Honorably Mentioned.
Motto: Occasionem cognosce.
INTRODUCTION.
There are many considerations which influence the settlement of a definite policy which shall comprehend the subjects in the above title. It will not be well to limit the horizon of our view and assert dogmatically that one thing or another is the best. Differences of opinion are accounted for as much in the view taken of the objects sought as in the habit of mind which decides the method. Now there are many points of view. The politician looks at the question in one way, the merchant in another, the seaman in a third, and the true statesman will try to balance all these views, selecting what is best from each, and totally rejecting what is worthless. In this reconcilement, it is assumed that the fleet will be manned, officered, and employed in such wise as to give the best account of itself when called on to fight. In other words, the first object is war-efficiency. Now, as to methods, there is more difference of opinion here than in the objects sought. An institution long established is steeped in conservatism—a fact which is, perhaps, not to be regretted. Conservatism is a balance-wheel; it checks violent changes, but under steady and continuous pressure it must move with the system of which it is a part. Past experience is not to be neglected, nor is every new idea to be hurriedly adopted. Neither are things to be done in a certain way because they were always done that way, nor are new ideas to be rejected simply because they are new. Merit is to be the test, adaptability to the end. Temporary expediency must not be overlooked in deciding these questions. Sometimes good policy cannot be carried out for lack of means, or because other things seem momentarily of graver necessity. The limited number of ships and men may for some time exert an influence of this sort.
Before looking into matters of detail, perhaps it will be well to indicate the chief duties of the fleet in peace and war, and to inquire if service methods best enable it to perform them. If they do not, it will then be necessary to devise a scheme which will better meet the requirements of the case and will soonest bring the fleet to the highest efficiency. War, we have assumed, is the ultimate object of any armed force, whether military or naval. It is true, long intervals may elapse when its powers are never called into play; but when war breaks out, that force which has the most definite notion of the proper conduct of operations will possess an incalculable advantage at the start. War is now a question of days and hours, and when it arrives, it is necessary to act, and act promptly. The fleet which waits for hostilities to begin to develop a line of action, invites grave disaster in the very initial stages.
There is evidently, then, a state of readiness for war which it is most important to bring about. Is there any other preparation which is more useful for any object? Besides the war duties of the fleet, which include the defense of the coast, the blockade and destruction of the enemy's squadrons, attacks on his seaports, the convoy and transportation of troops, and the destruction of hostile commerce and protection of our own, is its purely peace employment. This consists mainly in policing the high seas, lending aid and encouragement to American citizens traveling or trading abroad, protecting our commerce and neutral rights in time of foreign war, performing special duty, such as exploration or surveying, extending acts of international courtesy, maintaining the national dignity in remote parts of the world, and in inculcating respect for the country's flag. In all of these duties, save perhaps the special scientific work, can it be doubted that the acme of preparation is readiness for war?
Given, then, a fleet, including ships and men, it may be assumed that the chief duty of those responsible for its care and conduct is to prepare it to fight. With the slightest consideration this fact is obvious, and yet it is not in many of our ships that one is impressed with the prominence given to it. If the commanding officer has a smart-looking ship and crew, and feels that the inspection board will be satisfied, he is apt to consider his duty finished. There is really not much more that he can do unaided, but there is a great deal more which ought to be done. The ship may be clean and the men fairly efficient in all the routine drills, and at inspection they may work like beavers,—as in fact they usually do, be it said to their credit; still there may be something radically wrong in the efficiency of that ship. Are the officers and men contented; are they fond of the service; are the drills really such as will best prepare for fighting; is sufficient time given to useful drills; and is too much time given to the mere care of the ship? Each one of us knows the answer to these questions.
Pass on to the executive officer. His reputation nowadays depends almost entirely on the trimness and cleanliness of the ship. In the days of sails and spars, organization and the skill of the crew aloft told largely in his favor. He has still, under the captain, mainly to do with the interior discipline of the ship; but the state of discipline, be it good or bad, is often not visible to outsiders.
The drills are now almost entirely in the hands of the divisional officers, who may or may not be efficient. As a rule, they are perfectly capable, but if there is not a good system at the back of their exertions, much of the effect is lost. Their reputation depends mostly on the way they keep their watch. As our ships are not long at sea continuously, it is their efficiency as watch-officers in port that comes under the observation of their superiors. Be they never so desirous to give their best efforts to what is irresistibly the first duty of every person on board—war exercises—the opportunities are often spasmodic, the time devoted to each drill too short, and they themselves more or less used up with their watch. This, when they have the desire to improve themselves and the service. As a matter of fact, they usually feel that when their watch is finished their day's pay is pretty well earned.
The navigator's position is an anomalous one under present conditions. The third officer in command, he has next to nothing to do with the fighting of the ship. In the old days, the first lieutenant worked the battery, and the master handled the ship, both under the direction of the captain. There is no place now for the executive officer in the battery; he will probably be found in one of the fighting positions, at a distance from but in communication with the captain. The navigator's division is reduced to the chief boatswain's-mate, the quartermasters, helmsmen, leadsmen, signalmen, search-light operators, and the like; and there is little for the navigator to do, for the captain himself directs it all. Moreover, there seems no reason for having the third officer on deck, where he may be killed along with either the captain or the executive officer, but every reason for having him below, where there is a chance of finding him when he is wanted to take command. Even in peace times, in the absence of the executive officer, the navigating, ordnance, and torpedo officer, who has principally to do with scientific and war material and scarcely comes in contact with the drill and interior organization of the ship, seems an unsuitable person to relieve the former officer.
Next, as to petty officers. Every person who has thought or written on the subject in ten years acknowledges that we have none. The rates we have, to be sure, but the men are not even leading seamen. They have little responsibility and exercise none; the officers do all. When we go beyond, to the seamen and ordinary seamen, we find they usually do after a fashion what they are made to do, but that there is little individuality developed in the performance. The apprentices must be accepted in this statement. Here is fine material which may be made anything of by correct methods. It is too often wasted and returned to civil life, discontented in spirit, where the example acts as a deterrent on others, who might otherwise be attracted to the service.
It seems, then, that our way of doing duty, which is the survival of another condition of affairs, has the effect of making every individual, from the captain down, occupy himself largely with matters which are not the most conducive to modern fighting efficiency. During the years in which we had no proper materiel in which officers and men could take a just pride, the service got into a dull routine way of doing things, which now hangs about us like a millstone. Drills were considered a hardship by three-fourths of the service at large, but mainly because it was out of the usual order to pay much attention to them. How often was it the custom in detached cruisers to devote not more than a half hour daily at morning quarters to a routine drill, and then dismiss the subject for twenty-four hours!
The present system reacts painfully on the spirit and morale of the crew. They do not feel that they are in the service for any other object than to earn a living, and the fighting training, naturally the most interesting, and appealing most to the average mind, does not occupy a large enough share of their thoughts and working hours. As long as they can drift through the day, get ashore frequently, and draw their pay, they feel that they are doing all that is required. How many of them love their profession? It is somebody's fault if many of them do not, for Americans are not lacking in patriotism and the necessary sentiment and pride of occupation.
There can be no doubt, then, of the true object and aim of all endeavor. The first step must be to interest all grades of the personnel. Good work is done only by those who take pleasure and pride in their occupation. Officers and crews must be impressed, first, with the importance and usefulness of their work. Men will willingly endure any amount of labor in a good cause. It is what seems to them useless labor that irritates and becomes irksome. Human nature must be reckoned with in every attempt. People must be taken as they are, not as they ought to be, and their willing work must be guided in the proper channel. It will be useless to place them in the midst of an artificial system and say to them: "Your duty is so and so, you are paid to do it; if you are the right sort of a man you will take an interest in it, and the consciousness of duty performed is sufficient encouragement." Alas! None of us is the right sort of a man. With every effort to be conscientious, we perform best those duties which are made interesting to us, and the utility of which we perceive.
Any plan for remedying the above state of affairs must formulate the essential work in ship and squadron, must suggest means of promoting the spirit and morale of the crews, and must provide for their health, comfort, and happiness. In fact, it would not be far wrong to place the latter considerations first ; for though fighting is the ulterior object, no results can be accomplished until a contented and healthful frame of mind is secured. Health can be maintained only by systematic physical exercise. Every one knows that the question nowadays is to supply a substitute for sails and spars. A feasible and practical scheme is a prime requisite. With regard to comfort, every possible consideration not inimical to fighting efficiency should be strenuously insisted on. Life aboard ship is unnatural at the best. The intelligence required for handling war material is higher now than ever. Necessary work must be insisted on. When that is accomplished, grant every privilege, every comfort, and provide every recreation that can be consistently devised.
