Home Squadron ― The U.s. Navy on the North Atlantic Station

Rentfrow, a former naval flight officer who teaches US and naval history, traces the transformation of the US Navy into a fighting organization between 1874 and 1897, using the North Atlantic Station as an example. He describes how at the beginning of the period, warships were collectively administered by a rear admiral but were operationally deployed as individual units and directed by their captains, then by 1897 were organized into a battle fleet that moved and fought in close order and were directed by a commanding admiral, undergoing training and tactical exercises, cruising overseas, and fighting together. He argues that the change was a result in a shift in function from commerce raiding to engaging and defeating hostile battle fleets, as well as a shift to steel warships and armored cruisers and battleships. He details developments in naval tactics in the mid-19th century, the growth in the practice of holding squadron maneuvers, the acquisition and operational employment of the Navy's first four steel warships, the roles of Rear Admiral John G. Walker and Rear Admiral Bancroft Gherardi, and how the squadron took the step of deploying a peacetime, noncrisis squadron, ending with the actions of the squadron during the Battle of Santiago de Cuba. Annotation c2014 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)