AMERICA'S NAVY.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 162, 11 July 1925, Page 10

AMERICA'S NAVY.

SJORY OF ITS BIRTH. FIRST CRUISE IN 1776. SEA FIGHTS IN EARLY DAYS. In an account of the development of the American Navy it is obviously impossible to avoid making" some reference to the early conflicts of the American Colonies. ■ As history is ; not. a part'of this article, however,' no attempt has been made to explain in detail the causes responsible for the establishment and expansion of the Navy. Suffice to say that these conflicts for the most part arose from the increasing misunderstandings with the Mother Country— l England. While there had been several sea fights between American and British ships' at least five years before the actual outbreak of the revolutionary War' of 1775, no real attempt towards the formation of a navy was made until October, 1775.' In that year Congress learned that several British ships laden with guns and ammunition were on their way to .America, and immediately ordered the equipment of two fast'sailing vessels for the purpose of capturing the Britishers. In December, 1775, funds were made available for the building of thirteen cruisers, and provisions for manning these and other naval regulations were immediately given attention. These regulations quite naturally followed very closely those in operation in the British service. The monthly pay of captain was placed at 32 dollars and that of seamen at some 6£ dollars. Five of these thirteen vessels were of 32 guns, five of 28 guns, and three of 24 guns. The average cost was about 05,000 dollars, and they were from 120 feet to 130 feet in length, and about 34 feet beam. The. armament common among frigates of that day was employed, and they mounted 12-pound guns on .-the main deck and 6-pound guns on the quarter deck. While these were being constructed, every effort was being made to equip merchantmen for war purposes, and in January, 1776, a fleet of eight converted vessels set sail from tbe city of Philadelphia, which at that time was America's principal city. This was really the first cruise of the American Navy—how different from the cruise, on which the fleet is setting now! It was on this occasion that John Paul Jones, a Lieutenant on the flagship, and one of the outstanding heroes of American naval history,-by the way, flung to the breeze a huge silk flag, on which was eihblazoned a pine tree and a coiled rattlesnake, with these words: "Don't tread on mc." It is interesting to note that this unique: banner was the first flag ever hoisted On an American man-of-war. In March, 1776, Congress authorised privateering by issuing letters of marque, or licenses to citizens to engage in war against the enemy. • This, in addition to the number of vessels built by several of the thirteen colonies, resulted in American waters literally swarming with privateers. During November of the same year, Congress decided to build at once ten additional ships—three of 74 guns, onp of 36. a brig of 18, a packet boat, and four frigates of 36 guns each. Owing to various, causes;, however, the principal one of which was the extraordinarily high cost of materials, work on these vessels was discontinued, only one 74 being built. ' This was named the "America," and by the end of 1776 the navy consisted of 3C vessels, made up of brigs, brigantines, schooners, sloops, and galleys. In European Waters. 'In 1777 the American flag was for the first time-seen in European waters, when a little squadron of three ships sailed from Nantes, France. After cruising in the Bay of Biscay, they went twice around Ireland, and came back to France with fifteen prizes. As the independence of American States at this time had not been acknowledged by France, they were ordered to depart. On the return' journey, one of these vessels, known as the Lexington, wa? captured by the British, and the otiier, the ■Reprisal, was wrecked at sea. By. the end of 1777 there were 69 vessels .in . the fleet; only 34 of these we're owned by the American States. In February, 1778, France signed a treaty of alliance with the United States; and two months later twelve French battleships sailed from Toiilin to | assist the American naval forces. The end of that year saw, 129 ships in tbe young American Navy. ' The most brilliant year of the war for the little navy, was that of 1779; when many enemy ships were cither sunk or captured. The. .naval force at that time consisted of 209. vessels. • By 1782 the American Navy had practically disappeared, and when peace was i signed in 1783 there were but five ships left. The only first line battleship, the America, w : as given to France, another was sent to France as a transport and sold, three others were sold privately, and in August, 1785, the Alliance, the last of this fleet, was disposed of. When President Washington sent his annual message, to Congress the following year, he stressed the absolute necessity* for a navy by saying:-"To secure respect to a neutral flag '■ requires a naval force, organised and'ready tc vindicate it from insult or aggression. This may even prevent the necessity of going to war by discouraging belligerent Powers from committing .Biicb .vio.latipns of the rights of the neutral party as may. first.or last, need no other option." The idea of a new navy was given great impetus through the depredations to shipping of the new French Republic. In' April. 1798. Congress apportioned a further. 950.000 dollars for the creation of a Navy Department, and within another year a little navy .of 34 frigates land gun sloops-of-war had been collected. It' was during this year that war was declared with France. Although the Americans suffered some losses, numerous fine vessels of that day j were captured, several of which reI turned to France under the terms of the peace treaty. which was signed on , September 30, 1800.. Up to this time' | there were about 28 vessels in active i service, manned principally by men who ! had seen service in... the. Revolutionary War. ......--" ' Between 1801 and 1.811 the United States had bpilt two sloops-Of-War of : 18 guns and two brigs of 16 guns. I The War of 1812. Owing to Napoleon's domination of Europe and his determination to destroy English supremacy by. closing all Europe to English commerce, American shipping activity increased with remarkable rapidity. In another year, however, the young nation's maritime, activities were greatly ■ interfered'with by the'capture' of many vessels and the impressment .of the