And now, having gained a general view of the requirements, we may take up the subject more in detail. It will be well to say at the start that radical changes in conditions necessitate radical changes in methods. Many officers have not as yet served in the new ships. If they feel hurt, or of a different mind, it will be well for them to delay judgment until they are familiar with the new conditions. Objectors will be found to much that will be advocated; some because after reflection they cannot honestly endorse the views; others from extreme conservatism,—what was good in the past should not be done away with recklessly; and others again because it is their nature to object to anything.
DISPOSITION.
Under this heading it is proposed to discuss the proper method of distributing the available force in order to obtain from it the maximum of efficiency at the minimum of cost. It has been for many years our policy to maintain squadrons in the North and South Atlantic, in the Mediterranean, in the Pacific, and on the China Station. Their duties have been already sufficiently outlined. In the days of sailing ships, and subsequently of steamers of limited coal endurance, it was a matter of necessity to maintain in all parts of the world naval forces of sufficient strength to meet any contingency that might arise. The diplomatic character of the commander-in-chief was also an object in the keeping up of foreign stations. Cables and mail facilities were few; and by having on the spot an officer who could present his country's views, and enforce them if necessary, much benefit might result. The ships comprising the squadrons possessed as a rule little homogeneity, though it is true there were fewer differences of type in the old wooden ships than are now to be found in modern ones. They were employed generally in cruising from port to port in furtherance of their station duties, and were rarely combined for extensive squadron drills. Indeed, it was not feasible to combine under ordinary circumstances, and at the same time to perform the duties intrusted to them. An attempt will be made later to show that squadron drills and organization are indispensable to a healthy state of efficiency. Drills became desultory; there was not an hour a day assigned to them on the average, and officers and men felt hurt if more was required.
The system, therefore, does not seem to have a rational existence under present conditions. The disadvantages are lack of homogeneity, isolation, loss of touch with the progressive spirit of the day, and the absence of that valuable training which only squadron routine supplies. With the greater part of the forces on our own coast, fast ships could be sent where wanted in the minimum of time; and with diplomatic representatives in all parts of the world in constant communication with the home government, the necessity for the continued presence of a naval representative seems slight. We have no foreign possessions except the harbor of Pago Pago in the Samoan Islands, which, in case of war, would have to be protected; but with that exception, the proper station for the main part of the forces is our own coast. Here the ships would be immediately available for the defense of the sea-coast cities, or, in case an offensive policy were inaugurated, for launching suddenly against the enemy's commerce and war squadrons, or blockading and attacking his ports. For distant cruising, flying squadrons are growing in favor with foreign powers, all of whom have dependencies; to a much greater extent, then, would they seem to meet our requirements, who have practically none.
In the course of the current year (1891) there will be available of the new ships, the Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, Dolphin, Yorktown, Charleston, Petrel, Baltimore, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Newark, Concord, Bennington, Miantonomoh, Vesuvius, Cushing. Of the wooden ships there are still serviceable the Lancaster, Pensacola, Omaha, Swatara, Marion, Mohican, Iroquois, Kearsarge, Alliance, Essex, Enterprise, Tallapoosa, Thetis, Yantic, Jamestown, Portsmouth; and of the iron ships, the Monocacy, Alert, Ranger, Alarm, Michigan, Pinta, Palos. Taking out those on special service—the Lancaster and Alarm, gunnery training ships; the Thetis and Ranger, surveying and other duty in the Pacific; the Yantic, Jamestown, and Portsmouth, apprentice training ships; and the Michigan, on the Lakes—there remain thirty-one others, distributed at the close of 1890 as follows: North Atlantic Station, Squadron of Evolution, and awaiting commission or assignment in eastern ports, the Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, Dolphin, Yorktown, Petrel, Philadelphia, Newark, Concord, Bennington, Miantonomoh, Vesuvius, Cushing, Kearsarge, Enterprise; South Atlantic Station, the Pensacola, Essex, Tallapoosa; in the Mediterranean, the Baltimore; Pacific Station and fitting out at Mare Island, the Charleston, San Francisco, Swatara, Marion, Mohican, Iroquois, Alert, Pinta; and Asiatic Station, the Omaha, Alliance, Monocacy, Palos.
It is assumed that for reasons of temporary expediency these stations will be kept up for at least some time to come, though eventually, on account of changed conditions already discussed, foreign cruising will be done principally in small flying squadrons. The problem is now to get the old ships home as their serviceability expires, to keep up the stations to a certain extent, and to organize an effective drill squadron on the Atlantic coast, and eventually a similar one on the Pacific coast. The solution seems to be to unite all the ships on the eastern coast in a single squadron, detaching a small number in their first year of commission to make a short cruise in European waters, and then proceed to the South Atlantic and relieve the ships ready to come home; later, to send out another such squadron in the same track, the first to proceed by way of the Cape to the China Station, sending home in turn the unserviceable ships, and all eventually to collect in the Pacific: when the number on that coast, comprising the above ships and those already on the station or fitting out, became sufficient, to organize a second squadron of exercise, and thenceforth to detach at intervals small flying squadrons, proceeding in either direction, to make the tour of the world and stop wherever their presence was needed. The above scheme is presented only in illustration of the working of a policy that seems desirable. The arrangement of the details is not essential, since there is any number of ways of arriving at the same end.
Any coast-defense ships we may eventually possess, and all the harbor torpedo-boats should, when mobilized, be assigned to the two squadrons of exercise for such duties as they might properly perform. As a rule, they should keep near their own ports, but they would always form an important fighting factor in the make-up of the squadrons. Ships in reserve should be in a similar category. Our development of material has not yet reached a stage to make the reserve question a pressing one. When ships become numerous it may be necessary to keep some of them in a kind of half-commission, to reduce expenses. Two classes of reserve suggest themselves. In the first, the ships would be in perfect condition, with coal and all imperishable stores aboard, and with half the full complement of officers and men attached. The crew would live aboard, and it would only be a question of increasing the complement and provisioning to get to sea in short order—say any time within a week. In the second class the ships would be under repair or incomplete in some particular, would have very little aboard in the way of stores beyond enough for current use, and would have one-fourth of a full complement attached. The crews would live aboard the receiving ship or at the naval barracks, and come aboard each day to clean and care for the public property. An appropriate watch would stay aboard at night. This class would thus take a longer time to prepare for active service. It is doubtful if it will ever be policy to put the new ships entirely out of commission. There will always be machinery and all sorts of delicate fittings to be looked after, and the saving to the property will more than offset the outlay for attendance. Moreover, it will be absolutely essential to keep up a nucleus of men familiar with the machinery and battery, in order to get the full complement in working trim in the shortest time after mobilizing. Special storehouses for ships in the second class offer many advantages. Here will be found everything not perishable that will be needed in fitting out. Their use evidently facilitates mobilization as well as prevents waste. It is not generally known that they were a feature of the organization of the French marine under Richelieu in 1634. A disposition as above would permit of the employment of the Naval Reserve in conformity with Secretary Tracy's recommendation in his recent annual report.
When the system begins to work smoothly, care will have to be exercised in selecting ships fur the flying squadrons. They should have served long enough in one or other of the squadrons of exercise to be thoroughly imbued with its methods and discipline, for in no other way will it be possible to secure uniformity. About a year is considered a suitable time for this purpose. The intervals at which they were sent out, and the localities visited, would depend on circumstances. As a rule, the squadrons should make the tour of the world, occupying about two years on the cruise. The flagships might with propriety be armored cruisers, and the other ships protected or partially protected cruisers. It would conduce to efficiency if the flag-officer of these squadrons had served for a time in the squadron of exercise as second in command. This would be excellent duty for commodores, who now have no sea duty except as acting rear-admirals in command of squadrons. They could still receive such commissions when assigned to the flying squadrons, were it deemed important.
A disposition similar to this would require a longer time of enlistment than three years; but there is reason to hope that this drawback will not long exist. Should a four years' period be adopted, crews for ships about commissioning would be made up at the receiving-ships or barracks, of men in their first year, and they would then remain together in the ship for a full cruise. An advantage in the method not to be lost sight of is that the discontent now prevalent on undesirable stations would soon come to an end. Every officer and man would serve his time in one or other of the squadrons of exercise, or partly in a squadron of exercise and partly in a flying squadron, and all would have equal opportunities. The saving in expense would be considerable, the gain in uniformity and efficiency incalculable.
