Our Navy in the War

CHAPTER VIII. Perils and Triumphs of Submarine-Hunting--the Loss of Our First

Perils and Triumphs of Submarine-Hunting--The Loss of our First War-Ship, The Converted Gunboat "Alcedo"--Bravery of Crew--"Cassin" Struck by Torpedo, But Remains in the Fight--Loss of the "Jacob Jones"--Sinking of the "San Diego"--Destroyers "Nicholson" and "Fanning" Capture a Submarine, Which Sinks--Crew of Germans Brought Into Port--The Policy of Silence in Regard to Submarine-Sinkings

CHAPTER IX

Our Battleship Fleet--Great Workshop of War--Preparations for Foreign Service--On a Battleship During a Submarine Attack--The Wireless That Went Wrong--The Torpedo That Missed--Attack on Submarine Bases of Doubtful Expediency--When the German Fleet Comes Out--Establishment of Station in the Azores

CHAPTER X

Great Atlantic Ferry Company, Incorporated, But Unlimited--Feat of the Navy in Repairing the Steamships Belonging to German Lines Which Were Interned at Beginning of War in 1914--Welding and Patching--Triumph of Our Navy With the "Vaterland"--Her Condition--Knots Added to Her Speed--Damage to Motive Power and How It Was Remedied--Famous German Liners Brought Under Our Flag

CHAPTER XI

Camouflage--American System of Low Visibility and the British Dazzle System--Americans Worked Out Principles of Color in Light and Color in Pigment--British Sought Merely to Confuse the Eye--British System Applied to Some of Our Transports

CHAPTER XII

The Naval Flying Corps--What The Navy Department Has Accomplished And Is Accomplishing in the Way of Air-Fighting--Experience of a Naval Ensign Adrift in the English Channel--Seaplanes and Flying Boats--Schools of Instruction--Instances of Heroism

CHAPTER XIII

Organization Of The Naval Reserve Classes--Taking Over of Yachts For Naval Service--Work Among The Reserves Stationed at Various Naval Centres--Walter Camp's Achievement

CHAPTER XIV

The United States Marine Corps--First Military Branch Of The National Service To Be Sanctioned By Congress--Leaving For The War--Service Of The Marines in Various Parts of the Globe--Details of Expansion of Corps--Their Present Service All Over The World

CHAPTER XV

Scope Of The Navy's Work In Various Particulars--Food--Fuel--Naval Consulting Board--Projectile Factory--Expenditures--Increase Of Personnel

CHAPTER XVI. The Beginning of the End--Reports in London That Submarines Were

The beginning of the end--Reports in London that submarines were withdrawing to their bases to head a battle movement on the part of the German Fleet--How the plan was foiled--The surrender of the German Fleet to the combined British and American Squadrons--Departure of the American Squadron--What might have happened had the German vessels come out to fight

CHAPTER XVII

Lessons of the War--The Submarine Not Really a Submarine--French Term for Undersea Fighter--The Success of the Convoy Against Submersibles--U-Boats Not Successful Against Surface Fighters--Their Shortcomings--What the Submarine Needs to be a Vital Factor in Sea Power--Their Showing Against Convoyed Craft--Record of Our Navy in Convoying and Protecting Convoys

Secretary Daniels's Report

ILLUSTRATIONS

Atlantic Fleet steaming in line of bearing

Portraits of Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy, Rear-Admiral Leigh C. Palmer, Vice-Admiral William S. Sims, Admiral Henry T. Mayo, Rear-Admiral Albert Gleaves, Admiral William S. Benson

Position of ships in a convoy

A U.S. submarine at full speed on the surface of the water

A submarine-chaser

A torpedo-destroyer

Repairing a damaged cylinder of a German ship for federal service

Scene at an aviation station somewhere in America, showing fifteen seaplanes on beach departing and arriving

Captain's inspection at Naval Training Station, Newport, R.I.

American Marines who took part in the Marne offensive on parade in Paris, July 4, 1918

OUR NAVY IN THE WAR

FOREWORD

Gently rolling and heaving on the surge of a summer sea lay a mighty fleet of war-vessels. There were the capital ships of the Atlantic Fleet, grim dreadnoughts with their superimposed turrets, their bristling broadsides, their basket-masts--veritable islands of steel. There were colliers, hospital-ships, destroyers, patrol-vessels--in all, a tremendous demonstration of our sea power. Launches were dashing hither and thither across the restless blue waters, signal-flags were flashing from mast and stay and the wind, catching the sepia reek from many a funnel, whipped it across a league of sea.

