Interesting Facts of the Great White Fleet

Home>Facts

The fleets trip around the world involved many 'firsts", famous people, events, and inventions. This page is devoted to providing a summary of some of the facts I have found most interesting.

At the time of the fleet's sailing from Hampton Roads there were four senior officers that had served during the Civil War! Serving more than 40 years on active duty is practically unheard of in the modern navy, but in 1908 the mandatory retirement age was 62. For the fleet this meant the Admiral Evans, Rear Admiral Thomas, and Rear Admiral Emory needed to retire before the cruise would end. Admiral Sperry started his naval training in 1862 and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1866.

"Fighting Bob Evans," sustained four bullet wounds, on January 15, 1865, when, at the head of a Company of Marines landed from Admiral David G. Farragut's squadron attacking Fort Fisher, North Carolina, he continued to fight after sustaining his wounds and drew his pistol and threatened to kill any man who attempted to amputate his leg in surgery.

"Fighting Bob" Evans

The first use of the Wireless Telephone was aboard the ships of the Great White Fleet to communicate between ships and to communicate with shore stations. The system was designed by Dr. DeForest had a range of about 75 miles.

In late 1907, DeForest managed to convince the U.S. Navy to purchase his new company's arc-transmitter radiotelephone sets for the fleet's around-the-world voyage. But although the sets saw a small amount of use for communications, and were also used for occasional broadcasts of phonograph records, they were far from ready for reliable day-to-day use, and were scrapped at the end of the voyage. In early 1909, the Washington Evening Post reported that: "Unsatisfactory results have been

obtained in the use of the wireless telephone apparatus [that was] installed on board the vessels of the American fleet before it started on the cruise, and probably the apparatus will be removed from the ships. It had a thorough test by the officers of the fleet under all conditions, and their reports indicate that it has seldom been of any service. Future development of the system may result in its perfection, but at its present stage it is found to be a failure." It wouldn't be until 1916 that the navy would again investigate ship-based radiotelephony, this time using Western Electric produced vacuum-tube transmitters.

Among the junior officers of the battleship fleet were Ensign Harold R. Stark, Midshipmen William F. Halsey, and Raymond A. Spruance.

Ens Stark went on to become the Admiral Stark, Chief of Naval Operations just prior to WWII and Commander, U.S. Forces European coordinating the Normandy invasion for U.S. Forces.

LEFT: Portrait photograph by Vaughan & Keith, San Francisco, California taken when Ens Stark's ship, USS Minnesota (BB-22) was visiting San Francisco during the fleet visit.

Midshipmen William F. Halsey sailed onboard the USS Kansas for the world cruise. He rose to become Vice Admiral Halsey, Third Fleet at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor and later in 1945 to Fleet Admiral Halsey.

RIGHT: Admiral William F. Halsey, USN,
Commander, Third Fleet

Reading at his desk on board USS New Jersey (BB-62), his flagship, while en route to conduct raids on the Philippines, December 1944.

Aerial Photo Pearl Harbor

In 1908 Congress passed an appropriation bill for 1-million dollars to fund the development of Pearl Harbor as the Navy's main Pacific base. The Navy Department therefore took the opportunity of the fleet visit to have a special board headed by Rear Admiral Seaton Schroeder to investigate the site. Among the young officers to visit the site were Ensigns Harold R. Stark and Husband E. Kimmel. Kimmel, as Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Fleet, and Stark, Chief of Naval Operations, 35-years later, would share would share responsibility for the lack of preparedness of the facility on December 7, 1941.

Midshipman Spruance went on to become Rear Admiral Spruance commanding a cruiser division. He led two aircraft carriers, during the Battle of Midway changing the course of the war with Japan. After the Midway battle, he was given command of the Fifth Fleet and while onboard USS Indianapolis (CA-35), directed the campaigns that captured the Gilberts, Marshalls, Marianas, Iwo Jima and Okinawa and defeated the Japanese fleet in the June 1944 Battle of Philippine Sea.

LEFT: Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, USN, Commander, Central Pacific Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet

Informal portrait photograph, taken 23 April 1944.

Departing from Hampton Roads in December 1907, there was still some question as to the intent of the fleet as in arrived in the Pacific. Where we going to war with Japan? This Harper's Weekly Magazine article "Fight or Frolic" outlines our nations thoughts.

[Home][The Cruise][The Ships][The People][Series Cards][Mail & Collectibles][Facts]