EMPLOYMENT.
Having made what seems a suitable disposition of the available material, what is the best method of keeping it employed? With a modern navy the question of coal becomes a serious one. Extensive cruising will scarcely be undertaken except in small squadrons, as above, or for special objects. The coal taken on board by the Squadron of Evolution from November, 1889, to August, 1890, amounted to 11,000 tons. The objects of the cruise were of course various. Had the purpose been for exercise alone, it is obvious that the coal expenditure would have been unnecessarily great, and the time consumed in long passages from port to port would have left too little opportunity for evolutions and gunnery practice. It is not proposed to criticise in any way the conduct of that cruise. The results attained in drill efficiency were, in spite of disadvantages, in excess of anything that had been done in previous years.
On the other hand, there is nothing so detrimental to discipline and efficiency as long stops at navy-yards. Officers and men become imbued with shore-going, and the time aboard ship is reluctantly spent in tiding over intervals between trips. But few drills can be carried on at all, especially if the season is inclement, and many things occur to render even those few unsatisfactory.
A safe middle-ground would seem to be to assemble the squadrons of exercise twice a year, selecting for them localities for both summer and winter cruising that would permit of exercises as uninterrupted as the nature of the work required. These localities must evidently be near at hand to avoid excessive coal expenditure. In the intervals between the two periods of exercise, ships in full commission could lie at anchor in the different rivers and harbors of the coast, according to the season, and perfect themselves in all drills that did not involve presence with the squadron. Navy-yards should be left as far away as possible, and the ships should anchor in the stream where boats would have to be used in going to and fro, and where boat exercise could be carried on uninterruptedly. Rifle ranges should be accessible, and much preliminary work at the butts should here be accomplished.
These requirements point to a summer cruise along the New England coast, a winter cruise in the Gulf and West Indies, and the intervening time at anchor in such places as Newport, New London, the Delaware River, certain parts of the Chesapeake, Beaufort, Charleston, Port Royal. Any necessary repairing would have to be done at the navy-yards; and during such stay, military efficiency might as well be left out of consideration, though an attempt should be made to accomplish such work as seemed possible. Convenient rifle-ranges at every yard would be a long step towards affording useful occupation.
On the Pacific Coast, climatic changes are not so severe. Puget Sound and the neighborhood of Monterey, Santa Barbara and San Diego afford summer and winter cruising grounds; though the former locality would suffice at any season of the year. The entrances to the Sound through the Straits of Juan de Fuca and Washington Sound are broad expanses, where squadron maneuvers might be carried out without limit, and the inner waters lend themselves to all the operations of naval war. Anchorages could be found at, or near, all of the above localities and in San Francisco Bay and the Columbia River.
The flying squadrons should occupy themselves in a similar way as much as possible, carrying on all duty that does not interfere with the objects of their cruise. The fighting drills are in nowise to be neglected, and squadron evolutions may be practised when possible. The ships should remain together, unless there were imperative reasons to the contrary, both because they are more effective in squadron in accomplishing the objects for which the cruise is undertaken, and because drill-routine and efficiency are thereby much more readily maintained.
DRILLS.
We now come to the most interesting and, at the same time, the most important part of the whole subject. Exercises are intimately connected with interior organization; but this latter is beyond the scope of the present essay. It may be said, however, that organization by parts of the ship is becoming more and more unsatisfactory, and that many reasons suggest the battery as the basis. After the chief boatswain’s-mate, there might be division-mates and gun captains as the principal petty officers. However the question is settled—and it is most important that it should be settled—there are duties and drills applicable to any organization; and it is now proposed to present an outline of those which are considered of most value.
The single ship is the unit of every naval force. No scheme of squadron exercise which does not begin with ship efficiency can have any permanently beneficial result. This, therefore, is our starting point. While it is possible that good material may be injudiciously arranged, it is entirely beyond reason to affect a substantial structure of poor material, however clever the architect. And as the ship is the unit of the squadrons, the individual is the unit in the ships. The first object, then, is to get our units into shape.
A ship is commissioned for sea and is assigned to the squadron of exercise. Certain preliminary drills are absolutely essential before she can receive the full benefit of squadron routine. Battery drill is assumed to be the first requisite. The crew must be stationed at the guns and torpedo-tubes and exercised incessantly until a satisfactory efficiency has been reached. Every other exercise may be temporarily put aside, and the ship may even go dirty and unpainted preferably to neglecting this essential in any particular. It is not supposed, however, that such an alternative will be presented. The morning watch will afford ample time to keep the ship clean; and two periods a day of an hour each, systematically consecrated to the drill, will in a very brief time effect all that can be desired. It goes without saying that a uniform system must be followed. The divisional officers, presided over by the executive officer, must compare notes frequently and suggest to each other neglected points. Uniformity must be as much sought in all drills as it has been heretofore in the company drill. If there is a prescribed manual, it must be followed absolutely without deviation, and the executive officer must assure himself that this is done. If changes seem desirable, they must be discussed by the officers as a board, sitting as above, and a report submitted to the captain, who forwards it to the Department with such comments as he may wish to make. What can be more detrimental to efficiency than the diversified methods and spasmodic attempts at drill so frequently observed in our ships? And yet how perfectly easy it is to inaugurate a proper system!
Instruction at the battery is at present reasonably thorough. It might be well to formulate exactly what information is to be imparted to the gun's crew, as a whole, in such matters as weights of projectiles and charges; range, penetration, and initial velocity; character of fuses, nomenclature of guns and carriages, principles of pointing, sights and sliding leaves, concentration of fire. The officers in each ship, or better, the Ordnance Bureau, might prepare a pamphlet with an outline system of this sort as an aid to the divisional officer. The scheme should contain in a simple form only such information as every man at the battery should be possessed of. With the brighter and more intelligent of them, the instructor could enlarge to any extent thought desirable.
The crew being proficient at the battery as regards handling the guns and understanding all the requirements, target practice is in order. For this purpose the allowance of ammunition is ample, but in many cases, on account of alleged more imperative service, it is not expended. Does it not seem that in ninety or ninety-two days two or three might be found somewhere in which to carry on this important work? The Bureau of Navigation lays down each quarter rules for the practice thought most desirable. They are carefully formulated by officers who have spent great labor in devising the most suitable plan. They should be as consistently followed as possible, both because competent authorities have determined the conditions, and because uniformity is necessary to give weight to the tabulation of relative merit. Has it come within the knowledge of any of us that divisional officers have thought they knew a better way of doing good shooting and have instructed their crews accordingly? How inconsistent and harmful! And yet the fault is one of thoughtlessness and defective methods rather than of willfulness or lack of intelligence. It will disappear when the board system for discussing methods of drill, as above suggested, has inculcated uniformity.
Before leaving the subject of the battery, it will be well to call attention to the importance of securing rapidity in the supply of ammunition. This is primarily a question of design; but even with a good design it requires study and training to perfect the system. In a modern ship, with the vast number of guns of all calibers, requiring different kinds of ammunition, the powder division is probably the most important of all. A hitch in the supply at a critical moment will be fatal. At the exercises tests should be made of the rapidity. For this purpose a number of full-weight dummies should be supplied; for it is clearly inadvisable to make a practice of sending up and down the regular charges and projectiles, both because it uses up the passing-boxes and cases, rendering them unsafe, and because it is dangerous to allow ammunition to collect on the upper decks. The English use a stout brown sole-leather case to protect the copper tanks containing heavy charges in sending them up; and it might be well also to furnish for the projectiles a number of specially made iron-strapped boxes, with beckets in the end, to be used in exercise or action as long as the supply held out. As these boxes were emptied they would be filled again and kept on top in the shell-rooms. To perform well all the duties of the powder division requires a great many men: they should be commanded by an experienced and capable officer, with one or two assistants.
