At precisely 1440 and again at 1445 on June l\ 15, 1895, the USS New York fired 21- gun salutes at Kiel, Germany. The American squadron had arrived for the grand opening of the Kiel Canal which was to give Germany a direct route between the North Sea and the Baltic. The first salute was answered by the shore battery located near the old marine academy; the second salute was returned by the ship commanded by Prince Henry of Prussia. Seventy-six warships totaling 380,000 tons from fifteen different nations, anchored in the roadstead for this historic event. Before the festivities were to come to a close, the New York alone recorded 306 gun salutes.
This occasion was, however, noted for something besides pomp. It marked the recognition of the U. S. Navy as one of the leading powers of the world. Nothing in history books will bring this out as clearly as a running account of the special honors accorded the small U. S. squadron by the Kaiser and the German Navy. Britain, with her four modern battleships and six cruisers and gunboats, was not feted half as much.
The U. S. squadron consisted of a motley assortment of four ships all dignified by the names of cruisers. Cruisers they were—with a class distinction. The New York 8,200 tons, was an armored cruiser; the Columbia and the San Francisco, 7,500 tons each were first class cruisers; the Marblehead, 2,000 tons, was in a class all by herself—a second class cruiser.
The ceremonies opened on June 20, 1895, by a naval parade through the canal. Starting at 0400 at the Brunsbuttel terminal near Hamburg, the Imperial Yacht Hohenzollern led a coterie of 22 vessels through the canal to Kiel. As they passed the Kiel exit, each manned the rails and fired a 33-gun salute to the Emperor. The roster of ships in the parade contained many familiar names. There were the Savoia of Italy, the Surcouf of France, the Marquis de Ensañada of Spain, the Viking of Norway, the Alkmaar of Netherlands and the unpronounceable Grosjiatchke from Russia.
At the Naval Academy Ball that evening, European royalty and naval officers from all nations represented danced to the waltzes and polkas of Strauss and Schubert.
It was on the evening of June 21, after the Kaiser had, in a formal ceremony, officially opened the canal to traffic, that the United States was first singled out for special honor. Kaiser Wilhelm gave a large banquet for the visiting flag officers and captains. The banquet hall was built as a ship-of-the-line— complete with gun ports and spars. This “land” ship was illuminated by the carbon- arc spotlights placed three feet apart all around the circumference. On a signal, a huge fireworks display was set off which was seen for miles around. This display was a set piece showing the President of the United States, Kaiser Wilhelm, and the American and the German coats of arms. It was a signal honor paid to a country that was just beginning to emerge as a world power.
The following day when the ceremonies were over, the French squadron slipped its moorings and departed. The ships of other countries followed. The U. S. Squadron, however, was requested to remain for another eventful week.
On June 23, the German Emperor paid an official visit to the New York, inspected the crew and presented Admiral Kirkland with a gold snuff box, encrusted with about forty diamonds set with a miniature of the Kaiser. On the afternoon of June 26 Prince Henry and the German princess paid a visit to the American armored cruiser.
Then came the big moment. Admiral Kirkland invited the Emperor and six German admirals to dinner in his quarters. At 2000, the Emperor was received aboard. The royal standard was hoisted at the main and was illuminated by the searchlights of the other ships of the squadron. At the dinner, which lasted until well after midnight, toasts were drunk in honor of Kaiser Wilhelm, in honor of President Cleveland, to the German Navy, to the U. S. Navy and then repeated again and again. (This was before Josephus Daniels.)
The Germans, as well as the Americans, were suffused with an alcoholic glow of camaraderie and at one o’clock in the morning the Emperor insisted on visiting the engine room and on seeing the crew exercised at an emergency drill. At 0125 the Captain called for a Fire Drill. The familiar word was passed, “Fire in the Paint Locker” and the crew members came tumbling out of their hammocks on the double. Secure was sounded and the Admiral personally conducted the Kaiser and his party to the engine room to see the latest in American designed machinery. Returning on deck at 0140, Admiral Kirkland broke precedent and paraded the honor guard.
As the Emperor departed, the crew “Cheered Ship.” In guttural English Kaiser Wilhelm expressed one last wish before he left the ship. “It is the hope of the German people that the U. S. Navy and the German Navy will always stand together as allies and never be on opposing sides.”
It was a forlorn hope about twenty years later.
