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Chapter I: Front Matter

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OUR NAVY AT WAR

BY

JOSEPHUS DANIELS
SECRETARY OF THE NAVY
1913 to 1921

Illustrated with Reproductions of Original
and Official Photographs

Pictorial Bureau
Washington, D. C.
1922

COPYRIGHT BY
PICTORIAL BUREAU
1922

_To the Six Hundred Thousand Men_

_Who Served in the United States Navy
and Marine Corps in the
World War_

_Manning more than two thousand vessels--_

_Operating with Allied Navies from the Arctic to the Adriatic--_

_Transporting troops and supplies across the Atlantic--_

_Protecting ships from attack and destruction--_

_Driving off and defeating the murderous submarines, You made safe the seas, and Kept open the Road to France, so that, Of all the vast Army sent overseas, Not one soldier on an American troop-ship Lost his life on the way to France._

_Fighting with the Army, your comrades, The Soldiers of the Sea, won fame in Hard-fought battles that saved Paris, Drove back the German hordes, and Won for Humanity Complete and Glorious Victory._

_In recognition of your splendid service, your dauntless deeds, this work is dedicated by one who was sometime your commander and always your shipmate._

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. When the War Call Came 1

II. "To Be Strong Upon the Seas" 9

III. The Break with Germany 19

IV. The Day of Decision 30

V. Sending Sims to Europe 36

VI. Naval Allies in Historic Conference 45

VII. "We Are Ready Now, Sir" 53

VIII. Race Between Wilson and Hindenburg 70

IX. The Fleet the Kaiser Built for Us 89

X. Guarding the Coast of France 99

XI. Gibraltar and the Convoy 116

XII. Shutting up the Hornets in Their Nests 125

XIII. President Wilson as a Strategist 143

XIV. Comrades of the Mist 151

XV. Cinderellas of the Fleet 161

XVI. "Do Not Surrender"--"Never" 173

XVII. When the U-Boats Came to America 187

XVIII. Marines Stopped Drive on Paris 206

XIX. The Answer to the 75-Mile Gun 218

XX. The Navy That Flies 228

XXI. The Ferry to France 241

XXII. Radio Girdled the Globe 250

XXIII. A Surprise for Count von Luxburg 259

XXIV. American Admiral Saved Kolchak 268

XXV. The Half-Way House 275

XXVI. To Victory on a Sea of Oil 280

XXVII. Edison--and 100,000 More 285

XXVIII. Building a Thousand Ships 297

XXIX. Making Sailors out of Landsmen 309

XXX. Three Hundred Thousand Strong 318

XXXI. Women in the Navy 328

XXXII. Coast Guard Wins Distinction 332

XXXIII. Winning the First Battle of the War 341

XXXIV. Fighting the Profiteers 347

XXXV. "Sirs, All Is Well with the Fleet" 354

XXXVI. After the Armistice 366

ILLUSTRATIONS

Josephus Daniels _Frontispiece_

FACING PAGE

War Chiefs of the Navy, the Secretary and his Advisory
Council 16

A Friendly Bout 17

School Hour Aboard a Battleship 17

President Wilson and the War Cabinet 32

American Dreadnoughts, the Embodiment of Sea Power 33

American Destroyers in Queenstown Harbor 52

The Return of the Mayflower 53

The Surrender of the U-58 58

Crew of the Fanning, which sank the U-58 59

They, Too, Were Ready 67

The Seattle and Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves 68

A Dash through the Danger Zone 68

The Sinking of the President Lincoln 80

The Secretary of the Navy with Captain Dismukes and the
men who saved the Mount Vernon 81

The Mount Vernon safely in port after being torpedoed 81

Brest, Center of the Great System of Naval Operations in
France 112

A German "Sub" and Some of its Enemies 113

At Gibraltar, Key to the Mediterranean 124

The Great Mine Barrage against the Submarines 125

Planting Mines in the North Sea 128

How the Big Mines in the North Sea Barrage Worked 129

One of the Perils of Mine-Sweeping 136

The Mine-Sweepers Proved Wonderful Sea Boats 136

United States Naval Officers in Important Commands 137

American and British Naval Officials 137

The Transport which carried President Wilson to the Peace
Conference 144

Allied Naval Council in Session at Paris 145

Fifth Battle Squadron Joining the British Grand Fleet 160

Surrender of the German High Seas Fleet 161

American Sub-chasers at Corfu, Greece 168

A Flock of Sub-chasers with their Mother-ship 169

Gun-crew of the Luckenbach has a Four-Hour Fight with a
Submarine 192

Chief Gunner's Mate Delaney, of the Campana, Defying his
Captors 192

The Merchant Submarine Deutschland 193

Leaders of the Marines 208

The Marines in Belleau Wood 209

Naval Railway Battery Firing from Thierville upon Longuyon 224

On the Turret Platform of a Battleship 225

Assembling Naval Airplanes at Brest 228

A Navy Blimp Leaving Hangar at Guipavas, France 229

Naval Aviation Hangars at Guipavas 229

Pauillac, Naval Aviation Station 240

Fliers whose Exploits Brought Prestige to Naval Aviation 241

The Station Whose Messages are Heard around the World 256

The Tablet on the Main Building of the Lafayette Radio
Station 257

Eagle Boats at Anchor in the Ice of the White Sea 274

The Half-Way House 275

The Naval Consulting Board and the Navy Department Chiefs 288

Secretary Daniels and Thomas A. Edison 289

Fitting Out for Distant Service 304

Hanging up a Record 305

The Living Flag 320

United States Naval Academy at Annapolis 321

Yeomen (F) in Liberty Loan Parade, New York City 328

Cyclops, the Collier which Disappeared without Leaving a
Trace 329

Lost with Every Man on Board (Coast Guard Cutter Tampa) 336

They Saved Survivors of Torpedoed Vessels 337

Gallant Officers of the Coast Guard 337

A General View of Bantry Bay 352

A Close-up View of American "Subs" at Berehaven 352

Rodman and Beatty 353

From Manila to the Adriatic 368

Scorpion, only American Naval Vessel Interned during the
War 369

Our Navy at War

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