A fair battery efficiency having been attained, the next most important step is to secure a complete knowledge of the maneuvering powers of the ship, which includes speed and turning capacity under varying conditions. This work can be carried on conjointly with the established ship routine of divisional drill, of which more anon. The speed and training trials which have been conducted at Newport in recent years are in the right direction, but do not go nearly far enough. It is imperative to know the maximum speed in all weathers, and the speed at different revolutions of one or both engines. These results must be tabulated in such wise that the speed may be estimated from the revolutions, direction and force of the wind, state of the sea, draught, and condition of the bottom. Next, the tactical diameters and turning circles with different helm angles and at varying revolutions must be determined and tabulated, the data to include advance, transfer, and time; likewise the circles with either engine stopped or backing. It is also important to know the effect on the turning-circle of increasing or decreasing the speed, the helm remaining unchanged; the effect of backing with or without the helm; the time and distance to rest by stopping and backing at different speeds, and the time and distance to gather way from rest. There is an old movement that was called the "touch-and-go shave," depending on a double shift of helm and pivoting on the bow. It may be at times very useful and should be practised.
After the full speed trials have been completed by the board appointed for the purpose, the rest of the work will be best accomplished by the officers of the ship. Involving as it does trials in all conditions of weather, advantage will have to be taken of opportunities as they occur. Having obtained all the data required for tabulation, every deck-officer should be given full opportunities of testing for himself the ship's capabilities. Series of buoys should be laid down and the ship required to maneuver amongst them at different speeds, and semblance of ramming should be made by passing between fixed points representing the extremities of a supposed hostile ship. If any satisfactory method can be devised for giving motion to the target at the same time, the experience will be all the more valuable. Rafts of light construction towed by fast launches might answer the purpose.
While these exercises have been in progress as occasion offered, the ship routine of drill will have been established and fully entered upon. Drills must be recognized as of three different sorts, interdependent, and all absolutely necessary. The first sort are for developing the fighting power of the ship; they include drill of the battery, main and secondary; exercise with the torpedo-tubes and search-lights; torpedo defense and defense nets; clearing ship for action; infantry and artillery drills; duties of sentries, patrols, and pickets; organization of armed boats, guard and picket-boats; target practice with small-arms and revolvers; exercise with the cutlass; instruction at signals and at the dynamo and in electrical wiring. The second sort pertain to ship's duties, such as making and taking in sail; the wheel, compass, lead and log; knotting and splicing; purchasing weights; hoisting in and out boats; boat exercise under sail and oars; carrying out anchors; rigging jury-rudders and sea-anchors; construction of life-rafts; collision drill; fire drill; abandoning ship. The third sort are purely for physical exercise and discipline.
In the limited nature of this essay it is hardly possible more than to enumerate the necessary drills. Additional suggestions in regard to some of them will be found under the head of Competition. It will be noticed that the cutlass drill has been retained. Many officers advocate the abolition of this arm. Instances may be imagined in which it would stand in good stead, as in boat attacks at night, especially as in a surprise effected in cutting out a ship; defense of artillery pieces under certain circumstances, in a hand-to-hand attack, after emptying the revolver chambers, and in boarding after receiving the enemy's ram, possibly the only salvation. If the men do not carry cutlasses they will use the butts of their revolvers after expending all the cartridges in the chambers; they will not stop to load. Commander Prat, of the Esmeralda, would have stood a good chance of carrying the Huascar had he been well supported with men armed as are our boarders. They would have used the revolvers first and then the cutlasses, and the latter arm, well handled, would have done ample execution. The Huascar's crew was demoralized, according to the admission of her own commander; and the sight of a lot of wild fellows with pistol in one hand and cutlass in the other would have settled the business. The moral effect of the arme blanche, including of course the lance under similar circumstances, is one of its strong points, and it is the factor to which the cavalry owes much of its importance. More mention will be made of the cutlass when we come to speak of physical exercise.
In all of the drills of the first two sorts above mentioned, the men should receive regular marks from their instructors. This would involve some extra labor, but it is believed it would be labor well expended. Merit rolls should be made out at stated intervals and posted on the ship's bulletin. In addition to the incentive of rivalry thus established, there should be substantial rewards for excellence, in the way of promotion and increased pay, of which more later.
DRILL OFFICERS.
The brunt of all this work in drill and instruction will fall on the divisional officers. Something must be done to give them more time for it, and to make them more interested. Leaving aside for a moment other considerations, a man of thirty-odd years will not do as efficient work in the daytime, if he has had a four hours' watch three nights in four, or three nights in five, even if he has spent them in the deck-house, as if he had had a full night's rest. Drilling and watch-keeping are therefore inimical. Which is of most importance? The principal duties in the latter are carrying on routine, superintending cleaning, and watching over the safety of the ship; in the former, preparing the crew to use effectively the weapons with which they are provided, and the ship herself to be an efficient fighting machine. If the latter duties are not accomplished, the former are manifestly useless. What is needed is a system that will secure proper attention to routine and the safety of the ship, but which will at the same time impress on every one that drilling is the first consideration. Day's duty seems to be the solution; all commissioned line officers, except the executive officer and navigator, to take their turn. They would have to be about in the day when important work was going on, and also at night in bad weather. Ordinarily they would sleep in the deck-house with their clothes on, ready for a call. It is reported that in the Bennington the captain is to have an "emergency" state-room near the pilot-house. In port this would be the place for the officer-of-the-day. There should be something of the sort in every ship. In first- and second-rates and in flagships it might be necessary to have at times two officers on duty together, a lieutenant and an ensign, the former to be in charge, the latter to look out for important deck routine and official courtesies.
There is but one opinion of this method of carrying on duty in ships in which it has been tried, and that is, that it adds to their efficiency. It certainly trains up the quartermasters and boatswain's mates to be petty officers in fact as well as in name. It is possible that commanding officers will feel safer in their ships if there is always a commissioned officer awake on deck ready for every emergency; but there are some who are perfectly willing to adopt the method, in view of its advantages, provided the Department will make the proper regulation and not put all the responsibility on them. With such a plan, the designation "watch and division officer" could be with advantage changed to "duty and drill officer." The gain in efficiency by impressing on officers that their chief duties were drill and not watch would be decided, and it would also be an advantage in getting officers out of the idea that they were "off" for two or three days when their tour of duty in port watches was finished.
This seems a proper place for remedying the anomalous position of the navigator, as stated some pages back. Instead of assigning his duties to the third officer in line of command, assign them to the fifth or sixth. Make him navigation, ordnance, and torpedo officer and give him charge of the dynamos and of the sentry details in ships without marines. Of course there would have to be in addition officers of the torpedo division as there are now of the gun divisions. The above duties, including the clerical part, would be ample for one man; but he could perform them with the aid of a writer as now allowed. He should be old enough to have had reasonable experience, but not too old to have retained the activity indispensable to the proper performance of these particular duties. This arrangement leaves the senior divisional officer as the relief for the executive officer. Give him charge of the powder division, which we have seen is the largest and most important in modern ships, and the solution is reached. The captain and executive officer are in their separate fighting positions; a vigorous young officer is about the upper deck wherever he finds a place of safety, looking out for the lead, signals, search-lights; and the third officer is down in the powder division, ready to relieve the executive officer and captain should it be unfortunately necessary. In peace times the executive officer alternates with the officer who next to himself is most familiar with all the drill and interior organization of the ship.
PHYSICAL EXERCISES.
In the third sort of exercises mentioned above, those for physical training, there is scope for a wide display of ingenuity. A well considered plan, taking into account the difficulties, is becoming more and more a matter of necessity. If men cooped up aboard ship do not have something to stir their blood and harden their muscles, they rapidly deteriorate, become discontented, and their usefulness is at an end. Sails and spars formerly supplied this want. Their management in the teeth of the elements gave all the hardiness, agility, and self-reliance necessary for efficient fighting. Granted that they are retained in the training-ships and in some of the cruisers, they have been already much reduced; and in ships on which the brunt of the work must fall they will be entirely absent. Does the steady execution of all the drills of the first two sorts, combined with routine ship-cleaning, give the necessary physical development? From observation it clearly does not. The men to be found to-day in ships without or with little canvas, and markedly the apprentice boys, are lacking in that skill, strength, and suppleness which characterize the ideal sailor, and which are absolutely essential in a well-conducted and efficient service. Of the exercises devised for physical development, the greater part will have to be compulsory; but the men should be encouraged in every way to practice athletics for recreation. It is only by awaking their interest that the best results are to be obtained. In order to insure continuous effort and uniformity of practice, it is evident that the physical training of the crew should be in the hands of some one individual. It is doubtful if a suitable person could be found in most of our ships as the complements are at present made up. The best policy would be to create a rate of athletic instructor in all ships having a complement of a hundred men or more, and to allow an assistant if the number exceeded two hundred. The instructor should be an appointed petty officer of the first class, and his assistant a petty officer of the second class.
