Revolutionary Turning Point

Today is a big day for history buffs. The United States would probably not exist were it not for the support France provided the fledgling nation against the power of Great Britain, then the world's most powerful nation. On this day in 1778, the Continental Congress signed a treaty with France that made France an ally and changed the Revolutionary War from a rebellion into an international conflict.

Once the treaty was signed, France dispatched their West Indies Fleet under Admiral Francois de Grasse to the United States. deGrasse's defeat of the British fleet commanded by Admiral Thomas Graves off Cheasapeake in 1781 led to the Franco-American victory at Yorktown over General Lord Cornwallis' army, which to all intents and purposes ended the Revolutionary War.

Although France was acting mainly for its own interests (France and Britain were then engaged in a long-running war that would cover nearly a hundred years and only end with the final defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815), France is to be thanked, as without their timely intervention, Britain would probably have won the war eventually.

Today is also an important day in history for naval history buffs. On this day in 1991, the battleship USS Wisconsin used her 16-inch main battery to destroy an Iraqi anti-aircraft battery in Kuwait. This was her first service since the Korean War. Today, the Wisconsin, together with her sister-ship USS Iowa, are the only two battleships remaining in US government service.

The Great White Fleet Remembered

Renowned military historian and reporter Austin Bay has reminded me, via a column posted over at Townhall.com, that this week, specifically December 16, is the 100th anniversary of the circumnavigation by the Great White Fleet. I doubt that a celebration of the famous cruise will appear in any of the so-called mainstream press. However, in his article, he provides a masterly summation of the cruise, which officially was simply the round-the-world cruise by the United States Atlantic Fleet. Bay writes,

President Theodore Roosevelt sent the fleet of 16 white-painted battleships on the 14-month cruise for a number of reasons. I doubt the headline "TR PR" appeared in 1907, but it would have been accurate, as well as succinct. The Great White Fleet's journey certainly served as a global public relations event.

In a recent interview, naval historian Dr. A.A. Nofi agreed with that assessment. "The voyage was an announcement," Nofi said. "America had been quietly building up the second-largest navy in the world, and no one was paying attention. The Great White Fleet said, 'Hey, we're here.'"

Nofi said, however, there was another reason to send the fleet, one that had less to do with showoff bravado and more to do with calculated geostrategic signaling in the wake of Japan's victory over Russia in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. An Asian power had defeated a European power in a major naval engagement that featured the movement of the Russian fleet from European waters to East Asia. "In the immediate political context (of the early 20th century)," Nofi said, "the fleet's voyage was a message to Japan that said that unlike Russia, if America has to cross the ocean to fight you, its navy will be there in force and ready."

Precisely. Theodore Roosevelt, much like Ronald Reagan, understood that if there was to be war, the United States needed to be ready. To that end, he was a strong supporter of the nation's armed forces, and particularly the Navy- a favoritism that rubbed off on his cousin Franklin as well. And although his muscular (and largely personal) diplomacy was replaced by the muddle-headed do-gooding of Woodrow Wilson, he laid the groundwork for the US Navy's successful performance in World War I. The United States Navy's site provides additional information on the 1907 cruise. According to the Navy, as recorded by Mike McKinley,

The cruise provided the officers and men of the fleet with thorough at-sea training and brought about improvements in formation steaming, coal economy, gunnery and morale. It also stressed the need for overseas bases that could provide better coaling and supply services along with more auxiliary ships. Foreign coaling ships or ports were used 90 percent of the time for coaling and resupply.

For the sailors who participated in this historic once-in-a-lifetime adventure, the cruise reinforced their pride in service and country. They had been the ambassadors of good will and the vehicles through which others perceived and judged America and the Navy. The results were gratifying. But even more concretely, the sailors saw their individual roles and the role of the Great White Fleet as providing the muscle behind US foreign policy.

As one sailor succinctly put it, "We just wanted to let the world know we were prepared for anything they wanted to kick up. We wanted to show the world what we could do."

Taken as a whole, the cruise did indeed provide invaluable experience to the men of the Fleet as well as the master planners in Washington. It opened the world's eyes to the growing power of the upstart republic. And it opened America's eyes to the fact that they had truly arrived on the global stage and that the world was beginning to be our stage. Finally, the cruise and his successful arbitration of the Russo-Japanese War provided Roosevelt and his Administration with two valuable public relations coups, overshadowing anything that the opposition (in those days a mostly loyal opposition, it must be said) could do to submarine his Administration.

Pity that today's Press and many of our political so-called 'leadership' has neither the intestinal fortitude nor the love of country to repeat such an experience. I would hope that some mainstream press organ might pick up on this story. But since even they cannot find anything in the story of the Great White Fleet to shame current President George W. Bush, I doubt that they will waste any of their precious newsprint on a story that holds only glory and praise for this great country and our wonderful Navy.

Birth of the Flying Boat

This is one in a series of posts on the hisstory of the United States Navy.

