Why T.R. Sent the Great White Fleet

Abstract

One hundred years ago this December, the Great White Fleet left Hampton Roads becoming the first and only global naval parade in history. When commemorating the event it's easy to focus on the fleet's notable achievements. Over a 14 month period, 14,000 men on 16 battleships and auxiliaries, traveled 46,000 miles, circumnavigated the world and demonstrated to Europe and the Far East, American strength during a time of peace. Painted white, but with ship bows still decorated with the gilded scrollwork of a bygone era, the fleet was greeted by increasingly enthusiastic crowds at 20 different domestic and foreign ports of call. By February of 1909, the battleships had returned to Virginia in excellent shape and on schedule for a grand finale a few days before President Theodore Roosevelt left office.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2007
Accession Number
ADA521215

Entities

People

  • Lori Bogle

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Battleships
  • California
  • Canals
  • Congress
  • Department Of State
  • Far East
  • Fleet Exercises
  • National Security
  • Navy
  • New York
  • Public Relations
  • Ship Bows
  • Ships
  • Treaties
  • United States
  • United States Naval Academy

Readers

  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.