These instructors are common in other services, the French for instance, who have a school of gymnastics near Paris, in which men are trained in all physical exercises and then sent out as instructors. Such a school under an able head would be of the greatest benefit. It might be inaugurated at Newport in connection with the training establishment. In action, the instructor should have a fighting station, which would probably be in the powder division. A man of his training would be of inestimable value in handling the element usually found below decks.
And now as to the exercises. Boxing and fencing are put at the head, the latter to include broadsword, the bayonet exercise, and cane drill. The present single-stick drill, so-called, should be abolished. As now carried on, it has more resemblance to broadswords than single-sticks. The leather guard on the weapon supplied has a way of slipping around the hilt; the men always smile when the instructor orders "edge to the right "; and well they may, for no one can tell the edge from the back. For sword exercise there should be regular cutlasses, with buttons on the tips, and masks and gloves should be supplied. A plain hickory stick is all that is required for cane drill, with perhaps the addition of gloves and a thick suit of clothes.
It is not claimed that actual use will be made of these accomplishments for war purposes, except perhaps in the case of the cutlass, as previously mentioned, and of the bayonet; but for physical training they are unsurpassed. For developing courage, nerve, strength, suppleness, self-reliance, a quick eye, and in fact all the qualities necessary in fighters, they have no superior. Every soul on board should take part in them, officers not excepted. Squads for instruction should be formed to receive in rotation the attention of the instructor. Four to six hours should constitute a day's work for the latter, but an hour at a time would be long enough for the separate squads. During a portion of this time the different individuals in succession should receive personal instruction. Rough weather at sea would of course put a stop to these exercises, but during the greater part of the time there need be no hindrance. Every facility should be supplied in the way of gloves, masks, foils and other appurtenances; and a suitable wash-room, with shower-bath and tiled floor, should be set aside for the use of the crew. The larger the ship the more feasible all this becomes; but even in a small ship much can be accomplished. In these exercises the officers are not intended to be left out of consideration. They must take their share as faithfully as the men. They are all provided with swords; they must know how to use them. How mortifying it should be to an officer to admit, if only to himself, that he would appear a perfect guy if called on to take part in an assault-at-arms! It is undoubtedly true that among the officers some expert swordsmen are to be found, but their number is small. If the sword is worn merely as a symbol of rank, it had better be abolished. Even then, sword exercise and fencing would be most useful in physical training.
Other practicable appliances are to be found in clubs and dumbbells, in pulley-weights, in the horizontal and parallel bars, and in the vaulting-horse. Men aboard ship with the writer have been asked if they would make use of such an outfit if provided, and they have seemed delighted at the idea. Indeed, parts of the apparatus suggested have been procured or contrived by the men themselves of their own volition. The necessary instruction in these appliances would be given by the trainer, but it is to the men themselves we must look for the main success.
To the above exercises might be added swimming, running, and tumbling. The former exercise should be much more encouraged than at present, weather permitting, and everybody on board should be taught to swim. The instructor would provide slings and bands to be used by beginners, of whom, curiously enough, there are always some to be found in every ship. Running could be practiced only in such ships as have wide, continuous decks. A track should be laid off, so many laps to the mile, and the men encouraged to compete. The instructor would give lessons in the proper manner of breathing, carrying the body, and using the feet and toes. It is curious what gawks most men are in running; usually because they forget they were once boys and try to impart dignity to the gait.
A rubber- or felt-soled shoe with spring heel would be necessary for this purpose; in fact, it is a growing opinion that a shoe of this sort is the proper habitual wear for aboard ship, a heavier shoe to be supplied for landing. Running over the masthead is splendid exercise and requires no special outfit. All ships will have at least a military mast. Tumbling is said to be, by its advocates, the best of all exercises. There is evidently room for it aboard ship. In fact, athletics is a very simple thing if we will only recognize its necessity and go about it with a little system.
There is a certain class in the service who will undoubtedly oppose all this. Puerile, they will call it; impracticable! "Men are aboard ship to work, not to play. We cannot be bothered with such performances, and there is no time for them. The ship has to be kept clean and the drills carried on, and when that is done the men want to rest." Let us look at these objections. It will be necessary to go back to the beginning. What is the object of all training? Why, to make men fighters, of course. Do we want men who are repressed most of the time, men who are occupied in work that is of no interest to them, who are tired out when the cleaning is done, men who spend their leisure moments smoking and playing cards? Evidently not. We want men with a light, buoyant spirit, unrepressed, boyish if you please, with a fondness for sport, who spend their spare time in athletic occupations, and though they turn in at night tired physically, we do not want them tired mentally.
The Concord is about to go into commission. Imagine her crew made up from the college football-players of the country, and her officers from those who have taken an interest in athletics. Train them hard for six months in all man-of-war duties, and then send them out to meet a similar ship of no matter what nation. On which side would lie the probability of victory? There seems but one answer. The present encouragement of athletics at Annapolis is grand. What naval officer did not feel his heart thrill at the news of the Annapolis-West Point foot-ball game in November last? It is not claimed that there will be time and opportunity aboard ship for a college athletic training, but all that can be accomplished will be in the right direction. With a good system it will be worth quite half as much for fighting as all the other drills. What we want is manly feeling, esprit de corps; let us incite the men to generous competition, take an interest in their sports, go in ourselves and help them, offer prizes, have boxing matches, assaults-at-arms, feats of strength, boat races, rewards for the best marksmen. This is a progressive age; we must adopt the methods in vogue about us or we shall find ourselves behind the times. The traditions of a generation back cannot be followed exclusively. Our predecessors undoubtedly made the best of what they could find at the time, and if we neglected that particular, even in copying them, they would certainly be the last to applaud us.
COMPETITION AS APPLIED TO DRILLS.
Competition and emulation are powerful means of inciting to excellence. The old spar and sail drills were grand in their way. The man who had to lay aloft to the topgallant or royal yard, in sight of the ship's company, and perform his duty as quickly as the man on the next mast, and beat him if possible, was under the influence of a mental stimulus infrequently met with in other pursuits. The application of the principle is not so easy in our modern occupations, but it may be often used to much advantage. The time element should not enter if it appears at the expense of thoroughness. Where certain definite results are sought, and it is a merit to accomplish all that is possible in a given time, then time may be counted; as, for instance, in trying to hit a target as often as possible in a given interval. Some possible applications will now be mentioned.
The Bureau of Navigation, in its excellent rules for target practice, offers prizes for all manner of proficiency in gunnery practice, including that of small-arms and revolvers. The compilation of relative merit rolls is a step in the same direction. Another incentive might be found in keeping a record of all the targets made with the air-gun or small-caliber rifle now usually supplied our ships. The powder-gun seems to be the better weapon of the two. It is easier to keep in order and is more accurate. The cartridges could be made with spherical bullets and the charge so reduced as to suppress the report, ordinarily the objectionable feature. Each man should be required to make one target a week, which on Saturdays should be pasted in the record-book in order of merit and exhibited on the ship's bulletin. Of course the book would soon be filled with these targets, but it is not essential that they should be kept longer than a few weeks. The scores, however, should be kept permanently for comparison from week to week. Some officers are opposed to the air-gun and small-caliber rifle on the ground that lack of recoil renders practice with them unlike service conditions. The points to teach, however, are the principles of sighting and steadiness of aim. A new man who has learned to make a good target with the small gun may be surprised the first time he fires the service rifle; but, understanding the principles, he will soon adapt himself to the new conditions. Moreover, it is probable we shall eventually be using a high-power rifle of a caliber very much smaller than at present, even though we do not go as far as some continental powers, and in which reduction of recoil is one of the leading features.
In the case of boat attack, and defense by the search-lights and secondary battery, the principle can be applied by organizing different parties on successive nights, sending them sometimes in the boats, and at other times retaining them at the guns and searchlights. The record of successes would then exhibit the relative excellence. In the battalion the colors should go with the best company, and the best artillery crew should occupy the right of the battery. Distinctive marks and badges should be worn for individual excellence in any arm; namely, by the best great-gun, rapid fire, small-arm, and pistol shots, and by the best fencer and broad swordsman.
