United States Navy From the Revolution to Date
Летописи и сражения / Военная техника
Основная информация:
Название: United States Navy From the Revolution to Date
Жанр: Нет
Автор: Francis J. Reynolds (Author), C.W. Taylor (Photographer), Austin M. Knight (Introduction)
Год выпуска: 1917
Формат: PDF
Размер: 150 МВ
ISBN: 538125805370
Язык: Английский
СКАЧАТЬ United States Navy From the Revolution to Date БЕСПЛАТНО EPUB - DOC - DJVU - RTF - PDFОписание: In this period of wars and rumors of wars, when the American public is inclining to take account of stock in its defenses and to inquire how far its army and navy are prepared to meet emergencies such as have recently been forced upon nations quite as anxious as we are to live at peace with all the world, the present work has a peculiar timeliness.
The people of the United States have always been interested in their navy and always proud of it, but their interest has not always been an intelligent interest nor has their pride always been well directed. The story of the navy, as it appears to the casual reader of history, is little more than a succession of dramatic victories-a picture in which the high lights stand out so brilliantly that little or nothing of the background is seen. It is true that the record of the navy has been one of almost unbroken success and that its victories have almost without exception presented features of dramatic interest. But an incident may be in the highest degree dramatic without being in any marked degree important. The really important operations on the sea during the War for Independence were not the brilliant victories of Jones and Barry, but the operations of the Continental cruisers and privateers against British commerce, and especially against British communications with the military forces in America. The victories of Perry and Macdonough on the Lakes contributed much to such success as was attained in the War of 1812, but those of Hull and Bainbridge and Decatur on the ocean had far less real influence upon the course of the war than is popularly supposed. No doubt the opening of the Mississippi by Farragut was an important factor in the Civil War, but in the attention popularly given to this and a few other spectacular incidents, the blockade of the Southern ports, which was literally the one decisive factor in the war, is almost completely overlooked. The war with Spain was a naval war almost exclusively and the navy did all that could be expected of it. Nothing could have been more sweeping than the victories of Manila Bay and Santiago. But Spain was not a naval power, and our overwhelming success against her has led to conclusions as to our prowess which are as dangerous as they are baseless-conclusions which may well make us regret at some future day that the victories of 1898 were won as cheaply as they were.