
the staff of the British army which had the task in hand. But the chief
secret of the success was in the fact that there were ships without
limit for selection, and only the best and largest and swiftest were
chosen. At the same time they did not find it necessary to disturb the
transatlantic commerce by drawing off the great liners.
It is not a pleasant comparison when one thinks that Great Britain sent
the greatest army she ever brought together to almost the remotest
quarter of the globe without any apparent effect on sea-going traffic,
while the United States in 1898 had to scrape together every hulk that
would float in order to transport a single army corps a few hundred
miles.