For proficiency in ship's duties, constituting the second variety of drills above named, the marks given might be used in determining the duty to be assigned to each person. Where there is a choice among several, the more desirable duty in the same rates should be given the man with the best marks. The marks would have to be given regularly by the persons conducting the drills. In the matter of ratings, a similar rule should hold, as in fact it usually does. The most proficient men should be selected.
To promote skill in handling boats, races under sail and oars should be encouraged on every opportunity. A board of officers, assisted by the coxswains, should decide on the handicap allowances to put the boats themselves on a par. Success in the races would then depend on the skill of the crew. The winning boat should be entitled to wear a distinctive pennant painted on the bow. For the further encouragement of rowing, both among the officers and crew, a light practice barge with four or six oars and outriggers, such as may be found in any rowing club's boat-house, might find a place in any but the smallest ships. Large ships might even carry one of each size. In the other physical exercises, both drill and recreation, abundant stimulus will be found in personal contests and in trials of skill and strength. At stated periods contests should take place under the direction of the athletic instructor, to be witnessed by the ship's company and invited guests.
The same objections on the part of certain officers are bound to meet these suggestions—"We have no time for such doings, and there is no place in the ship for the contrivances advocated, especially the barges. Besides, who is going to look out for them? Boat races always upset discipline, and so would tournaments and other performances." It will be hard to impress on this class that the spirit to be inculcated is of more importance than all the spotless decks and shining bright work, even if it breaks out at times in the unruliness of exuberant spirits; and that any little care and attention given the necessary appliances, and sacrifice of time to the exercises, will be repaid a hundredfold in manliness and fighting efficiency. As a matter of fact, it is to be feared there are many people to whom the idea of fighting efficiency is seldom present, and who are mostly occupied in the care of the little government property they find in their keeping, forgetful that the whole outfit is little better than useless if not applied to its legitimate purpose.
The above class, fortunately, is not in the majority, and there is getting to be less and less room for them each year. Even among officers who have been zealous in the performance of all duty that has fallen to their lot, there has not always been a clear perception of the true calling of the officer. Our profession is arms; not mechanics nor engineering, not books nor philosophy, not politics nor society. An officer, it is true, should not be ignorant of those other matters, but he should not put them ahead of his profession. Officers should be students,—yes; but students of professional subjects, keeping always at the fore the one idea that their training is to make them fighters. They must have the physique to endure the hardships of war, and to lead men in war. Their duties and occupations must be such as to raise their physique, not to lower it. Their amusements should be sports and athletics, their spirit that of the men who fought with Preble, Rodgers, and Decatur, and they should receive substantial recognition for excellence; if they do not, they should keep cheerful and wait for better times. Their whole life is now far too sedentary. Watch-standing, with attendant broken rest, fatigues without exercising. This is beyond their control, but there are signs of changed conditions. With a growing pride in their profession, and a materiel in sight which will call forth all their energies, their attention will be given more and more to those pursuits which are par excellence typical of their calling.
RECREATION.
In the matter of recreation, which is of course not properly a part of drill routine, but which may exert a marked influence on it, the men should be encouraged to amuse themselves aboard ship as much as possible. It is not believed that card-playing with a lot of dirty pasteboards is conducive to healthful amusement, even if it is not made the cloak for gambling. The evening is the proper time for recreation. When lying in port, the hammocks need not be served out until just before "pipe down." The old reason for going to hammocks just after sundown was to enable the numbers to be read while there was yet daylight. Nowadays, by turning on the spar-deck circuit, the numbers can be read at any time. The men having night watches might have a separate compartment assigned them and get their hammocks shortly after supper. The decks could then be kept clear, tables spread, books, papers and games got out, amateur music organized, and the men allowed access to the gloves, foils, clubs and dumb-bells. The electric light supplied in all our new ships would shed its rays over the scene; and if the proper material were not attracted to the service, then progress and self-improvement are not motives of human action.
DISCIPLINE.
Discipline also has a bearing on drills, which will be the excuse for giving it a word in this paper. With so many people in a small space it has to be rigid. The great points to inculcate are firmness and consistency. Punishments do not have to be severe, but they must be equitable and sure. Mildness in handling men when associated with firmness loses nothing. Vituperation as a method of discipline is a thing of the past. When an infraction is noticed, all that is necessary is to call it to the attention of the offender and then set in motion the train that will evolve the prescribed punishment; be it, in case of a first offense, only a warning. Mr. Herbert Spencer's idea of likening punishment to the operation of the physical law is worthy of application. A child, on putting his finger in the flame, receives a burn, and each repetition of the physical offense incurs a repetition of the punishment. Mind, there is no such policy, or lack of policy, as may be illustrated by the remark "if you do that again I will do so and so." The punishment should be made as much as possible a counterpart of the offense, as, for instance, a late hammock, to be called earlier; slow or inattentive on drill, extra drill. It is not necessary to go farther in illustration; the principle may be readily carried out. Discipline will depend, as a rule, upon the treatment of these minor offenses. If they are effectually checked, more serious ones will not be apt to occur. When they do occur, vigorous measures must not be omitted. As a matter of fact, grave offenses are more readily dealt with than light ones, as the punishment is easier of selection. It will be in the correction of the minor infractions that all the commanding and executive officers' tact will be required.
Aside from punishments, many other things promote discipline. Among the most important is the holding of petty officers accountable, and adding to their responsibilities. There is too much watching nowadays; everybody has to be watched. It is not only necessary to give an order, but to send later to see if it has been executed. In the old days, when a man was reported for not doing something he had been told to do, the reply of the first lieutenant was, "Why did you not see that he did it?" This method is no longer applicable. The ships are larger and more intricate in every way. No person can occupy his time in giving numberless orders and then going about and seeing that they are executed. There must be a system of accountability from the captain down, be there never so many links in the chain. In this way good petty officers will be formed, and that we should have them is a matter of the gravest necessity.
Another point is not to try and do too many things at the same time. Work should be portioned out and finished before other work is taken up. Especially is this true in the case of drills. If any absolutely necessary work is going on, omit the drill altogether. Perfunctory drills should cease; that is, drills that are held to fill out a routine. As war efficiency is the first consideration, very few things should be allowed to hinder the drills, and no person should be excused from attendance. They should be sharp and thorough, and should be progressive in their character. A division might have the same drill for a week at a time to assure this progressive tendency, and then turn to something else. Nor should bad weather, as a rule, interfere with quarters. The men can always be mustered under cover and given some sort of useful instruction. In the scheme proposed, time is too valuable to be sacrificed to such considerations. Moreover, the men are more contented when they have not acquired the habit of wondering if something will not happen to interfere with the drill. The simplest policy in the end is to make drills as regular as meals, and if only the same time is allowed, any results may be accomplished. To get over all the necessary ground, it is not thought that in the single ship a fixed drill routine is advisable. There are always certain duties of more importance than others, and there is always some one thing more appropriate at the time than another. The executive officer should keep a list of all the exercises it is ever intended to hold, and he should select each day those that seem of most importance or most fitting the occasion. He would be assisted in this work by a record book, to be kept by the divisional officer, in which would be entered both the sequence of drills as held in his division, and, under the different drill headings, the number of hours given to each, and the date.
It cannot be too much insisted on that every available person should do something to add to the fighting power of the ship. Every enlisted and appointed man now has some fighting station. The firemen not on watch are usually found in the powder division. They should be instructed, as well, in small-arm and secondary battery work, and they should learn to pull an oar and handle a boat. The marines cannot now be drawn up on the quarter-deck in action. They will probably be distributed about among the main and secondary battery crews, if retained aboard ship, and take their rifles only when riflemen are called away. With regard to the officers, all, except the surgeons and chaplains, who are protected by the Geneva Cross, should understand the rifle, revolver, rapid fire and machine guns. The question of non-combatants is seriously occupying foreign services, who are finding their ships too small to sacrifice space to people who do not fight. Without discussing the abolition of any particular corps, it is apparent that all who now find themselves aboard ship must take their full share in the fighting drills.
One more point intimately connected with discipline and drill efficiency. Ships' companies should be as nearly as possible permanent for the cruise. Vacancies will necessarily occur, and they will have to be filled; but none except the gravest reasons should authorize extensive changes. Much difficulty is met with at present in finding suitable men for manning the new ships; but it is hoped that this trouble will eventually disappear. In the case of the officers, there are as many available now in proportion to the ships as we are ever likely to have; and yet a ship could be mentioned in which none of the original watch-officers was to be found fourteen months after commissioning, and in which there had been ten watch officers in all in sixteen months. To mention another case, in which the exact figures are not at hand, a ship lying, it is true, most of the time at navy-yards, had had within three years enough officers and men on the pay-rolls to have formed from three to four complete crews.
