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Great White Fleet:
On 16 December 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt stood in attendance as the Atlantic Fleet, painted in peacetime white, departed Hampton Roads, Virginia, in an unprecedented worldwide tour. Better known as the "Great White Fleet," the sixteen US battleships covered 43,000 miles and made twenty port calls on six continents during its 14 month long voyage. On 22 February 1909, the fleet arrived back at its point of origin.
The tour of the Great White Fleet was a grand pageant of American sea power. President Roosevelt wanted to assert the nation's growing naval prowess after the Russo-Japanese War, viewing the world tour as the perfect opportunity. The cruise also helped win congressional support for increased funding for the Navy, forever a goal of the president. |