Battleships of the Great White Fleet were divided between five ship classes, the Kearsarge, Illinois, Maine, Virginia, and Connecticut.   The first of these ships were commissioned in 1900, and the most recent of the ships commissioned in 1907.  The displacement ranged from 11,500 tons to over 16,000 tons, the Connecticut class being almost 100 feet longer than the Kearsarge class.   Bellow are drawings from the work of Dave Baker, a recognized illustrator of historical ships from around the world. These were originally published in  The American Steel Navy, an amazing book of photographs and backround on the American Navy transition from sail to steam.  Thanks Dave for your great work.

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Kearsarge BB-5

Kentucky BB-6

They are distinguised by the two in-line stacks, round turrets, and broadside guns.

There were other ships involved with the cruise besides the battleships.  Of course they received the bulk of attention for the display in formation they made enter each port.  But other ships participated in the cruise.  The Pathfinders, USS Washington and USS Tennessee we dispatched ahead of the fleet to California.  They were met by other Armored Cruisers of the Pacific Fleet and visited ports in California and the Northwest with the Battleships.  The Fleet's movement around South America also included six of the Navy's Torpedo Destroyers in a separate flotilla under the command of Lieutenant Hutchison I. Cone. These same Torpedo Destoryers would later be towed by Armored Cruisers to the Samoa Islands in August 1908.   There were also numerous auxiliaries of the fleet, both American and British, that provide coal and supplies.  The American ships included the USS Panther, USS Glacier, and the USS Culgoa.  And finially, the Presidential yacht getting the fleet underway, the  USS Mayflower.   To search this site insert your selection below.