On the deck of the largest battleship were gathered the officers of the fleet not only, but nearly every officer on active duty in home waters. All eyes were turned shoreward and presently as a sharp succession of shots rang out a sleek, narrow craft with gracefully turned bow came out from the horizon and advanced swiftly toward the flag-ship. It was the President's yacht, the Mayflower, with the President of the United States on board. As the yacht swung to a launch was dropped overside, the gangway lowered and Woodrow Wilson stepped down to the little craft, bobbing on the waves. There was no salute, no pomp, no official circumstance, nor anything in the way of ceremony. The President did not want that.

What he did want was to meet the officers of our navy and give them a heart-to-heart talk. He did just that. At the time it was early summer in 1917. In the preceding April a declaration that Germany had been waging war upon the United States had been made in Congress; war resolutions had been passed and signed by the President. This on April 6. On April 7 the Navy Department had put into effect plans that had already been formulated. Much had been done when the President boarded the flag-ship of the Atlantic Fleet that early summer afternoon. Some of our destroyers were already at work in foreign waters, but the bulk of our fighting force was at home, preparing for conflict. And it was this time that the President chose to meet those upon whom the nation relied to check the submarine and to protect our shores against the evil devices of the enemy.

"He went," wrote a narrator of this historic function, "directly to the business in hand. And the business in hand was telling the officers of the navy of the United States that the submarine had to be beaten and that they had to do it. He talked--well, it must still remain a secret, but if you have ever heard a football coach talk to his team between the halves; if you ever heard a captain tell his men what he expected of them as they stripped for action; if you ever knew what the fighting spirit of Woodrow Wilson really is when it is on fire--then you can visualize the whole scene. He wanted not merely as good a record from our navy as other navies had, he wanted a better record. He wanted action, not merely from the gold-braided admirals, but from the ensigns, too; and he wanted every mind turned to the solution of the submarine question, and regardless of rank and distinction he wanted all to work and fight for the common object--victory.

"Somebody suggested to the President later that the speech be published. He declined. Most of it wasn't said to be published. It was a direct talk from the Commander-in-chief of the navy to his men. It was inspiration itself. The officers cheered and went away across the seas. And there they have been in action ever since, giving an account of themselves that has already won the admiration of their allies and the involuntary respect of their foes."

It was under such auspices as these that the United States Navy went forth to war. No one ever doubted the spirit of our fighters of the sea. Through all the years, from the time when John Paul Jones bearded enemy ships in their own waters, when Old Ironsides belched forth her well-directed broadsides in many a victorious encounter; when Decatur showed the pirates of Tripoli that they had a new power with which to deal; when Farragut damned the torpedoes in Mobile Bay, and Dewey did likewise in Manila Bay; when Sampson and Schley triumphed at Santiago, and Hobson accepted the seemingly fatal chance under the guns of Morro Castle--through all the years, I say, and through all that they have brought in the way of armed strife, the nation never for one moment has ever doubted the United States Navy.

And neither did Woodrow Wilson doubt. He knew his men. But he wanted to look them all in the eye and tell them that he knew their mettle, knew what they could do, and held no thought of their failure. Every fighting man fights the better for an incident of this sort.

Week by week since that time there has come to us from out the grim North Sea, from the Mediterranean and the broad Atlantic abundant testimony, many a story of individual and collective heroism, of ships that have waged gallant fights, of Americans who have lived gallantly, who have died gloriously--and above all there has come to us the gratifying record of reduced submarine losses, as to which there is abundant testimony--notably from the great maritime and naval power of the world--Great Britain--that our navy has played a vital part in the diminution of the undersea terror.

Less than a year after President Wilson boarded the flag-ship of the Atlantic Fleet our navy had more than 150 naval vessels--battleships, cruisers, submarines and tenders, gunboats, coast-guard cutters, converted yachts, tugs, and numerous vessels of other types for special purposes--in European waters. Serving on these vessels were nearly 40,000 men, more than half the strength of our navy before we entered the war--and this number did not include the personnel of troop-ships, supply-vessels, armed guards for merchantmen, signal-men, wireless operators and the like, who go into the war zone on recurrent trips.

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