* * BENJAMIN FRANKLIN "TRACY ,.-·· Father of the Fighting tyavy Modern~merican by Benjamin Franklin Cooling ARCHON BOOKS 1973 * * BENJAMIN FRANKLIN TRACY Secretary ofthe Navy, 1889-1893 [Official Navy Department portrait by Ayer Whipple, 1896; official U.S. Navy photo J tl/1 >.:;,'-1~ Univ. E1hliothek .\ ',2~.. /) c.,~'/) ., 1· ·r-·...· , \/J\L :) ·• ··· Bielefeld Library_of Congrl'ss Cataloging in JJu{J/i('(l/ion I )ala Cooling, B Franklin. lknjamin Franklin 'l'rac y: fa1lwr of the modern Arner ic an figllling Navy. Bibliography: p. I. Tracy, Bmjarnin Franklin, 1830-1915. 2. United States. Navy-History. I. Title. E664.T72066 353.7 [B] 73-6645 ISBN 0-208-01336-9 /1 L1 EM 50] c: tt~ ©1973 by Benjamin Franklin Cooling First published 1973 as an Archon Book by The Shoe String Press, Inc., Harnden, Connecticut 06514 All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America To my mother for her patience and confidence through the arduous doctoral program Contents PREFACE IX AcKNOWLEDGEMENTS xu1 ABBREVIATIONS XV Formative Years on the Southern Tier 3 2 ForgedontheAnvilofWar 13 3 The Road toN ational Recognition 35 1 National Service Leads to a Policy Revolution 16 5 Implementing a Program with Ships 79 6 Navy Yard Reform and Cruiser Diplomacy at Midterm 102 7 Defeat at the Polls Cuts Short a Program 125 8 A Distinguished Citizen in Active Retirement 150 NoTEs 167 SouRCB 189 INDEX 203 Tables 1 Elmira Prison Camp, 1861-1865 29 2 Relative Strength of Navies (Built and Building) 59 3 Tonnageofthe New Navy 1881-1893 111 4 Relative Strength of Navies (Built or Building) 1893 118 5 Effective Fighting Ship Strength (Built or Building) 1898 157 VII Illustrations Benjamin Franklin Tracy, Secretary of the Frontispiece Navy Colonel Benjamin F. Tracy, U.S.V. 17 Elmira Prison Camp 27 Pridt.•ofthcOld Navy-lJ.S.S. Hartford 49 Squadron of Evolution 55 U.S. Coastal Defense-Late Nineteenth Century 71 Coastline Battleship-U.S.S. Oregon 86 Fleet-In-Being-U.S.S. Boston 109 Sea-Going Battleship-U.S.S. Iowa 129 Armored Cruiser-U.S.S. Columbia 143 Tracy at Harrison's Wedding 153 VIII Preface Benjamin Franklin Tracy explained his contribution to the re naissance of American naval power to a New York Herald reporter shortly before his death. The old gentleman told the newsman on June 27, 1915: The defence of the United States required the creation of a fighting force. I felt that we must be able to divert an enemy's force from our own coast by threatening his own, for a war, though defensive in principle, may be conducted most effective ly by being offensive in its operation. So I advocated right from the start a fighting plan that meant taking the offensive. That's why, I guess, I've been called now and then the "Father of the Fighting Navy." The term "fighting navy" means different things to different peo ple as anyone may attest who has witnessed the various applications of American seapower in the twentieth century. Tracy's contribu tion from 1889 to 1893 lay in the best tradition of John Paul Jones, Stephen Decatur, Isaac Hull, and others, although it also implied a dramatic departure from the traditional naval policy of commerce destruction and coastal protection under which those heroes labored for God and country. ix X BENJAMIN FRANKLIN TRACY Tracy obviously could not work alone. He was but one of six very able secretaries who, in unparalleled succession, contributed to the rise of the "New Steel Navy"-William H. Hunt (1881-1882), Wil liam E. Chandler (1882-1885), William C. Whitney (1885-1889), Tracy, Hilary A. Herbert (1893-1897), and John D. Long (1897- 1902). Moreover, other supporters of a strong navy in Congress, in the service itself, and among the general public, sought to revitalize America's first line of defense during this era. It was Tracy, however, who, by shrewd maneuver and by co operation with other enthusiasts, introduced at a key moment sev Nal dements demanded by the new technology and by the nation's development-the concept of a balanced battle-fleet deterrent; nick el steel armor and armament superior to that of foreign navies; and a full appreciation of professionalism. Tracy translated the latter into abandonment of the spoils system in the navy yards, federal support for the state naval militia, merit promotion within the officer corps, and better, education and training for all ranks. His term was too short to see successful completion of all these en deavors, but he worked actively for their enactment. Research in naval history of the period indicates that it is not enough to speak merely of strategic policies and types of ships. Examination must be made of the personalities and ideas of the secretaries, their ability to manage daily tasks, to negotiate con tracts for materiel, and to project the overall ability of the depart ment to construct a fleet and to direct the men and vessels consti tuting that tool of national power. Tracy's career, from small-town lawyer, Civil War veteran, and municipal figure, presaged his ser vices at national cabinet rank. He matured in his career, partici pating in the expansionist diplomacy of the administration of Ben jamin Harrison. The aggressive diplomacy of the Harrison period was a prelude to the expansionism and imperialism at the turn of the century and can be understood more fully by examining the role of Secretary of the Navy Tracy. His intense nationalism and drive to establish American power in the eyes of the world reinforced the bold if bumbling posture in foreign affairs assumed by the Chief Executive himself. One of the last human links with the Tracy era snapped in 1971 with the death of Admiral Richard Harrison Jackson, a hero of the Samoan hurricane of 1889, who retired as commander of the U.S. Battle Fleet in 1930. Still another link remains, not just in the PREFACE XI form of the modern nuclear navy as an awesome strike force, but also in continued preservation of the last of the steel fighting ships of the "New Navy" of the late nineteenth century. U.S.S. Olympia Admiral George Dewey's flagship at Manila Bay, the opening battle of a conflict which symbolized America's naval renaissance-lies berthed as a national historic shrine at Philadelphia. It forms the best monument to Tracy and his contemporaries who sought to pro ject the national power and prestige of the United States before the eyes of an expansionist-minded world.