CHAPTER XVII. THE NAVY DEPARTMENT IN THE WAR. BY HON. JOHN D. LONG, Secretary of the Navy. O UR new navy, which has come out of the war witn Spain with so much credit and renown, dates from the administration of President Arthur, when Mr. Chandler was Secretary of the Navy. The first ships were the Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, and Dolphin. John Roach builded, not better than he knew, but apparently better than anybody else knew. He and Secretary Chandler not only laid the foundation of our present magnificent navy, but gave an impulse to iron naval ship building in this country which has resulted in the creation of American ship yards capable of turning out as good work as any in the world. An infelicitous attempt was made to discredit the little Dolphin as "structurally weak," but she has circumnavigated the globe and has come out of the recent war equal to every demand and sound as a nut. Secretary Whitney, with continuing ability and foresight, enlarged the work which was begun under Mr. Chandler, and was followed in the same lines by Secretaries Tracy and Herbert, each adding to the number of our war ships and developing in every way our naval power. When I entered upon my duties in March, 1897, the Navy, though not large compared with the navies of one or two foreign powers, was well equipped and well prepared. A high professional spirit animated its officers; the Bureaus and leading naval stations were officered by chiefs alive to their responsibilities, zealous and progressive. It is fair to say that after the last above named date no new life or force was infused into the administration of the Navy. These were already there. The fleets went on, as during the year before, in the gunnery and target practice and manoeuvres at sea. They were supplied at home and abroad with ammunition, coal, medical and other supplies, so that they were ready for any emergency, and the credit of their substantial preparedness when war came belongs to no one man nor to any one year. And yet it was the preparation of a small Navy, almost pathetically small as compared, for instance, with that of Great Britain. It had seen no war service; its battleships, gunboats and torpedo boats were untried. To appreciate the situation we must forget the glory and confidence felt in it everywhere to-day and remember that a year ago it had very little popular hold. At the first muttering of the storm with Spain, it was an open question whether her naval power was not equal to our own. She had ships of the finest and most recent naval construction; she had gallant and educated officers and brave seamen; she had ready access to every resource which the skill of Europe could supply in the way of naval construction, armament and ammunition. It was with a consciousness of these facts on our part that, when the possibility of war became apparent, the work of providing for its exigencies, which had been begun and carried on so well already under the ordinary conditions of past years, was continued strenuously and earnestly by the same same agencies to meet the extraordinary demands which war would bring. As early as January, 1898, the increasing tension of our relations with Spain put the Navy Department on its guard. The fleet in Atlantic waters had been largely engaged during the previous years in enforcing the neutrality laws, and great vigilance had been exercised in preventing the fitting out and departure of filibustering expeditions from our coast. Recognizing the importance of retaining experienced enlisted men in the service, the Commander-in-Chief of the European station was directed, on the 11th day of January, 1898, not to discharge men whose enlistments were about to expire. This was probably the first important order given in contemplation of war. On January 17, the Commander-in-Chief of the South Atlantic station was informed of the critical condition of our relations with Spain and directed to proceed with the Cincinnati and Castine from Montevideo to Para, Brazil. On the same day, the Helena, then on her way to the Asiatic station, was ordered to await instructions at Lisbon; and the Wilmington, on her way to the South Atlantic station, was ordered to await instructions in the West Indies. On January 26, the Commander-in-Chief of the European station was ordered to assemble his squadron at Lisbon, and on the next day the Commander-in-Chief of the Asiatic station was ordered to retain the men whose enlistments were about to expire. For several years prior to the incoming of the present Administration, it had been the policy of our Government to refrain from sending naval vessels to Cuban waters. This policy was now reversed, and in the Fall of 1897, the North Atlantic squadron, following the formerly established custom, and so without just cause of offense to Spain, was ordered south for the purpose of winter evolutions and practice. The next step was for our naval vessels to resume friendly visits to Cuban ports; and after conference between our Secretary of State and the Spanish Minister, in which the subject was "discussed and accepted," the authorities at Madrid and Havana were informed that the U. S. S. Maine would be forthwith instructed to call at the port of Havana. The order dispatching the Maine was sent January 24, the ship being at that time off Dry Tortugas, Florida. The telegram directing this movement was as follows: SICARD, Key West : WASHINGTON, January 24, 1898. Order the Maine to Havana, Cuba, and make friendly call, pay his respects to the authorities, particular attention must be paid to usual exchange of civilities. Torpedo boat must not accompany Maine. The squadron must not return to Key West on this account. The Maine was received in Havana with every mark of official courtesy. Reports from her commanding officer, however, and other sources, indicated from the first that this visit was received with disfavor. A little after one o'clock, on the night of February 15, my daughter came into my apartment at the Hotel Portland, woke me from a sound sleep, and gave me a dispatch which she had just received from a Western Union messenger boy |