United States. Navy

This exhaustively illustrated account of the Spanish-American war seeks to present the official history of the war according to the United States War Records Office. It encompasses the events leading up to the war, the war itself, as well as its resolution and aftermath. While it mentions the various engagements taking place during the war, most of the focus is on Cuba and the action of the United States Navy and Army in fighting Spanish forces there in support of Cuban rebels. It additionally includes general information on the theaters of war, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.

Collection

Smithsonian

Creation Date

1900

A pink textile, possibly a pillowcase, with a printed photograph of Charles C. Myers in a navy uniform. The textile also features embroidered stars, an anchor, two crossed flags, and the date.

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

Creation Date

1910-06-05

A white sailors cap, also known as a “Dixie Cup”, once owned and worn by Charles C. Myers.

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

Creation Date

1900-1911

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt lists several confidential problems regarding foreign matters for the Naval War College. Roosevelt asks what and how interventions will be employed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1897-05-26

On behalf of Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt, Wilbur S. Hinman sends Michael Connellan the letter of recommendation he had submitted when applying for the position of blacksmith with the United States Navy.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1897-08-09

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt introduces Robert Clarke to the commanding officers of United States ships and asks that they show Clarke every courtesy.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1897-08-04

This postcard depicts the battleship USS Delaware, the ship that Charles C. Myers sailed on while serving in the United States Navy.

Comments and Context

In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “Perhaps it would not be improper for me, at this time, to briefly reply to the many questions that have been put to me concerning life in the naval service. Many and in fact most persons have an erroneous idea as to the conditions as they exist at the present time and are inclined to judge all men by a few that may sometimes be seen under the influence of liquor. Life on one of our great battleships is not all one of pleasure I assure you, but it is one of strict military discipline that cannot help but be beneficial to all men under its influence. Any of our great modern dreadnaughts [sic] may be likened to a small city–a floating city all by itself having a population of about one thousand men.

Here we see the United States Ship Delaware, which during her short life of less that [sic] two years, has carried the stars and stripes to more countries and with greater honor and distinction than any other battleship in the whole world, and I feel honored, Ladies and Gentlemen, that during her remarkable career, my home was on board the Delaware and that I was enrolled as one of the men who had taken that pledge of honor and stood ready at all times to sacrifice his life if need be for the protection of the flag of our country. The Delaware was by far the largest and mightiest battleship in the world until within the last few months when the Florida and the Utah were put into commission, and now they are only a few feet longer than the Delaware and from a distance do not in any way look superior to the mighty Delaware which at the present time holds the worlds record for honor, distinction and efficiency and is the only battleship in existence that has made two trips across the Atlantic without replenishing her coal supply and still have enough fuel left to make a third trip if necessary. she can stow away over 2600 tons of coal at one time besides several hundred tons of oil fuel.

Black and white photograph of Charles C. Myers sitting on a bench with his legs crossed. Myers is wearing a navy uniform and white “Dixie Cup” hat.

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

Creation Date

Unkown

Head and shoulders portrait of Charles C. Myers in a sailors uniform.

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

Creation Date

1910-11-25

Postcard of a studio photograph of Charles C. Myers in a navy uniform, sitting in a chair with his legs crossed. A handwritten note states the photograph was taken in Brooklyn, New York. The postcard is addressed to Myrtle O’Dell in Pasadena, California.

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

Creation Date

1911-09-27

Charles C. Myers poses, dressed in his sailor’s uniform, inside the chamber of a naval gun. A stamp on the reverse notes that Myers is the electrician aboard the U.S.S. Delaware.

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

Creation Date

1910-10-15

Postcard showing the smokestacks and top of the battleship Wisconsin above the waves of the China Sea.

Comments and Context

In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “I assure you that a storm at sea is no pleasant experience when the ocean’s surface is like high mountains and deep valleys all traveling with the speed of the wind and the ship is tossed up and down and around like a small cork in a large tank of water, first on one side and then the other till you are sure that the ship is going to turn clear over and the next instant it seems to be standing nearly on the end and you are thrown against one wall and then the other whenever you attempt to walk across the room. At one instant the ship is on the summit of the mountain of water and then it goes down like an elevator with lightening speed as the mountain glides out from under it and then up again as it rides the surface of the next mountain coming along.

The China sea well deserves its reputation as being the roughest body of water on the globe and seldom may a ship cross this sea without seeing something of a storm. We are now with the Battleship Fleet and crossing the China Sea enroute from Philipine [sic] Islands to Japan, a seven days trip, and on the third day out from Manilla [sic] a typhoon crossed before us and we had the full experience of the rough water. This shows one of the great swells or ocean mountains with the battleship Wisconsin just beyond the summit, the next instant from this same location we would be looking down upon the ship while it was way down in the deep valley.”

Postcard showing the conning tower of the USS Virginia above the waves of the China Sea.