seamen, who were .taken from the American ships in- order to man the British Navy, on the ground that "once a, British subject, always a British subject." Over lOjQOO American seamen were taken in this manner, and thus in 1812 war' was declared on England. Although 31 years passed before there was a war with another foreign power — and then with Mexico, which country had no navy—the American Navy was never afterwards neglected. Its principal activities were confined to protecting commerce, piracy being prevalent in and around the Caribbean Sea. This was put to an end by 1820. In May, 1846, war was declared with Mexico; the navy was utilised on this occasion for occupying the East coast of Mexico and assisting the army by a very effective bombardment of - Vera Cruz. ■ • From • the time peace ' was declared with Mexico in 1848 to the next war, thirteen years elapsed. It was during this period that the greatest changes took place in naval' construction. Not only.the smooth-bore, or Dahldren, gun invented during this time,- but the dream of Fulton became a reality, and the steamboat was perfected. Between 1837 and 1855 thirteen steam propelled battleships were built. At the beginning, of the Civil War the United States Navy consisted of 90 vessels, 50 of which were sailing ships, and 40 propelled by •steam. Of the steam fleet, however, six vessels were unserviceable. • Eight steam vessels and five sailing vessels made up the entire naval force of the United States available for actual service in April, 1861. The Civil War resulted in the United States becoming all that the term United implies —one solid nation—and her fleet began thenceforward to reach into every sea. By 1882 more Renous attention was annually given by Congress to the building up of a real navy, and that year is considered by many naval authorities to be the birth year of the American Navy of to-day. There was appropriated 2,320.000*d011ars for the construction of ne\*; battleships; in 1890 this appropriation reached.4,842.140 dollars. When war was declared with Spain in 1898 there were'four first-class battleships, the Massachusetts, the Oregon, the Indiana and the lowa,! In the second class there were the Texas, two armoured cruisers, the Brooklyn and New York, eleven protected cruisers of from 3000 to 7000 tons, and twenty unprotected cruisers of from 839 to 2089 tons. There were also eight torpedo boats, a dynamite vessel, arid six ships of the monitor type, of from 4000 to 6000 tons. In that year a siim of 22,182,326 dollars' was made available for new construction, and with tiiis navy the United States fought and won the Spanish-American War. From 1900 there were gradual annual increases in construction funds until 1905, wlien '36,894,266 dollars was reached; and from that period until America's entrance into the World War in'l9l7, varying amounts up to 44,000,----000 dollars were made available. .' Up to 1924 the capital ships of the Unite? States Navy, numbered 19, and included the following: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, New York. North Dakota, Oklahama, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. These have an average normal displacement of from 20,000 to 32,000 tons, an average length of from 521 ft to G24ft, and are between 85ft and 97ft wide. They have a speed of between 21 and 22 knots. At the beginning of 1924 there were about-8000 officers and 86,000 enlisted men in the navy of the United States, a large portion of which will, ere long, pc steaming in Australian waters apd anchoring' in- Australian ports.