On October 5, 1913, the first amphibious flying boat was tested at Hammondsport, New York. The flying boat was designated as OWL, which stood for Over Water Land Type. This test led to a deeper program and eventually to the many amphibious flying boats that have served theis country ever since. One of the mopst famous that eventually resulted from this was the classic PBY (Catalina) flying boat used so successfully during the Seconed World War.

Media Silent on Military Good Samaritanship

Reuters is busy smearing the troops by claiming they opened fire on civilians. But while accusations of misconduct are always good for several months worth of front-page stories, somehow the media never has time to comment on the many good deeds that the United States Armed Forces perform all over the world. And unfortunately, the US military does not do as well as we would wish at getting the word out. A case in point is the story posted on the United States Navy's site today, as USS Stout (DDG 55), came to the assistance of a Tanzanian passenger ferry off the coast of Somalia. As the Navy reported,

Spice Island, which was carrying no passengers, hailed for engineering assistance when it ran out of fuel while transiting to Tanzania. Stout provided the crew with food, water and fuel and helped to get the vessel operational under its own power. Coalition forces have a long-standing tradition of helping mariners in distress by providing medical assistance, engineering assistance and search and rescue efforts.

This is worthy of being reported, and once upon a time, maybe the media might have done so, instead of spending their time bashing the forces that allow them to propagate their poisonous penmanship. But at the present time, the media is too busy tearing down to think of actually reporting something that would reflect some credit on the many men and women who take seriously the idea of actually doing something to help their fellow Americans. Most journalists, unfortunately, do not qualify for that role.

Cuba & History

Cuba has been a thorn in the side of the United States since we foolishly allowed Fidel Castro to clamp a dictatorship on the residents of the island. Today, June 22, 2007 is a pasrticularly painful reminder that the United States could have completely prevented this from occuring.

On this date in the year 1898, Admiral William Sampson began amphibious landings at Santiago as a part of the Cuban campaign of the Spanish-American War. This is significant not only beacause of the ability of the United States Navy to successfully execute an amphibious assault- which would be useful during both World Wars in the following century, but because of the effect that this could have had upon American history.

At the conclusion of the war, the United States had established control of Cuba, and Spain ceded all claims. However, the United States, despite the pressure of Manifest Destiny, chose to relinquish control over the island, though we did take over control of the Philippine Islands.

In retrospect, this has been one of the gravest errors of American foreign policy. Had we chosen to make Cuba a part of the United States and allowed the Philippine Islands to gain immediate independence, we would undoubtedly be better off today. The Philippines have brought the United States very little benefit, while the disadvantages of our refusal to take over Cuba are with us still today.

Navy Technology

This is one in a series of posts on the history of the United States Navy.

The United States Navy has a long history of technological innovation. This technology has traditionally been used either to increase naval power projection or to make the lives of the servicemen and women safer.


An excellent example of the latter occurred on May 24, 1939, when the McCann-Momsen rescue chamber was used to successfully rescue 33 survivors from the submarine USS Squalus, which sank in 240 feet of water off the coast of New Hampshire.

The rescue chamber was devised by then-Lieutenant-Commander Allan McCann (1896-1978), based on an original design by then-Commander Charles Momsen (1896-1967), who also invented the Momsen Lung. McCann served under Momsen, who commanded the Squalus rescue operations. Both McCann and Momsen went on to serve with distinction in the Second World War, and retired with the ranks of Vice-Admiral.

The United States Navy and the American nation can be proud of Americans such as Momsen and McCann. I trust that their example will serve to inspire future Americans to uphold the traditions set by heroes such as these.

Protecting the Seas

This is one in a series of posts on the history of the U.S. Navy.

The United States Navy has a long history of protecting commerce on a global scale. In fact, this tradition dates back almost to the very beginning of the Navy itself. The Continental Navy was established by order of Congress on Friday, October 13, 1775, and the first Navy of the United States was established in 1794, with the first warships (USS Consitution, USS Constellation and USS United States) being authorized the same year and launched in 1797. First administered by the Department of War, the Department of the Navy was established on April 30, 1798.

The new nation lost no time in exercising the power of the navy. On this day in 1800, Captain Edward Preble arrived in Batavia, Java in the U.S.S Essex to escort American merchant shipping through the dangers of the Far Eastern seas. As a nation based on free commerce, the United States understood the necessity of protecting its merchant fleet.

The Essex's Commanding Officer would be the same Captain Preble who later would be promoted to Commodore and command the American task force in the first Barbary war. During his period of command, Commodore Preble oversaw the burning of the captured frigate USS Philadelphia and secured a treaty with the corsairs of Morocco.

Preble also was responsible for many of the Navy's rules and regulations, and his officer coprs included many of the early heroes of the Republic, including Stephen Decatur, William Bainbridge, Isaac Hull and David Porter. Preble's career and life were shortened due to illness, but he established a tradition of discipline and professionalism that has endured to this very day.