Pacific Ocean--San Diego Bay

Corps of Engineers Lieutenant Colonel Leach summarizes James F. J. Archibald’s letter to President Roosevelt regarding the weak defense of the Hawaiian Islands. In general, the Pacific Ocean is very poorly defended and should be considered a vulnerability. Leach discuses the logistics of introducing submarine weapons into naval defenses and previous attempts to acquire such weapons. While Leach concedes that Hawaii is lacking in defense, he strongly disagrees with the position that the Pacific Ocean is vulnerable and proves this by listing the local forts and their weaponized capacity.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-21

James F. J. Archibald reports to President Roosevelt on the submarine defense of the Pacific Coast and the Hawaiian Islands. Archibald believes America to be “so far behind” other nations in this area of marine warfare—particularly Great Britain, France, and Japan. Upon visiting principal cities and harbors, he finds the Pacific Coast and Hawaiian Islands in a “deplorably defenseless position” and notes that the people living in these areas feel vulnerable because of the large extent of “oriental labor and immigration.” Whereas guns and mines are not ideal defense weapons because of the foggy weather, Archibald feels the Pacific Coast is prime territory for the use of submarines due to the large harbors, climates, and topography of the region. Archibald details the number of submarines and personnel he believes to be needed at each of four geographic locations–the Puget Sound, the mouth of the Columbia River, the San Francisco Bay, and the San Diego Bay–as well as the costs of these fortifications, and he emphasizes that his opinions are shared by military officers and civilian experts.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-02

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

Creation Date

Unknown

Creator(s)

Unknown

Language

English