In the matter of making the men comfortable, a great deal can be done. When they know they are being looked out for in little things, they are far more willing in all their work. The degree to which personal comfort can be carried will depend on the ship; and it is left to the captain and executive officer to make the most of what is provided. Frequent inspections of clothing and bedding, and airing bedding as often as possible, will instill cleanliness. Mention has already been made of a wash-room and shower-bath for the crew. Clean water and soap are even nearer to godliness aboard ship than they are ashore. The navy ration is excellent, and the men appear to be satisfied with it. Better messing arrangements seem possible, and several plans have been tried. The best one should be determined and adopted. Meal hours are almost too close together. It would be hard to disturb the 12 o'clock dinner; but with the electric lights, supper could be had at 6 o'clock all the year round; 7.30 seems the most appropriate breakfast hour.
SQUADRON DRILLS.
We will now suppose the ship to be thoroughly drilled and disciplined. She is ready to take part in any squadron duty that may be required. It must not be supposed, however, that this degree of efficiency has been brought about entirely while absent from the squadron. When the men are sufficiently instructed at the battery, and the results of the speed and turning trials have been tabulated, squadron duty may begin. The presence of other ships stimulates effort to a remarkable extent; the crews sooner shake down into uniform methods, and the faculties are kept more continually on a stretch. Competition among the different ships exerts its influence in the same beneficial way that has been already remarked in the case of individuals. Especially is this true in such duties as signaling. In fact, suitable practice in signaling is not possible except in squadron.
But to begin: if the squadron is just formed, the sea and port routine is the first thing to claim the admiral's attention. It is difficult at the start to co-ordinate all the different duties. The routine, to be really serviceable, must be a growth, a development. It is the squadron that has kept together for many months that will have settled into the most thoroughly practical methods. For that reason, squadrons should not be disbanded. Their experience should go on uninterruptedly. Ships may come and go as necessary, provided their stay is not too brief; but the squadron organization should continue.
To illustrate this point, imagine two cases. In the first, ships have been commissioned as they were finished and sent off to different stations, leaving on our own coast a varying force which followed some sort of a routine, to be sure, but which had seldom drilled as a squadron, and in which most of the exercises were left to the commanding officers. For some reason it becomes necessary to organize at brief notice a strong force to operate on the coast. All the ships at the navy-yards, fitting out and repairing, and the ships which have been in reserve are hurried along to join the squadron. The flag-officer and his staff have now a difficult and responsible task. Squadron orders are issued one after the other; drills are devised and executed; and if time permits, the force will soon be efficient. There is no lack of intelligence or energy in our personnel, and they will do wonders in an emergency. With a fighting chance, they will acquit themselves with credit.
Now for the second case. There has been for several years a permanent squadron of exercise to which the reserve ships are always assigned when mobilized. With gradual experience, a scheme of drill, exercise and routine has been developed which has been shown to produce gratifying results. All the necessary orders and instructions are kept in pamphlet form ready to issue at once to every new-comer, of which there may be several each year. It is suddenly necessary to mobilize all the available force. Ships are hurrying to join the flag. The commander-in-chief may give his directions almost in the language of Moltke when informed that war existed with France: "Third portfolio on the left." That is all. The work has been done when circumstances were favorable. There is nothing to do now but fight. Can any one doubt which of these two squadrons will stand the best chance with the enemy?
The main object of routine is to regulate the kind and duration of drills. Meal hours, times for scrubbing hammocks and clothes, and routine signals are important, but must be subservient to necessary work. The drill routine should be regulated in conformity with the relative importance of the different exercises, as laid down for the individual ships; and the idea should be to bring the crews together as much as possible, as in boats, and in landing drills. On the occasions when combined drills are not provided for it would be well to leave a certain freedom to the different ships, that they may carry on individually whatever drills seem most expedient to them at the time, as has been already explained. Port exercises should alternate with squadron maneuvers as opportunities offer. In the location selected there should be facilities for great-gun and small-arm target firing, for extended boat exercise, for landing and encamping the naval brigade, for torpedo attack and defense, and for the construction of booms and the laying out of mine fields. It is not necessary to go more into the details of these exercises. They are tolerably well understood and are often well executed. The great thing is to have more of them. The drills of the Squadron of Evolution at Corfu last spring are worthy of study. The situation was almost ideal for the purposes enumerated. It was there that the longest stop of the cruise, about three weeks, was made; and more was learned than in any other period of twice the length.
Competition should be brought into play in every way possible, as in boat races, rifle matches, comparison by plotted targets of the main and secondary battery practice of the different ships, with a gunnery pennant, as has been the custom in the North Atlantic squadron, for the most proficient; competitive battalion drills for the brigade standard, which might be with propriety the admiral's flag, and in numberless other ways that will suggest themselves whenever the drills are carried out.
In the matter of signaling there is room for a great deal of improvement. The Morse code signals seem to give the most trouble and require a great deal of practice. It is doubtful if a code that necessitates from one to seven flag motions, or electric light flashes for each letter or conventional sign will give sufficient rapidity for effective work. The characters are difficult to read, for the reason that the whole combination is not displayed to the eye at a glance, and it requires considerable attention and memory to follow the successive motions from beginning to end. The Morse code is certainly valuable for telegraphic use, and it is well to have people familiar with it. Besides, it facilitates communication with the army and coast-guard. A system can be devised that will depend on the Morse code, but will display by day or night the whole combination for each letter at a glance, and in which each combination will be made by a single movement of the signalman. Experiments in this direction would be desirable. The night signal system now in use in certain foreign services, of a number of red or white lanterns in a vertical hoist, is about to be adopted for trial in some of our ships. It has the advantage of exhibiting the whole combination for each "letter or sign at the same instant, but is open to the objection that it introduces still another code.
In exercising the signal corps of the squadron, a ship could be detailed to make a reasonably long signal through from beginning to end without pause. It would be taken down as received by the other ships, and the results sent aboard the flagship for comparison. In the smoke and confusion of battle signals will be with difficulty discerned. Those made should be as few and as simple as possible. Lieutenant Wainwright's idea of employing small mortars to project into the air Japanese bombs for day signals, which on explosion throw out various shapes and combinations, might prove a very satisfactory method.
In the execution of all squadron routine many valuable suggestions would become available by constituting a quarterly board of three to five officers, whose province it would be to supervise all drills and exercises of whatever sort. They would possess no authority except in the way of recommendations, and of reports to the commander-in-chief of the efficiency observed. Their influence in promoting uniformity would in itself pay for any additional labor involved.
At sea the greater part of the time should be spent in maneuvers. Formations are of two sorts, for battle and for cruising. It is not proposed here to discuss the different ones advocated. The service is at present provided with a tentative drill-book, and it is presumed an authoritative one will be eventually issued. What is necessary for the squadron is to perform thoroughly all the evolutions laid down and to accustom the officers to handle their ships. The drill of the section of two ships will probably be the best beginning. They should learn to act in concert, and to support each other under varying conditions. Then they might separate and maneuver as if to engage, each trying to pass within the other's turning-circle and keep out of the danger-field. This would be delicate work, and would have to be executed at first at low speeds and with wide turning-circles. The Russian plan of ramming tactics with tugs well protected with fenders and buffers is worthy of trial.
In executing squadron maneuvers, engine revolutions and helm angles should be made use of as indicated by the tabulated results of the speed and turning trials. Too much thoroughness in this particular cannot be insisted on. After once putting over the helm in obeying a signal, and it is observed that the circle is too large or too small, the error cannot be corrected. The ship is out of her place, and it takes time to get back. What is required is to order the proper helm angle at the start, and the ship will then keep her station. Many people are disposed to laugh at the observation of these exact rules and to describe them as impracticable. But they are not impracticable; they can be and are followed by foreign squadrons, notably the French, and they familiarize officers with the qualities of the ships. After long experience the tables may be done away with, but it is only because the contents have been mastered. The officer-of-the-deck will still order the proper helm angle when a change of course is made, and the suitable number of revolutions at all times. If a squadron trained in this manner goes into action, it will be prepared for any dispositions that may be ordered; and the tables, which have served as props in learning to walk, as it were, may be unhesitatingly thrown aside when their assistance is no longer needed.