Comments and Context

In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “This shows one of the great ocean swells going toward the battleship Virginia and that ship will be almost completely under water before it can rise up and be on top of the mountain. Now a battleship is made so that it could hardly sink. It has hundreds of rooms or compartmrnts [sic] with steel walls and air tight. These rooms are kept closed when at sea so that they are filled with air and water cannot get in. Now if you take a rubber bag and fill it with air and then plunge it beneath the water it will at once come to the top. Just so with a battleship, it has hundreds of these large rooms air tight, so if the ship be plunged beneath the water it will instantly come to the top. Now when that large wave or mountain hits the ship it will look…” [annotation continued on next postcard].

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

Postcard showing the bow of the U.S.S. Georgia being assaulted by waves and spray in a heavy storm.

Comments and Context

In Charles C. Myers’s own words [annotation continued from previous post card] “…like this. It will appear as if the ship was plunging right into the mountain side and the front end of the ship will be completely under water before the ship can gradually rise up and be on top again.”

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

Postcard showing the very top of the battleship U.S.S. Nebraska above the stormy waves of the China Sea.

Comments and Context

In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “The masts on these battleships are 100ft high. Now you see here is one of the ocean waves between here and the Battleship Nebraska, so high that you can only see the top of the masts.”

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

Postcard showing the U.S.S. Louisiana among the waves of the China Sea.

Comments and Context

In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “This shows another one of the battleships as it is riding on the side of one of the swells of the ocean.”

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

Postcard showing the tops of the U.S.S. Rhode Island’s masts above the stormy waves of the China Sea.

Comments and Context

In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “Another one showing the Rhode Island beyond the mountain. Sometimes accidents occur in these storms and men are swept overboard by the mighty waves coming over the ship. One accident which ended remarkably fortunate and like no other case on record was when a man fell overboard during this storm, from one of the battleships and the waves carried him back and threw him on board the ship behind, he was saved and uninjured.

This storm lasted three days and then began to quiet down so that the last day of our trip to Japan was an enjoyable day and our visit to Japan was indeed one of pleasure. The Japanese as you see them in their home country are as hospitable and courteous people as you will find in the whole world and the welcome that they gave the American Fleet in 1908 has never been surpassed. We were treated with respect and courtesy and a welcome as if we were to be President the next day. Their homes were open to us and they spared no pains to make us feel welcome and enjoy our visit to their country.”

This postcard, issued by the Japanese Department of Communications in commemoration of the visit of the American Fleet, features a photograph of a battleship superimposed over an anchor and flowers, from which hangs a rope that is coiled into the words “American Fleet.” The back notes that these postcards were distributed pre-stamped to the sailors of the Great White Fleet.

Comments and Context

In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “Here is one of the Souvenir Cards furnished by the Japanese Gov to the men of the U.S. Fleet. These cards were presented us already stamped so we could address them and mail as souvenirs from Japan to uor [sic] friends at home. This is a very artistic card, having the line from the anchor arranged in to letters of ‘American Fleet’.”

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

The Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal reprints the foreword and three chapters (two, five, and nine) from Theodore Roosevelt’s 1915 work America and the World War. In the foreword, Roosevelt expounds on the need for preparedness and criticizes President Woodrow Wilson for not bolstering the nation’s defenses. In chapter two, “The Belgian Tragedy,” Roosevelt states that neutral Belgium was a victim of German aggression, and he warns that failing to arm leads to such violations of a nation’s neutrality. Roosevelt invokes his famous maxim of “speak softly and carry a big stick,” and he makes several references to George Washington and Abraham Lincoln and their attitudes towards war and peace. Roosevelt says that international bodies and treaties that promote arbitration are worthless unless they are backed with the threat of force.

In chapter five, “How to Strive for World Peace,” Roosevelt stresses that nations either need to rely on themselves for their defense, or international bodies and treaties must have provisions so that violations of agreements and boundaries are punished by force. Roosevelt opens chapter nine, “Our Peacemaker, the Navy,” with a call to not extend a security guarantee to the Philippine Islands if the United States is committed to their independence. Roosevelt also argues that the navy needs to be used for offensive operations and not for coastal defense, and he excoriates the Wilson administration, especially Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, for not maintaining the readiness of the navy with regular training and maneuvers.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Lori Lyn Bogle reveals how President Theodore Roosevelt used the discovery and reinternment of the remains of naval hero John Paul Jones to publicize the navy and promote his agenda for its expansion. Bogle provides background on Roosevelt’s interest in naval matters stretching back to his childhood, and she argues that Roosevelt had an understanding of the value of publicity, public opinion, and “crowd psychology” that he used to advance his own career and, later, causes and issues that he supported, such as the United States Navy. Bogle details the discovery of Jones’s remains, the elaborate reinternment ceremony at the United States Naval Academy overseen by Roosevelt, and Jones’s return to obscurity in its wake.

Five photographs and three illustrations, including a portrait of Jones, accompany the article.