Hampton Roads Naval Museum

42. The Great White Fleet

Norfolk, VA

Book Now

The "Great White Fleet" sent around the world by President Theodore Roosevelt from December 16, 1907, to February 22, 1909, consisted of sixteen new battleships of the Atlantic Fleet. The battleships were painted white except for gilded scrollwork on their bows. The Atlantic Fleet battleships therefore later came to be known as the "Great White Fleet." The cruise was an example of President Teddy Roosevelt's active foreign policy. Roosevelt himself said, "In my own judgment the most important service I rendered to peace was the voyage of the battle fleet around the world." It was also a test of the abilities of the new Navy, particularly coaling. The Steel Navy was a Navy powered by coal. Fleet commanders never knew what type of coal they could get. Some coal burned beautifully and some hardly burned at all. When they did get it the "black diamonds" were loaded on the ship in a filthy and dangerous process. A warship's ability to operate was limited by the size of her coal bunkers, which were never big enough. In 1899, a battleship of the Indiana class burned eight to twelve tons of coal per hour at full power (about 15 knots). With the USS Connecticut as flagship under the command of Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans, the fleet sailed from Hampton Roads, Virginia, on December 16, 1907, for Trinidad, thence to Brazil, Chile, Peru, Mexico, and up the west coast, arriving at San Francisco on May 6, 1908. At San Francisco, Rear Admiral Charles S. Sperry assumed command of the Fleet, owing to the poor health of Admiral Evans. Leaving that port on July 7, 1908, the U.S. Atlantic Fleet visited Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippine Islands, and Japan. America's relationship with Japan, and the recent tensions between the nations, was a focus of the cruise. When the US ships arrived, Japanese hospitality was overflowing. The fleet's Japan visit generated goodwill between both countries and eased tensions that might otherwise have led to open conflict. The cruise continued to Ceylon (Sri Lanka), arriving at Suez, Egypt, on January 3, 1909. In Egypt, word was received of an earthquake in Sicily, thus affording an opportunity for the United States to show its friendship to Italy by offering aid to the sufferers. The Fleet also stopped at Naples, Italy, and Gibraltar, arriving back at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on February 22, 1909. There, President Roosevelt reviewed the Fleet as it passed into the roadstead. The fourteen-month long voyage was a grand pageant of American sea power. The squadrons were manned by 14,000 sailors. They covered some 43,000 miles and made twenty port calls on six continents.