Granted that free use is made of the revolution and helm angle tables, there must still be means of correcting small variations of speed and course when preserving a cruising or battle order for any length of time. For this purpose, use is made ordinarily of the sextant and dumb compass. The former only is needed in keeping in wake of other ships, while the latter is used in maintaining bearings. To handle these instruments, pay attention to the steering, order the suitable revolutions, be on the lookout for signals, regulate the speed-ball and pennant, and carry on the ship routine, is a great deal for one officer; yet these duties must be under a single control. The sextant is usually turned over to a junior officer, and there are quartermasters and signalmen to assist in other ways. Now there are many objections to the sextant. Granted that it is properly handled, it is far from easy to order the revolutions judiciously in conformity with its indications. Moreover, the officer of the deck is never quite satisfied when he has to delegate to another a duty which has so much to do with the proper observance of position. Nor is the sextant a very satisfactory instrument for such use. Its indications are unnecessarily exact, and the scale, due to the fine graduation, hard to read. The telescopes cannot be used with any satisfaction day or night, as their field is too small. A simpler and cheaper instrument, having a long index-arm, a plainly marked scale, and provision for shipping a night-glass, would be a long step in the way of simplification.
For purposes of verification and for instruction in squadron sailing, an automatic attachment may be very easily devised in these days of electrical appliances. To go much into detail would not be admissible in an essay of this character. An outline of the idea is as follows: Having set the index of the sextant, as modified above, for the proper distance, let us connect a portable electrical card in such wise that a variation in position of the index-arm will show on a dial in the engine-room, by the position of a pointer, that distance is being lost or gained. A slight change of the throttle corrects matters, and no other signal is necessary. All the officer-of-the-deck has to do is to assure himself that the index is properly set at the start, and any reliable man will be able with very little practice to follow the changes as they occur. So much for position in column. In keeping station on a bearing, two adjustments are continually necessary, speed and course. Two methods suggest themselves for an automatic regulation. One is to keep the sextant connections as above, to register in the engine-room, and thus regulate distance by the speed, and to make a similar connection on the dumb compass with a dial in front of the wheel for the guidance of the helmsman, and thus regulate bearing by the helm. The other method is to interchange these connections, regulating distance by the helm and bearing by the speed. On a bearing of four points, either method is applicable. At less than four points from ahead the first method will be used; at more than four points the second. The reason is apparent. Thus, suppose the bearing were eight points, it is evident that the necessity of keeping on the line regulates the speed, whereas distance is regulated by the helm; at zero points, or in column, the reverse is true, and at four points, being the intermediate position, it is a matter of indifference. This may not be the mathematical neutral point, which will depend on the ratio between advance and transfer at different speeds, but it is near enough for all practical purposes.
This method of regulation was suggested by learning of a mechanical device at one time in use aboard the Galena. The dumb compass was mounted on the engine-room hatch, and a vertical shaft connected the alidade with a dial in the engine-room. Electricity is preferable, as the compass may be mounted in any desirable position; and by combining with this attachment another for the sextant, the whole matter is under the most simple control. It will not be necessary or desirable to employ these devices at all times. In each watch a great part of the time should be spent in regulating position by the eye, giving verbal orders to the helm and engine room. Then at intervals the attachments could be used to check the bearing and distance, thus giving continuous practice and instruction. Long observation of correct distances and bearings ought to be the best possible training for the eye; and in time of action such experience would be invaluable. The appliances are in the same category as the speed and helm tables. Discard them by all means when their purpose has been subserved. As to the additional care and attention required in keeping them in order, it is thought that the objects to be attained are ample justification. It is true that ships are being filled with every sort of intricate apparatus; but if the result is better to prepare for battle, there will be no doubt of the advisability; and somebody will be found to assume the additional care.
A satisfactory electrical or mechanical counter to show in the pilot-house the engine speed at any instant without the necessity of counting and timing, is very much needed. The officer-of-the-deck not only wishes to know how many revolutions are being made at any time, but it is very important for him to be cognizant of small changes as they occur. Step-by-step telegraphs, or other similar devices, should be supplied for signaling from the pilot-house or conning-tower the desired revolutions and helm angle, the latter in case a fighting wheel below decks is used. The dials should be marked for number of revolutions and degrees of helm at such small intervals as might be found necessary, and also with such legends as a Utile faster, a little slower, meet her, steady, starboard handsomely, port handsomely.
One more point; in these days of swift-moving craft, the officer of-the-deck should have at his own hand means of instantly changing the helm; and of controlling the engines, stopping and reversing, and increasing to full speed at will. When orders have to be given to some one else and then passed by mechanical or electrical devices, time is lost; and that time may make just the difference between collision and escape, ramming or being rammed.
In addition to maneuvers in order of battle and order of cruising, the squadron should be exercised at ramming tactics and at towing. Buoys could be laid down representing a hostile squadron in order of battle, and a charge through ordered. The ships could then turn and charge back, or form in different order to illustrate tactical points. Commander Hoff's book on the subject is full of useful hints. In towing exercises, the commander-in-chief would designate a ship by signal as disabled and it would become the duty of a neighbor, according to the formation, to take her in tow. The light craft, scouts and torpedo-catchers would assist in carrying out the lines. There can be no doubt that a little judicious practice in this particular might result in great benefit at some critical moment. Maneuvering at night should come in for a share of attention. Close order is said to be more easily maintained at night and in a fog than open order. The English ships during foggy weather in some of the recent maneuvers towed buoys astern at the proper interval as guides for their next astern. Plans of this sort suggest themselves in practice and sometimes prove of much value.
After ample experience in all the above duties and drills, the squadron could be separated into two parts and exercised at blockading and masking tactics. Extended annual maneuvers will prove the crucial test, short of war itself. Their importance cannot be overstated; any expense incurred will be amply repaid in added efficiency. The plan must be well prepared in advance, and the participators fully instructed. It does not matter greatly what theme is selected; the chief point is to do something, and keep at it continually. In no other way is the best experience to be had.
SUMMARY.
The outline of a policy has now been presented. The subject is a wide one, and it has not been possible to go very far into detail. If the skeleton is thought worthy of the addition of sufficient flesh and blood to give it vitality, and the resulting system does not prove satisfactory in all its parts, perhaps a full discussion of its faults may suggest a working semblance that will more fully subserve the end proposed. After all, the great need to-day is to realize that our methods are obsolete. Improvements must follow this realization; for with a free expression of opinion, new ideas are bound to appear, and it becomes then only a question of the selection of the best.
To recapitulate: the whole object of naval training is war efficiency. Anything that promotes it is good; that which does not is bad. To derive the greatest benefit, a settled policy must be adopted and consistently followed. The advantage of method is so great, that a poor plan steadily adhered to conduces more to efficiency than the most brilliant efforts if desultory and fitful. Given a naval force in which all necessary types find their representatives, the problem is to make that disposition which most satisfactorily and economically fulfils the object of its creation, and makes possible a continuous and systematic training in all war exercises. The solution arrived at is to make of the ships available for active duty, two permanent squadrons of exercise, one on each coast, from which at intervals small flying squadrons of cruisers are detached to make the tour of the world. The permanent coast-defense ships will be assigned to the squadrons of exercise when mobilized, and will engage in whatever maneuvers seem appropriate. Ships not in full commission will form two orders of reserve, and will be maintained at the navy-yards, with such of their officers and crew attached as may be necessary to keep them in proper condition. It will not be policy ever to put them entirely out of commission during their period of usefulness. The squadrons of exercise will be mobilized twice a year, in appropriate localities near our own coast, for extended squadron drills. In the intervals, the available ships will lie at anchor in appropriate rivers and harbors, away from the navy-yards, and will carry on prescribed exercises. It is to be impressed on every one that drilling is the first duty, that unnecessary work must cease, that officers and crews are to be kept in efficient health and spirits, that the profession of arms is their calling, and that ships are to be made as comfortable and happy as other conditions will permit.
This concludes the subject. The people are now taking a just pride in the creation of a modern navy commensurate with the national dignity. The reforms advocated depend for their accomplishment on Congress, on naval administration, and on naval officers. In the words of the motto, occasionem cognosce, it is only necessary to know and realize the occasion; and as the objects are clear, attainment will be possible.